Production Readiness Manager / Service Manager

Production Readiness Manager / Service Manager

Philadelphia (Hybrid)

12 Months

Pay Rate : 60 - 70 / hr

NO C2C

Job Overview

The Production Readiness Manager is responsible for ensuring operational readiness across people, processes, and technology in support of new capability launches, enhancements, and continuous improvements. This role bridges business and IT functions to ensure seamless transitions into production environments, with a strong focus on supportability, maintainability, and value realization.

Key Responsibilities

Evaluate initiatives to determine release readiness requirements for Business, IT, and external stakeholders

Partner with Program Leads, Project Managers, Business Analysts, and Technical Leads to define or update operational models

Collaborate with Production Services and Software Maintenance teams to develop artifacts and job aids for monitoring and troubleshooting

Create support manuals outlining software flows, infrastructure components, team engagement protocols, and SLAs

Facilitate knowledge transfer and capability demonstrations to IT Production teams

Monitor post-release stability and performance, providing feedback for future improvements

Coordinate training and communication plans with business teams

Lead project gating processes and track deliverables for release readiness

Manage readiness activities using Agile SAFe tools (preferably JIRA)

Occasionally support weekend activities as needed

Must-Have Skills & Experience

7 8 years in release management or production readiness across AWS Cloud, On-premise, and SaaS environments

Proven problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities

Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including presenting to leadership

Ability to influence and negotiate across a matrixed organization

Experience with large integrated programs and process improvement

Self-directed, results-oriented, and deadline-driven

Comfortable working under pressure and navigating ambiguity

Deal Breakers

Lack of interpersonal experience across cross-functional teams

No demonstrated problem-solving capabilities

No project management background

Team & Culture

Collaborative, fast-paced environment within GBS IT

Emphasis on continuous improvement and operational excellence

Open to individuals who are enthusiastic advocates for change and innovation