Software Infrastructure Release Engineer

Viasat, Inc.

Germantown, Maryland

JOB DETAILS
SALARY
$120,500–$190,000 Per Year
LOCATION
Germantown, Maryland
POSTED
30+ days ago
About us:

One team. Global challenges. Infinite opportunities. At Viasat, we’re on a mission to deliver connections with the capacity to change the world. For more than 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the globe communicate. We’re looking for people who think big, act fearlessly, and create an inclusive environment that drives positive impact to join our team.

What you'll do:
  • Oversee the planning, scheduling, and control of software releases, ensuring smooth transitions from development to production.
  • Planning and Scheduling: The Software Deployment and Infrastructure Engineer is responsible for planning the release of project deliverables and managing the release lifecycle. This includes coordinating schedules and resources required for successful releases.
  • Coordination: They act as a liaison between various teams, including development, testing, and operations, to ensure that all aspects of the release process are aligned and communicated effectively. 
  • Risk Management: Identifying potential risks that could delay releases and implementing strategies to mitigate these risks is a crucial part of the role. 
  • Deployment Oversight: The Release Manager leads the deployment activities, ensuring that software is released according to the planned schedule and meets quality standards.
  • Continuous Improvement: They are also responsible for supervising the progress of releases, finding issues, and continuously improving the release process to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. 
The day-to-day:
  • Communicating key project commitments, plans, changes and requirements to airline and relevant teams
  • Managing risks that may affect release scope
  • Ensuring releases stay within budgets and requirements
  • Providing weekly updates on release activities
  • Resolving issues regarding release quality and schedule
  • Identifying any project dependencies that could alter the course of release
What you'll need:
  • Release Management Tools: Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, and deployment automation platforms
  • Project Management: Agile methodologies, Scrum, Kanban, and project coordination frameworks
  • Technical Understanding: Software development lifecycle, testing methodologies, and infrastructure concepts
  • Communication Skills: Stakeholder management, cross-team coordination, and executive reporting
  • Risk Management: Risk assessment, contingency planning, and issue escalation procedures
  • Process Improvement: Lean principles, continuous improvement, and metrics analysis
  • Compliance Knowledge: Regulatory requirements, audit procedures, and change management
  • Incident Management: Crisis communication, rollback procedures, and post-incident analysis
  • US Citizenship required
  • Ability to travel up to 10%

 

What will help you on the job:

Release Coordination & Planning:

  • Coordinating release schedules across engineering, product, test groups, operations, and field teams
  • Managing release documentation including versioning, release notes, and certification artifacts
  • Tracking release readiness across multiple hardware/software configurations
  • Validating pre-deployment documentation and confirming all requirements are met before field installation

Version & Configuration Management:

  • Implementing rigorous version control and model management practices
  • Maintaining configuration baselines for different customers and working with the team to understand configuration drift
  • Understanding A/B partition schemes for the modem and rollback procedures for the server

Compliance & Documentation:

  • Coordinating with the airline program team, PTE and third party manufacturing for retrofit and new factory software
  • Maintaining traceability of features for software releases
  • Supporting regulatory audits with deployment records

Field Deployment Coordination:

  • Working with operations teams to understand and delivery methods for OTA (SSLK, Config, Helm, MUD, etc.)
  • Coordinating secure transmission of software packages for non-OTA installations
  • Tracking deployment status across fleet installations
  • Managing phased rollouts and monitoring for issues
  • Coordinating emergency patches and critical updates

Risk Management & Rollback:

  • Work with CE for aligning fixes for  post-release defects
  • Coordinating rollback procedures when issues are detected
  • Utilizing staged rollout functionality to limit blast radius of issues when needed

Required Skills & Background:

 

Technical Knowledge:

  • Familiarity with OTA update mechanisms and secure firmware distribution
  • Knowledge of version control systems (Git) and branching strategies
  • Basic understanding of cryptographic signing and secure boot
  • Awareness of A/B partition schemes and failsafe update mechanisms

Industry-Specific:

  • Understanding of aerospace/maritime operating environments
  • Understanding of field deployment constraints (bandwidth, connectivity, installation windows)

