Network Release Manager, Load Balancing

Job Title: Network Release Manager, Load Balancing

Duration: 12 months contract

Location: Hybrid in Chandler, AZ / Plano, TX / Jersey City, NJ / Charlotte, NC

Position Summary:

The Network Release Manager is responsible for coordinating the planning, readiness, execution, and stabilization of complex network implementations supporting enterprise Load Balancing services, with a primary focus on F5 BIG-IP and VMware Avi Load Balancer technologies.

This role partners across Network Engineering, Operations, Architecture, Product Management, Project Management, application teams, Change Management, and third-party providers to ensure releases are well planned, dependencies are understood, risks are proactively managed, and implementations comply with enterprise change-management standards.

The Release Manager is accountable for readiness, coordination, execution oversight, and stakeholder communication.

Key Responsibilities:

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• Coordinate end-to-end implementation activities supporting F5 BIG-IP, VMware Avi Load Balancer, and related application-delivery services.
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• Develop and manage change implementation schedules, milestones, resource requirements, risks, and dependencies.
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• Coordinate application migrations, infrastructure refreshes, software upgrades, vulnerability remediation, maintenance, and service decommissioning.
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• Partner with engineering and operations teams to validate implementation, testing, validation, backout, support, and escalation plans.
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• Identify and manage cross-functional dependencies involving routing, firewall, DNS, certificates, security controls, monitoring, applications, and infrastructure.
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• Coordinate preparation and review of Change Requests (CRQs) and supporting implementation documentation.
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• Facilitate implementation-readiness reviews, implementation checkpoints, change windows, Production Day-One support, and post-implementation reviews.
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• Monitor implementation execution and proactively resolve or escalate schedule conflicts, resource constraints, technical dependencies, and delivery risks.
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• Coordinate engineering, operations, vendors, and project resources across multiple concurrent releases without direct reporting authority.
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• Provide clear and timely release status, risk, issue, and escalation communications to delivery teams and senior stakeholders.
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• Ensure releases comply with enterprise Change Management policies, controls, and documentation requirements.
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• Identify opportunities to improve release processes, reporting, automation, and overall delivery effectiveness.
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Required Qualifications:

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• 5+ years of experience coordinating technical delivery, infrastructure projects, production releases, or enterprise changes.
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• Experience supporting network infrastructure and enterprise Change/Release Management processes.
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• Working technical knowledge of Load Balancing and application-delivery concepts, including virtual IPs, pools, nodes, health monitors, SSL/TLS certificates, DNS, routing, firewall dependencies, and traffic management.
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• Demonstrated experience coordinating complex implementations across engineering, operations, application, security, vendor, and project teams.
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• Experience with CRQs, Change Approval Board (CAB) processes, implementation and backout plans, release-readiness reviews, risk management, and post-implementation activities.
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• Ability to manage multiple concurrent efforts, competing priorities, technical dependencies, and critical delivery dates.
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• Strong written, verbal, presentation, and stakeholder-management skills, including the ability to communicate and influence across technical teams and senior leadership.
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• Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ownership, and ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced environment.
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• Ability to participate in planned evening and weekend implementation windows when required.
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Preferred Qualifications:

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• Direct experience supporting F5 BIG-IP and/or VMware Avi Load Balancer environments.
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• Familiarity with F5 technologies such as LTM, DNS/GTM, Advanced WAF/ASM, and APM.
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• Experience coordinating load-balancing migrations, platform refreshes, software upgrades, vulnerability remediation, or application onboarding.
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• Experience with Jira and Confluence and hybrid waterfall/Agile delivery methodologies.
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• Experience within banking, financial services, or another highly regulated environment.
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• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, information technology, business, or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
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• PMP, ITIL, SAFe, CCNA, F5, VMware Avi, or related certifications are a plus.
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