Job Description
Job Title: Program Manager / Release Manager
Location: Hillsboro, OR | San Francisco, CA | Sacramento, CA
Experience Level: 15+ Years
Employment Type: Contract
About the Role:
We are seeking a highly experienced Program Manager / Release Manager to lead complex enterprise-level initiatives for our client. The ideal candidate will bring extensive experience in managing technology programs, release cycles, stakeholder alignment, and delivery excellence across cross-functional teams. This role requires strategic vision, hands-on leadership, and the ability to manage multiple high-impact programs within a fast-paced environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and manage end-to-end program and release planning, execution, and delivery.
- Define program scope, goals, and deliverables aligned with business objectives and technical feasibility.
- Develop detailed project plans, schedules, resource allocation, and governance structures.
- Coordinate release management activities across multiple teams, ensuring alignment with business priorities.
- Drive consistent communication among stakeholders including product owners, development teams, QA, and operations.
- Establish and manage program-level risks, dependencies, and change control processes.
- Conduct regular program and release reviews, providing status reports to leadership and key stakeholders.
- Ensure adherence to Agile or hybrid delivery methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe).
- Partner with technical and business teams to ensure seamless integration, deployment, and transition to production.
- Continuously drive process improvements to enhance program efficiency, quality, and delivery cadence.
Required Skills & Experience:
- 15+ years of overall experience in IT, with at least 8+ years in Program / Release Management roles.
- Proven experience managing complex, multi-workstream programs across diverse technology landscapes.
- Strong understanding of SDLC, Agile, DevOps, and release management best practices.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills at all organizational levels.
- Demonstrated ability to deliver strategic initiatives within time, scope, and budget constraints.
- Experience working in banking, financial services, or fintech environments is highly preferred.
- Familiarity with tools such as JIRA, Confluence, Azure DevOps, and MS Project.
- PMP, SAFe, or Agile certification is a plus.
Job Tags
Contract work,