Coordination Skills:

  • Excellent communication skills for interfacing with technical and non-technical teams
  • Ability to manage conflicting priorities and resolve issues with limited information
  • Experience coordinating across engineering, operations, and customer-facing teams
  • Strong organizational skills for tracking complex multi-system deployments

Tools & Processes:

  • Experience with release management tools (Jira,Artifactory, Git)
  • Understanding of SDLC phases and gate reviews
  • Familiarity with documentation systems and change management processes
  • Ability to create and maintain releases with desired experience in Monday.com
Salary range: $120,500.00 - $190,000.00 / annually. For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $149,500.00- $224,500.00/ annually  : At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat’s comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits. EEO statement:

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click

careers@viasat.com

.

 

About the Company

V

Viasat, Inc.

Digital Communication Products for Commercial and Government Markets

ViaSat produces innovative satellite and other digital communication products that enable fast, secure, and efficient communications to any location. We bring today’s new communication applications to people out of reach of terrestrial networks, in both the commercial and government sectors, with a variety of networking products and services.

Here you’ll find a company that is always asking,” What’s next?”, with the vertically integrated set of technologies to push the limits of what is possible for your system and service performance.

Products:

  • Satellite networks for fixed-site and mobile communications
  • Satellite antenna systems
  • Wireless datalinks and terminals for combat situational awareness
  • Cybersecurity and Information Assurance for military networking and encrypted data storage
  • Mobile IP networking for soldiers
  • Communication microprocessor chipsets
  • Application and communication acceleration
  • Satellite network and RF system design
  • Communication simulation and training systems

Services:

  • Global mobile satellite services for government and commercial aircraft, vehicles, and seagoing vessels
  • Satellite Internet access and other broadband services for consumers, business, and government customers in the U.S.
Recognized for Innovation, Growth, and Stability

With these past awards, ViaSat is well known as a successful, innovative, high-growth company:

  • World Technology Network - 2013 Winner, Communications Technology Award for high-capacity satellite system
  • Arthur C. Clarke Foundation - Innovator Award, CEO Mark Dankberg
  • Edison Awards 2013 - Bronze award for communications innovation
  • Popular Science 2012 "Best of What's New" for Exede Internet and high-capacity satellite system
  • Satellite Research and Markets - 2012 Visionary Executive of the Year
  • Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) - 2012 Industry Innovator
  • TechAmerica - 2011 American Technology Award in the Telecommunications
  • Space News "Top 50 Space Companies"
  • San Diego Magazine "Made In San Diego: 11 Cool Companies"
  • Mark Dankberg American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) "2008 Aerospace International Communications Award"
  • Hannover Fairs ISCe2004 Satellite Industry Award for Innovation and Technology
  • Mark Dankberg Via Satellite “2003 Satellite Executive of the Year”
  • Defense Systems "Super 75"
  • DefenseNews "Top 100 Defense Contractors"
  • DefenseNews "Fast Track 50"
  • Washington Technology "Top 100 Federal Prime Contractors"
  • Three-time INC. 500 prior to going public in 1996


Surpassing 2,900 Employees and $1 Billion in Sales

The company employs over 2,900 professional and support personnel. The largest department is engineering, with many holding graduate degrees in electrical engineering or computer science. Annual revenues hit a record $1.1 billion during the most recently completed fiscal year (ended March 29, 2013).

History

ViaSat is part of the well-known Linkabit Corporation “family-tree” that spawned hundreds of San Diego area telecom startups, including Qualcomm, General Instruments, and Titan. Founded in 1986 by three former M/A-Com Linkabit employees, ViaSat is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol VSAT. Go to the History, Timeline or Industry Innovation & Firsts pages for more details.

To find out more about ViaSat, use the links on this page to explore our Web site.
Note: ViaSat Inc. is a separate company from and is not affiliated with Viasat Broadcasting, owned by Modern Times Group, Sweden.



COMPANY SIZE
2,500 to 4,999 employees
INDUSTRY
Telecommunications Services
FOUNDED
1986
WEBSITE
http://www.viasat.com/company/about/about-viasat