Manager, Release Management and QA

Reporting to the Director, Service Management, the successful candidate will provide technical and team leadership for the testing, quality assurance, release management, and production operations of Lightspeed business and technical applications and platforms.

The candidate will be responsible for monitoring and ensuring high software quality standards throughout the systems development lifecycle and for supporting the operation of Telesat's Lightspeed production and test environments. Working closely with the Platform Engineering, Development, and IT PMO teams, the candidate will help plan, coordinate, and execute testing and production release activities while ensuring alignment with project schedules and operational requirements.

The successful candidate will develop and maintain performance metrics, analyze results and trends, and present findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders to support informed decision-making and continuous improvement.

Candidates must reside in the Ottawa area or be willing to relocate. Relocation assistance will be provided to qualified candidates.

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide leadership, mentorship, performance management, and career development for the Test Engineering team, fostering a culture of quality, accountability, continuous improvement, and technical excellence.
Manage team capacity, workload balancing, and skill development to optimize testing efficiency and delivery outcomes.
Partner with the IT PMO to develop and maintain integrated testing and production release schedules.
Collaborate with project managers, developers, and business stakeholders to ensure testing requirements are defined, planned, and executed.
Own and maintain the Lightspeed production release calendar.
Define, implement, and continuously improve the Release Management strategy, processes, and governance framework.
Ensure all releases comply with Telesat's Change Management policies, procedures, and controls.
Plan and coordinate production deployments, release execution, change activities, and stakeholder communications.
Identify, assess, and mitigate risks that could impact release scope, schedule, quality, or system stability.
Lead Go-Live and post-release activities to ensure successful deployments and operational readiness.
Partner with development and Platform Engineering teams to enhance release automation, deployment pipelines, and testing capabilities.
Develop, maintain, and govern release, testing, and operational documentation, including procedures, dependencies, and communication plans.
Define and maintain the overall test strategy, methodologies, standards, and processes for Lightspeed applications and platforms.
Design, implement, and oversee functional, integration, performance, load, resilience, and operational testing activities.
Develop and maintain automated testing frameworks, scripts, and tools to improve quality, efficiency, and coverage.
Collaborate with Platform Engineering teams to ensure testing environments, infrastructure, and tools meet operational and quality requirements.
Establish and monitor key quality metrics, including test coverage, defect density, defect trends, release quality, and testing progress.
Develop dashboards, reporting, and trend analysis to provide visibility into testing effectiveness and release performance.
Lead the prioritization and coordination of testing activities across multiple projects and release streams.
Champion quality engineering, testing best practices, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
Present testing, quality, and release status, metrics, risks, and recommendations to project teams, leadership, and other stakeholders.
The successful candidate is expected to demonstrate flexibility and commitment to meeting business objectives, including participation in after-hours testing, deployments, and operational support activities when necessary.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

Bachelor’s degree in computer science or related field
Experience with telecommunications Lead-to-Cash processes, including quote-to-order, order-to-activate, and order-to-bill workflows.
Experience testing and validating integrations between CPQ, CRM, Order Management, Billing, and Service Provisioning platforms.
Experience supporting enterprise BSS transformations involving Salesforce, Netcracker, or similar telecommunications platforms.
Proven experience in managing and leading teams
Experience developing/using load testing tools and services
Strong knowledge of testing methodologies, tools, and processes
Experience in Agile and DevOps methodologies
Proven experience and in-depth knowledge of Cloud-based infrastructure and testing environments
Proven experience in scripting (e.g. Python, Javascript, Powershell)
In-depth experience in Linux-based server environments
Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
Ability to manage multiple demands with time related constraints in a fast-paced environment
Prioritize and schedule work as necessary to maintain department standards and service level agreements
Ability to speak effectively before groups of internal employees, communicate technical information, create, and deliver presentations and information sessions to both technical and nontechnical personnel
Ability to create and maintain documentation and training materials, for technical staff and end-user audiences.
Capable of organizing projects effectively to achieve the desired results.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Ability to attain required clearances.

DECISION MAKING & SUPERVISION

Work under minimal supervision.
Make decisions and recommendations requiring analysis and interpretation within established procedures.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Generally comfortable working conditions with lifting and onsite installations.
Moderate visual concentration in use of video display terminal.
After-hours testing, deployments, and operational support activities when necessary