Application Program Manager

About the Role:

We are looking for an experienced Application Program Manager / Release Manager to support a large-scale modernization program for a government client in Louisiana.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in release management, deployment coordination, software implementation, and technology delivery, with the ability to coordinate development, QA, UAT, and technical teams across multiple concurrent releases.

Key Responsibilities:

• Create and manage the release calendar and coordinate 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 and go/no-go meetings.
• Ensure risks, dependencies, open issues, and critical items are clearly communicated to stakeholders before deployment.
• Coordinate deployment activities across Development, Test, Staging, and Production environments.
• Maintain release documentation, including release notes, change logs, and post-release reports.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate release risks and escalate issues that may impact timelines or client commitments.
• Support post-release monitoring and coordinate timely resolution of issues following go live.
• Continuously improve release management processes, templates, and practices to promote consistency across engagements.
• Coordinate effectively with both technical and business stakeholders, particularly during critical release activities.

Required Qualifications:

• 4+ years of experience in release management, deployment coordination, or a related technology delivery role within software implementation or technology consulting environments.
• Bachelor's degree.
• ITIL certification.
• Strong understanding of software release and deployment processes.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Understanding of SDLC, environment management, and change control processes.
• Experience with release/work-tracking tools such as: Jira, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow & Similar release or project management tools.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to coordinate technical and business teams under time pressure.
• Experience managing multiple release schedules simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working with federal or state government agencies.