Release Manager

We are seeking an experienced
Release Manager
with a strong background in Banking and Financial Services (BFSI) to lead enterprise release operations on a 12+ month contract based in Toronto. In this role, your primary focus will be orchestrating release cycles across native/hybrid
mobile platforms (iOS and Android)
and
Java enterprise backends, while supporting ongoing integration with modern AI-driven product capabilities.Release Manager – Financial Services (Mobile & Java Platforms, AI Integration)
Location:
Toronto, ON (Hybrid: 3 days onsite, 2 days remote per week)Position Type:
Contract (12+ Months)You will partner closely with mobile engineering squads, core Java microservices teams, QA, security, and Change Advisory Boards (CAB) to guide critical customer-facing banking applications safely into production. The ideal candidate pairs deep knowledge of mobile app store release mechanics (Apple App Store / Google Play) and Java deployment pipelines with institutional banking governance, dynamic feature rollouts, and zero-downtime rollback strategies.Key Responsibilities
Direct end-to-end release cycles for customer-facing mobile applications (iOS/Android) alongside backend Java microservices, ensuring synchronized deployments between front-end interfaces and core banking APIs.Manage the operational submission and release pipeline through Apple App Store Connect and Google Play Console, coordinating review timelines, staged/phased rollouts, test flight distributions, and urgent hotfix releases.Coordinate deployment lifecycles for Java/Spring Boot enterprise backends, cloud infrastructure, and AI/ML model endpoints to prevent schema mismatches, version drift, and service downtime.Ensure every release package adheres strictly to institutional change management policies, segregation of duties, audit trails, and banking regulatory requirements.Lead release gate reviews, assess deployment risks across mobile binary updates and backend services, and author detailed contingency plans, feature-flag kill switches, and database/service rollback procedures.Maintain an agile, rapid release cadence for iterative product enhancements while safeguarding core transaction processing, mobile security, and strict uptime SLAs.Own the unified master release calendar, run operational war rooms during deployment windows, and deliver crisp, real-time status broadcasts to technical squads and executive stakeholders.Facilitate post-release retrospectives, analyze production telemetry and app store adoption curves, and collaborate with DevOps and MLOps teams to automate release pipelines.What You Bring
Mobile Release Expertise (Top Priority):
Proven experience driving production releases for enterprise mobile applications across iOS and Android, including hands-on familiarity with App Store Connect, Google Play Console, phased rollouts, and mobile binary submission workflows.Java Enterprise Ecosystem:
Strong familiarity with the deployment architecture of modern enterprise Java applications (Java/Spring Boot microservices, REST APIs, containerized workloads).Banking & Financial Services Domain:
5+ years of release or delivery management experience within BFSI, capital markets, retail banking, or wealth management, with practical expertise navigating ITIL/CAB change approval processes.AI & Platform Awareness:
Direct exposure to coordinating releases for platforms incorporating AI/ML services, data pipelines, predictive models, or real-time streaming components alongside core transactional systems.Rollback & Deployment Strategies:
Hands-on mastery of modern deployment patterns, including blue-green deployments, canary releases, staged rollouts, and feature flag gating (e.G., LaunchDarkly) for instant risk mitigation.CI/CD & Tooling Stack:
Solid understanding of enterprise CI/CD tooling (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Fastlane, GitLab CI), ticket and change systems (Jira, ServiceNow), and enterprise cloud providers.Location & Presence:
Based in the Greater Toronto Area and able to commute onsite 3 days per week to the downtown Toronto office.
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