Release Management Associate Director

Socket.dev; New Jersey; Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible/hybrid work model

Competitive compensation

Health and life insurance

Pension / Retirement benefits

Paid Time Off and leaves

Job summary

DTCC in New Jersey is seeking an Associate Director, Release Execution Management & AI Transformation to lead enterprise release operations across cloud, mainframe, and distributed environments. This role focuses on AI-enabled release governance and risk management to improve velocity and compliance.

You will collaborate with Engineering, Infrastructure, Security, Risk, and Operations to drive modernization, measure outcomes, and mentor teams while shaping the AI-driven change management roadmap

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of related experience.
• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent experience.
• Experience leading AI transformation and release management programs.
• Strong governance, risk, and audit capabilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise Release Execution operations, ensuring the successful planning, coordination, and deployment of technology releases across distributed, cloud, and mainframe environments.
• Drive modernization of release management practices through AI-driven release intelligence, predictive risk assessment, automated validation, and intelligent release scheduling.
• Partner with application, infrastructure, cloud, security, and business teams to ensure high-quality, low-risk releases that support organizational objectives.
• Define release governance strategies that balance speed, stability, risk management, and compliance.
• Establish data-driven KPIs and operational metrics to continuously improve release quality, deployment success rates, and developer productivity.
• Lead the organization's AI-enabled Release Management strategy and roadmap.
• Identify opportunities to leverage Generative AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation to optimize release and change processes.
• Drive implementation of AI-powered capabilities including: Release risk prediction, Automated impact analysis, Change recommendation engines, Intelligent approval workflows, Automated audit evidence collection, Root cause analysis and trend identification.

Skills

Release Management

AI Transformation

Leadership

Cloud Migration

CI/CD

Governance

Audit

Data analytics

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

ServiceNow

ChangeMan

IaC (Terraform/Ansible)

Job description

Are you ready to make an impact at DTCC?

Do you want to work on innovative projects, collaborate with a dynamic and supportive team, and receive investment in your professional development? At DTCC, we are at the forefront of innovation in the financial markets. We are committed to helping our employees grow and succeed. We believe that you have the skills and drive to make a real impact. We foster a thriving internal community and are committed to creating a workplace that looks like the world that we serve.

The Information Technology group delivers secure, reliable technology solutions that enable DTCC to be the trusted infrastructure of the global capital markets. The team delivers high-quality information through activities that include development of essential, building infrastructure capabilities to meet client needs and implementing data standards and governance.

Pay and Benefits

• Competitive compensation, including base pay and annual incentive
• Comprehensive health and life insurance and well-being benefits, based on location
• Pension / Retirement benefits
• Paid Time Off and Personal/Family Care, and other leaves of absence when needed to support your physical, financial, and emotional well-being.
• DTCC offers a flexible/hybrid model of 3 days onsite and 2 days remote (onsite Tuesdays, Wednesdays and a third day unique to each team or employee).

The Impact you will have in this role

The Associate Director, Release Execution Management & AI Transformation is responsible for leading enterprise release management operations, governance, compliance, and technology transformation initiatives. This role oversees teams supporting release execution, platform modernization, cloud migration programs, audit activities, and continuous process improvement efforts.

The successful candidate will serve as a strategic leader responsible for modernizing release and change management through the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, predictive analytics, and intelligent workflow orchestration. This individual will partner across Engineering, Infrastructure, Security, Risk, and Operations teams to drive operational excellence, reduce delivery risk, improve release velocity, and advance AI-enabled change and release management capabilities across the enterprise.

