Application Program Manager/Specialist

Location: Remote
Duration: 2 Years
Employment Type: Contract

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Application Program Manager/Specialist to support release management and deployment coordination across multiple concurrent software implementation and technology initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience coordinating software releases, managing dependencies and risks, facilitating go/no-go decisions, and working closely with development, QA, UAT, and business stakeholders to ensure successful deployments.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and manage the release calendar, coordinating release schedules across multiple concurrent projects.
• Define and enforce release management processes, including release readiness criteria, approval gates, and rollback plans.
• Partner with development, QA, and UAT teams to confirm release scope, sequencing, dependencies, and readiness.
• Lead release planning sessions and go/no-go meetings, ensuring risks, dependencies, and open issues are clearly communicated to stakeholders.
• Coordinate deployment activities across development, testing, staging, and production environments.
• Maintain comprehensive release documentation, including release notes, change logs, deployment records, and post-release reports.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate release risks that may impact project timelines or commitments.
• Escalate critical issues and dependencies to the appropriate stakeholders.
• Support post-release monitoring and coordinate timely resolution of issues identified after go-live.
• Ensure effective communication throughout the release lifecycle.
• Continuously improve release management processes, templates, and practices to promote consistency and efficiency across engagements.

Mandatory Qualifications

• 4+ years of experience in release management, deployment coordination, or a related delivery role within software implementation or technology consulting environments.
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• ITIL certification required.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating software releases and deployments across multiple teams and environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong understanding of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), environment management, and change control processes.
• Experience with release and work-tracking tools such as Jira, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, or similar platforms.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to coordinate technical and business teams under time-sensitive conditions.
• Experience managing multiple release schedules simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Previous experience supporting federal or state government agencies.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, risk-management, and coordination skills.