Technical/Release Manager

Job Description
Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Role Overview: A Technical/Release Manager is responsible for coordinating and managing technical execution, software development activities, release planning, and delivery across multiple teams supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) VA.gov Benefits Product Line. This includes managing integrated program roadmaps, coordinating software development and testing activities, overseeing technical dependencies and system integrations, facilitating cross-team collaboration, and ensuring deliverables are completed according to established requirements, schedules, and quality standards.

Responsibilities:

Support VA customers by coordinating technical execution and delivery activities across the Lifestage and Benefits Intake Program, including goals, scope, requirements, costs, and schedules.
Coordinate non-functional requirements, testing activities, release planning, and environment management to support successful program execution.
Manage contract transition activities, including coordination between outgoing and incoming contractors, knowledge transfer, documentation and artifact handoffs, access provisioning, risk management, and transition completion criteria.
Coordinate enterprise system integrations, dependencies, and testing activities involving FormsAPI, Lighthouse, BPDS, RBPS, Claims Evidence, Kafka/platform services, and downstream VBA systems.
Perform technical reviews of enhancement and sustainment requirements, including cloud hosting, system integration, and related technical considerations.
Develop, maintain, and manage the integrated program roadmap across all five Super Epics, tracking progress, dependencies, milestones, risks, and blockers.
Coordinate Agile sprint planning and delivery activities across multiple engineering teams, including vets-api, VBMS, MAS/GovCIO, RBPS, and Claims Evidence, ensuring work is appropriately sequenced and dependencies are addressed.
Manage the MAS Data Dictionary governance schedule, including 14-day pre-development and 10-day integration testing windows, ensuring FDF teams submit requests on time and participate in governance reviews.
Track and coordinate outstanding program activities across workstreams, including VBMS Claims Evidence API enablement, OMB approval processes, platform architecture reviews, and MMS-FVS API availability.
Serve as the primary point of contact between Lifestage and Benefits Intake teams and external technical teams, including VBMS, MAS, GovCIO, RBPS, and Lighthouse ClaimsAPI, translating technical requirements into actionable tasks and coordinating resolution.
Facilitate cross-team coordination meetings, technical working sessions, and integration discussions, including MAS, BPDS, VBMS, and user acceptance testing (UAT) activities.
Identify, monitor, and escalate technical issues, risks, and dependencies requiring leadership attention or cross-team prioritization.
Support other VA.gov Benefits Product Line programs in implementing structured data intake processes and related technical solutions.
Provide A&E leadership with technical and release management updates through recurring status reporting, management engagement, and technical documentation.
Prepare, review, and maintain program documentation, including integrated schedules, roadmaps, status reports, risk and issue logs, technical documentation, and executive-level briefings.
Coordinate software release management activities, including release planning, environment readiness, testing coordination, deployment schedules, and go/no-go readiness.
Work proactively and independently to carry out assignments to completion within established parameters, timelines, and accepted practices.
Maintain effective working relationships with VA customers, government stakeholders, contractors, and technical teams to support program objectives and successful delivery.
Identify opportunities to improve technical coordination, release processes, cross-team collaboration, and overall program execution.
Function as part of an integrated team, sharing information, best practices, and lessons learned across the portfolio.

Desired Skills & Experience:

Experience working as a contractor or employee supporting the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), preferably VA.gov or Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) programs.
Experience managing software releases for federal digital services, including release planning, environment management, deployment coordination, and go/no-go readiness.
Familiarity with VA and VBA enterprise systems and services, including Lighthouse, VBMS, BPDS, RBPS, Claims Evidence, and the VA.gov Platform.
Experience working with engineering teams supporting vets-api and related VA.gov applications.
Experience using Jira, GitHub, ZenHub, or other Agile project management and development tools.
Experience with data governance processes, data dictionaries, structured data, and digital forms intake.
Familiarity with cloud-based hosting environments, API architecture, event streaming, and enterprise integration processes.
Experience coordinating technical governance reviews, architecture approvals, and enterprise system dependencies.
Ability to work under pressure, coordinate multiple assignments simultaneously, and meet deadlines while maintaining a positive attitude and providing exemplary customer service.
High attention to detail, strong problem-solving and analytical skills, and the ability to adapt to changing technical requirements and program priorities.
Ability to communicate effectively with senior government leadership, technical personnel, and multiple contractor organizations.

Physical Requirements:

Ability to work productively, conduct professional business, and be available during normal business hours in a fully remote work environment.
Ability to obtain and maintain a successful VA Moderate Risk Background Investigation.
Ability to perform the essential functions of the position independently and coordinate effectively with geographically dispersed government and contractor teams.