Release Manager

CRIO (Clinical Research IO) is a health tech company helping pharma, biotech, research sites, and academic research centers streamline regulatory workflows with one system and a single source of clinical data capture. Our modules allow sites to capture data electronically in real-time, providing data managers and monitors with enhanced transparency, and enabling remote monitoring by sponsors and CROs.

CRIO’s eSource and CTMS system is a leading, modern, enterprise platform built for clinical research sites. Since CRIO’s launch in 2016, CRIO has established the leading brand position in eSource and has won close to 50% of the emerging class of enterprise-grade site networks, many of whom are backed by institutional investors such as VC, PE and corporations. CRIO has achieved the attached metrics, all with little to no serious outbound sales or marketing.

Release Manager

We are looking for an individual who is passionate about and excels at software release management.

The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, highly organized, proactive, and driven by a commitment to delivering high-quality software on time and at scale. You will have a proven track record of coordinating complex, cross-functional release processes that keep teams aligned and customers satisfied. In addition, the ideal candidate has experience collaborating with engineering, QA, product, and operations teams within an Agile/DevOps environment, and is comfortable acting as a bridge between technical and business stakeholders to align software delivery with organizational goals.

Responsibilities

• Release Planning and Coordination: Plan, schedule, and manage release windows and cycles across multiple teams and portfolios, ensuring alignment with product roadmaps and business objectives.
• Release Calendar Ownership: Construct and maintain a centralized release calendar across all active projects and portfolios, providing a single source of truth for release timing and dependencies.
• Risk Management: Identify, manage, and resolve risks and challenges that impact release scope, quality, and timelines, escalating issues proactively when needed.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Coordinate release activities across development, QA, DevOps, and business teams to ensure synchronized, successful deployments, while promoting adherence to engineering best practices and DevOps policies.
• Post-Release Issue Ownership: Serve as the primary owner for release-related issues arising in the period following a release, leading cross-team coordination efforts through dedicated communication channels (e.g., Slack) in alignment with the system performance issue (SPI) and quality event process.
• Release Communication: Communicate release plans, schedules, changes, and post-release outcomes clearly to all relevant stakeholders, including business teams, customers, and leadership.
• Progress Monitoring and Reporting: Maintain a clear picture of all releases needed within the quarter to support roadmap commitments, proactively identifying risks to timelines and escalating concerns to the Head of Product and relevant stakeholders before they become blockers.
• Validation and Release Readiness: Serve as the bridge between product and QA teams by collaborating closely with the QA Director to ensure that all required validation documentation is drafted and reviewed, quality and compliance standards are met, and preparation activities are underway with sufficient lead time ahead of each release.
• Deployment Management: Own the existence of deployment plans, implementation guides, and supporting documentation by working closely with the relevant technical teams to ensure these materials are accurate, up to date, and in place ahead of each release; oversee the delivery of release artifacts through each stage of the release pipeline.
• Continuous Improvement: Participate in post-release retrospectives to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and opportunities for automation or process improvement.
• Release Automation: Collaborate closely with the automations team to identify and advocate for tooling, process improvements, and automation opportunities that increase the efficiency and reliability of the release process.
• Stakeholder Relationships: Build and maintain positive relationships with engineering leads, product owners, QA managers, and business stakeholders to ensure transparent, collaborative release execution, serving as an intermediary between technical and business teams to align delivery with organizational priorities.
• Release Notes and Documentation: Validate and distribute release notes; initiate and oversee the development of technical guides and training materials for released functionality.
• Schedule Governance: Maintain and manage release schedules for core services, ensuring alignment with major vendor timelines and downstream dependencies.

Skills/Experience

• 3+ years of experience in software release management or a closely related discipline
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycle (SDLC) and release management best practices
• Experience with Jira and GitHub for tracking and coordinating release activities
• Experience with Agile and DevOps development methodologies
• Ability to coordinate cross-functional teams and manage competing priorities under tight deadlines
• Excellent analytical and structured thinking skills, with a strong attention to detail
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messaging to both technical and non-technical audiences
• Proven ability to build effective working relationships at all levels of an organization, internally and externally

Nice to Have

• Experience with clinical data workflows, eClinical vendor systems, or regulated software environments
• Familiarity with 21 CFR Part 11, HIPAA, CDISC ODM, HL7 FHIR, and GDPR compliance requirements
• Experience managing releases for SaaS or cloud-native platforms
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD pipelines and release automation tools

Benefits & Perks:

• Work from anywhere
• Unlimited PTO
• 401k company match
• Healthcare
• Dental
• Vision (Company Paid 100%)
• Life insurance
• Professional Development Reimbursement
• Work From Home Expense Reimbursement

Apply today to embark on a rewarding career journey!

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome our employee’s differences, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or Veteran status. Difference makes us better. Join us.

Salary Range: $110,000 -- $120,000