Senior SaaS Software Release Manager

Duck Creek Payments; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Duck Creek Technologies seeks a Senior SaaS Software Release Manager to architect and own the end-to-end release process. You will lead planning, coordination, and delivery across engineering, QA, DevOps, and product teams in a fast-paced SaaS environment.

Applicants should have 7+ years in DevOps/cloud infrastructure, strong CI/CD experience, and AWS/Azure familiarity. The role is based in the Bay Area with 2 days in-office weekly and a hybrid work model.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in DevOps, cloud infrastructure management, or a similar role.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Certifications such as AWS Certified DevOps Engineer or Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, or similar.

Responsibilities

• Architect and own end-to-end software release system across engineering.
• Plan, coordinate, and oversee releases; manage schedules, readiness, and communication.
• Improve automation, merge validation, and deployment reliability.
• Collaborate across product, QA, DevOps, and business stakeholders.

Skills

AI/SDLC

Release management

CI/CD

Version control

Branching strategies

Cloud (AWS/Azure)

DevOps tooling

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IT

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

GitHub

GitLab

Docker

Kubernetes

Helm

Argo CD

Terraform

Cloud deployment services

Feature flags

Observability tools

Job description

Helping careers take flight. Reshaping an industry. Enable your career to be Made on Duck Creek.

WHO WE ARE

Duck Creek Technologies is the intelligent solutions provider defining the future of the property and casualty (P&C) and general insurance industry. We are the platform upon which modern insurance systems are built, enabling the industry to capitalize on the power of the cloud to run agile, intelligent, and evergreen operations. Our modern SaaS solutions help insurers set a new standard and revolutionize how consumers interact with insurance companies. Authenticity, purpose, and transparency are core to Duck Creek, and we believe insurance should be there for individuals and businesses when, where, and how they need it most. Our market-leading solutions are available on a standalone basis or as a full suite, and all are available via Duck Creek OnDemand. With more than 1,000 successful implementations to date, Duck Creek removes the IT burden for insurers so they can focus on the business of insurance. We have a flock of more than 1,700 employees across the globe and are proud to be a Flexible-First employer. We empower our employees with the choice to work from an office, from home, or on a hybrid schedule. Our flexible-first environment fosters productivity, inclusion, collaboration, and ensures a consistent employee experience regardless of location. If working in a fast-paced, rapidly evolving company that is transforming one of the world’s oldest and largest industries sounds exciting, let us know. We are excited you are considering Duck Creek as a future employer and hope you decide to join "The Flock". To learn more about us, visit www.duckcreek.com and follow us on our social channels for the latest information – LinkedIn and Twitter.

Senior SaaS Software Release Manager

Work Location: Bay Area, CA and requires 2 days a week in the office

What you’ll do

A Software Release Manager is a technical leader responsible for architecting, owning, and continuously improving the end-to-end software release system across engineering with a penchant towards bringing in new industry standards and fully support AI-SDLC. They are also responsible for planning, coordinating, and overseeing software releases across engineering teams to ensure timely, predictable, and high-quality delivery. This role manages release schedules, release readiness, branching strategy, deployment coordination, risk tracking, and communication across product, engineering, QA, DevOps, and business stakeholders. The Senior Software Release Manager ensures that release processes are clearly defined, consistently followed, and continuously improved. They help identify release risks, drive issue resolution, coordinate dependencies, and maintain visibility into release status. This role also supports improvements in automation, merge validation, release cadence, and deployment reliability. Own and manage the software release calendar, release milestones, and readiness checkpoints. Coordinate release activities across engineering, QA, DevOps, product, and support teams. Manage/ supervise branching, merge coordination, code freeze, release candidate validation, and deployment readiness. Identify release risks, blockers, and dependencies, and drive them to resolution. Improve release cadence, predictability, and quality through process improvements and automation. Communicate release status, risks, timelines, and decisions to stakeholders and leadership. Ensure release documentation, approvals, and post-release follow-ups are completed. Partner with engineering teams to improve merge validation, build stability, and deployment processes. Support continuous improvement of release governance, tooling, and operational practices. Design, maintain, and evolve branching strategies, merge coordination workflows, and code freeze policies that support both development velocity and release stability. Architect and improve CI/CD pipelines, build automation, and release tooling in partnership with DevOps and engineering teams — driving measurable gains in build stability, deployment reliability, and release cadence.

Required Skills and Experience

Strong understanding of AI native software development lifecycle, release management, and deployment processes. Experience with branching strategies, CI/CD pipelines, version control, and release automation. Ability to coordinate across multiple technical teams and manage competing priorities. Strong problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder management skills. Ability to manage risk, drive accountability, and maintain release discipline in a complex engineering environment. Nice to have (highly recommended) Skills and Experience: Technical background in DevOps, software engineering, build/release engineering, or systems operations. Demonstrated proficiency with modern SaaS release and DevOps tooling; For example: GitHub/GitLab, CI/CD platforms, Docker, Kubernetes, Helm, Argo CD, Terraform, cloud deployment services, feature-flagging, observability, security scanning, and AI-enabled delivery automation.

What you've done required

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field. 7+ years of experience in DevOps, cloud infrastructure management, or a similar role. Deep expertise in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure) and infrastructure automation. PREFERRED: Master’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent work experience. Experience in a global software company or high-volume production environment. Certifications such as AWS Certified DevOps Engineer, Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, or similar.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities & Behaviors

Expertise in cloud computing platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and managing cloud-based infrastructure. Advanced knowledge of CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitLab, or CircleCI, and experience in pipeline automation. Strong programming and scripting skills (Python, Bash, Ruby, or similar) for automation tasks. Proficiency in containerization technologies such as Docker and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes. Deep understanding of networking, security, and cloud architecture, including VPCs, firewalls, and load balancing. Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, CloudFormation, Ansible) and version control systems like Git. Strong analytical skills with the ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex system issues. Solid understanding of software development life cycle (SDLC) and Agile methodologies. Familiarity with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack) for system performance and alerting. Knowledge of security protocols, authentication, and data encryption in cloud environments. Excellent communication skills, capable of collaborating across teams to ensure smooth operations. Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously. Strong attention to detail and ability to develop robust documentation and maintain accurate records. A results-driven approach, focused on optimizing performance, efficiency, and scalability. Commitment to continuous learning and staying updated on emerging technologies and Release Engineering practices.

Other

Travel: 0-10% Location: Remote US Work Authorization: Legally authorized to work in the country of job location. The Company does not sponsor visa petitions for this position.

What we stand for

Our global company celebrates & leverages the differences each employee brings to the table. Our success is a direct result of an inclusive culture where opportunities to learn from one another occur regardless of title, seniority, or background. This collaborative and team-oriented approach is at the core of how we operate and continuously improve our products, services, and systems. As such, Duck Creek is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants – to recruit, hire, train, and reward employees for their individual abilities, achievements, and experience without regard to race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, marital, military, or any other protected status. We strive to be an example to the world of inclusion, diversity, and equity in all things – where employees are free to be their authentic selves in the workplace and in the communities in which we live. We believe in leading by example and are proud of the diversity of our team and our shared commitment to our Core Values: We Prioritize Respect; We Listen; We Care; We Add Value; and We Lead.

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Privacy Notice

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Duck Creek Technologies may collect and process your personal data for recruitment purposes in accordance with our Privacy Notice and applicable data protection laws. Duck Creek Technologies does not accept, nor will we pay a fee for any hires resulting from unsolicited headhunter or agency resumes.