Director, Release Management & Technical Programs

WEKA is architecting a new approach to the enterprise data stack built for the age of reasoning. NeuralMesh by WEKA sets the standard for agentic AI data infrastructure with a cloud and AI-native software solution that can be deployed anywhere. It transforms legacy data silos into data pipelines that dramatically increase GPU utilization and make AI model training and inference, machine learning, and other compute-intensive workloads run faster, work more efficiently, and consume less energy. WEKA is a pre-IPO, growth-stage company on a hyper-growth trajectory. We’ve raised $375M in capital with dozens of world-class venture capital and strategic investors. We help the world’s largest and most innovative enterprises and research organizations, including 12 of the Fortune 50, achieve discoveries, insights, and business outcomes faster and more sustainably. We’re passionate about solving our customers’ most complex data challenges to accelerate intelligent innovation and business value. If you share our passion, we invite you to join us on this exciting journey. What You’ll Be Doing WEKA is looking for a highly technical Director of Release Management & Technical Programs to lead our release management organization and drive the end-to-end execution of complex software releases. You will lead a team of Senior Release Managers and work closely with Engineering and Product leadership to bring structure, predictability, and strong execution to our release processes. This role requires a strong software engineering background, deep understanding of SDLC, and the ability to challenge technical teams, manage cross-functional dependencies, and drive commitments in a fast-paced environment. Responsibilities - Lead and develop a team of Senior Release Managers. - Own the end-to-end release lifecycle, including scope, planning, quality gates, readiness, and delivery. - Drive complex technical programs across Engineering and Product. - Define and improve release governance, processes, and SDLC methodologies. - Partner with Engineering and Product to decide what is included in each release and what should be deferred. - Drive realistic commitments, timelines, milestones, and dependency management. - Identify risks and bottlenecks early and ensure timely resolution. - Challenge Engineering teams on estimates, readiness, dependencies, and execution plans. - Provide clear visibility into release status, risks, and key decisions. - Improve release tooling, automation, metrics, and processes. - Lead through influence across multiple teams and stakeholders. Requirements - Significant experience in Release Management, Technical Program Management, Engineering Program Management, or similar roles. - Proven experience managing senior technical professionals and leading complex, multi-team software releases. - Strong previous background in software development or engineering. - Deep understanding of SDLC, CI/CD, version control, testing, release readiness, and deployment processes. - Hands-on familiarity with GitHub and modern engineering workflows. - Strong stakeholder management and ability to influence senior Engineering and Product leaders. - Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic, fast-changing environment. Advantage - Experience with distributed systems, storage, cloud, infrastructure, or networking. The WEKA Way We are Accountable: We take full ownership, always—even when things don’t go as planned. We lead with integrity, show up with responsibility & ownership, and hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards. We are Brave: We question the status quo, push boundaries, and take smart risks when needed. We welcome challenges and embrace debates as opportunities for growth, turning courage into fuel for innovation. We are Collaborative: True collaboration isn’t only about working together. It’s about lifting one another up to succeed collectively. We are team-oriented and communicate with empathy and respect, challenge each other constructively, and remain transparent about our goals and results. We are Customer Centric: Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We actively listen and prioritize our customers' success. Every decision we make is driven by how we can better serve, support, and empower them to succeed. Concerned that you don’t meet every qualification above? Studies have shown that women and people of color may be less likely to apply for jobs if they don’t meet every qualification specified. At WEKA, we are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. If you are excited about this position but are concerned that your past work experience doesn’t match up perfectly with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway—you may be just the right candidate for this or other roles at WEKA. WEKA is an equal opportunity employer that prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind. We provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.