Your Primary Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise Release Execution operations, ensuring the successful planning, coordination, and deployment of technology releases across distributed, cloud, and mainframe environments.
• Drive modernization of release management practices through AI-driven release intelligence, predictive risk assessment, automated validation, and intelligent release scheduling.
• Partner with application, infrastructure, cloud, security, and business teams to ensure high-quality, low-risk releases that support organizational objectives.
• Define release governance strategies that balance speed, stability, risk management, and compliance.
• Establish data-driven KPIs and operational metrics to continuously improve release quality, deployment success rates, and developer productivity.
• Lead the organization's AI-enabled Release Management strategy and roadmap.
• Identify opportunities to leverage Generative AI, machine learning, predictive analytics, and intelligent automation to optimize release and change processes.
• Drive implementation of AI-powered capabilities including:
  • Release risk prediction
  • Automated impact analysis
  • Change recommendation engines
  • Intelligent approval workflows
  • Automated audit evidence collection
  • Root cause analysis and trend identification
• Partner with enterprise AI, DevOps, and Platform Engineering teams to integrate AI capabilities into release workflows and governance processes.
• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and industry best practices to improve operational efficiency and decision-making.
• Measure and track business outcomes from AI initiatives, including reduction in manual effort, improved compliance, faster release delivery, and reduced operational risk.
• Lead audit readiness initiatives, ensuring accurate and timely collection of evidence for internal audits, external audits, and Management Control Testing (MCT).
• Leverage automation and AI-assisted controls to improve audit efficiency and governance effectiveness.
• Ensure release and change management processes comply with regulatory, security, and enterprise governance requirements.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Audit organizations to remediate findings and strengthen control frameworks.
• Develop reporting and dashboards that provide risk visibility and compliance insights to leadership.
• Lead global teams supporting release management operations, governance activities, modernization initiatives, and AI transformation programs.
• Manage staffing, capacity planning, consultant utilization, and project prioritization.
• Build a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Coach and mentor employees, fostering growth in automation, AI literacy, cloud technologies, and modern release management practices.
• Develop succession plans and career development opportunities for team members.
• Lead resources supporting distributed platform modernization and cloud transformation initiatives.
• Collaborate with Engineering and DevOps teams to integrate CI/CD, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), and automated deployment pipelines into release governance processes.
• Drive adoption of release automation, deployment analytics, and intelligent operational tooling.
• Establish release strategies that support hybrid cloud and multi-platform environments.
• Partner with cloud migration teams to ensure effective governance, risk management, and operational readiness throughout transformation programs.
• Serve as business owner for Mainframe ChangeMan and associated release management capabilities.
• Lead modernization efforts that integrate traditional release management platforms with enterprise automation and AI solutions.
• Manage upgrades, enhancements, operational stability, and strategic roadmap planning for the ChangeMan environment.
• Drive continuous improvements in release quality, deployment efficiency, and operational resilience.
• Define standards and governance for ServiceNow release and change management workflows.
• Drive automation and AI enhancement opportunities within ServiceNow processes.
• Partner with stakeholders to improve workflow efficiency, user experience, and governance effectiveness.
• Support implementation of intelligent workflow capabilities, automated approvals, and predictive change management features.
• Manage strategic technology vendors, consultants, and service providers supporting release management and transformation initiatives.
• Evaluate AI, automation, DevOps, and operational tooling vendors against organizational objectives.
• Ensure external partners deliver measurable business value and support enterprise transformation goals.
• Lead contract planning, renewals, forecasting, and vendor performance management activities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of related experience
• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent experience

Talents Needed for Success

• 8+ years of experience in Release Management, Change Management, DevOps, Technology Operations, Platform Engineering, or similar disciplines.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing employees, consultants, and cross-functional technology teams.
• Experience implementing automation, AI, machine learning, or intelligent workflow solutions within technology operations environments.
• Experience driving cloud transformation, DevOps, CI/CD, or platform modernization initiatives.
• Strong understanding of ServiceNow governance, release management processes, and enterprise controls.
• Knowledge of AI technologies, Generative AI, Agentic AI, automation platforms, and operational analytics.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and executive presentation skills.
• ITIL Certification or equivalent IT Service Management expertise.
• Experience within financial services or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience leading AI transformation, operational intelligence, or enterprise automation programs.
• Knowledge of Mainframe ChangeMan administration and modernization strategies.
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), DevOps tooling, and release automation technologies.
• Experience leveraging AI solutions for operational excellence, incident reduction, change management, or software delivery optimization.
• Familiarity with Agentic AI platforms, predictive analytics, and intelligent workflow orchestration frameworks.

The salary range is indicative for roles at the same level within DTCC across all US locations. Actual salary is determined based on the role, location, individual experience, skills, and other considerations. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

With over 50 years of experience, DTCC is the premier post-trade market infrastructure for the global financial services industry. From 20 locations around the world, DTCC, through its subsidiaries, automates, centralizes, and standardizes the processing of financial transactions, mitigating risk, increasing transparency, enhancing performance and driving efficiency for thousands of broker/dealers, custodian banks and asset managers. Industry owned and governed, the firm innovates purposefully, simplifying the complexities of clearing, settlement, asset servicing, transaction processing, trade reporting and data services across asset classes, bringing enhanced resilience and soundness to existing financial markets while advancing the digital asset ecosystem. In 2024, DTCC’s subsidiaries processed securities transactions valued at U.S. $3.7 quadrillion and its depository subsidiary provided custody and asset servicing for securities issues from over 150 countries and territories valued at U.S. $99 trillion. DTCC’s Global Trade Repository service, through locally registered, licensed, or approved trade repositories, processes more than 25 billion messages annually. To learn more, visit us at www.dtcc.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

DTCC proudly supports Flexible Work Arrangements favoring openness and gives people freedom to do their jobs well, by encouraging diverse opinions and emphasizing teamwork. When you join our team, you’ll have an opportunity to make meaningful contributions at a company that is recognized as a thought leader in both the financial services and technology industries. A DTCC career is more than a good way to earn a living. It’s the chance to make a difference at a company that’s truly one of a kind.

Learn more about Clearance and Settlement by clicking here.

Serves as a dedicated technology resource for advancing DTCC’s business opportunities and providing industry thought leadership for leveraging new technology. The goal of this new department is to partner internally with IT, our business and regulatory divisions and externally with clients, regulators, and fintech vendors, to help build new platforms and business models to advance DTCC’s mission to support the financial markets.