Release Lead

We are seeking an experienced Release Manager to lead and govern end-to-end release activities across multiple environments, including SIT, UAT, Pre-Production (PPT), and Production. The successful candidate will be responsible for release planning, governance, deployment coordination, change management, CI/CD orchestration, and stakeholder communication while ensuring controlled, predictable, and high-quality software releases.This role requires strong collaboration across Delivery, Testing, DevOps, Security, Platform, and Operations teams, with a particular focus on Salesforce release management and deployment automation.Key ResponsibilitiesRelease Planning & GovernanceOwn and manage the end-to-end release lifecycle across SIT, UAT, Pre-Production, and Production environments.Define release scope, schedules, milestones, and deployment windows.Manage release calendars and coordinate concurrent releases across multiple teams and projects.Facilitate release readiness reviews and support Go/No-Go decision-making processes.Coordinate post-release validation and hypercare activities.Release Control & Deployment ManagementGovern release scope, code freeze activities, deployment gating, and promotion controls.Ensure release dependencies, risks, and conflicts are identified and managed proactively.Coordinate deployment execution, rollback planning, and production stabilization activities.Manage environment promotion processes and ensure adherence to controls and compliance requirements.Change & Risk ManagementLead Change Request (CHG) processes and coordinate CAB approvals.Ensure all releases comply with organizational change governance standards.Maintain audit-ready release documentation and approval records.Assess release risks and drive mitigation plans throughout the release lifecycle.CI/CD & DevOps CoordinationCoordinate release activities through CI/CD pipelines using GitLab and Jenkins.Work closely with Development and DevOps teams to manage branching strategies, version control, and release promotion.Ensure deployment automation, release quality gates, and validation controls are implemented and followed.Support automated deployment processes and continuous delivery capabilities.Salesforce Release ManagementManage Salesforce release processes across sandbox and production environments.Coordinate Salesforce deployments using standard deployment and release tooling.Support Release Management activities across Salesforce Core and Salesforce Commerce environments.Partner with Salesforce development teams to ensure controlled releases and environment alignment.Manage metadata deployments and environment promotions using SFDX and related tooling.Stakeholder Management & ReportingProvide release status reporting and executive-level communications.Facilitate release planning sessions, deployment calls, war rooms, and hypercare governance.Coordinate activities across Delivery, Testing, DevOps, Platform, Infrastructure, Security, and Operations teams.Ensure visibility of release progress, risks, issues, and dependencies.Required Skills & Experience8+ years of Release Management experience in complex enterprise environments.Proven experience managing releases across SIT, UAT, Pre-Production, and Production environments.Strong understanding of release governance, deployment controls, code freezes, and release gating.Hands-on experience with:GitLabJenkinsJiraConfluenceTerraformCI/CD pipelinesExperience coordinating CAB processes, change approvals, and release governance activities.Strong understanding of branching strategies, version control, and environment promotion controls.Experience with deployment automation, rollback planning, and release orchestration.Excellent stakeholder management, communication, and coordination skills.Preferred QualificationsSalesforce Core experience.Salesforce Commerce Cloud experience.Hands-on experience with SFDX and Salesforce deployment practices.Experience working in Agile, DevOps, and CI/CD-driven environments.Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) and automated deployment frameworks.ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent Change Management experience.Key Success FactorsAbility to manage multiple concurrent releases with competing priorities.Strong attention to detail and risk management mindset.Proven capability to drive cross-functional alignment in large delivery organizations.Experience delivering stable, controlled, and auditable releases in enterprise environments.