Release Engineer

About the team

As a Zillow Group platform, ShowingTime operates as an independent, open platform for existing and new clients — many of whom already use other industry offerings from Zillow Group. Launched in 1999, ShowingTime is the market leader in the scheduling, automation and management of residential property showings across the US and Canada. Each month, we automate over 4,000,000 showings and partner with nearly 1 million real estate agents who rely on our platform. This provides both convenience to the home buyer and an unprecedented level of visibility to the seller.

The Release Engineer is responsible for the planning and coordination of all phases and activities involved in the release of a system update into a service environment. The role facilitates release meetings and develops the release recommendation and release deployment plan based on input from multiple stakeholders within various engineering teams.

The Release Engineer confirms the release deployment plan is followed and that all release deliverables are completed inline with the release dates and deadlines. This includes release notes, approvals, communications, contact lists and pre and post-release verification activities.

About the role

• Facilitates release planning meetings with key stakeholders to identify proper sequencing of release packages. Ensures that issues and risks are identified, understood, and dealt with in a manner that mitigates risk to scope and schedule.

• Defines and documents the release documentation for each release and/or change to the systems. This includes release scope, schedule, deliverables, and roll back plan. Reviews release documentation with key stakeholders.

• Oversees release decisions and processes in terms of the big picture/cross-departmental impacts.

• Maintains release management schedule for all systems.

• Documents and communicates all changes for a release in release notes.

• Attends change management and deployment planning meetings to collect data and information pertaining to the release.

Release Management

• Pursues IT and Project compliance with release acceptance criteria.

• Provides outage information and fills out service level agreement blackout requests.

• Coordinates and schedules key change to production activities. This includes the tracking of all elements with team leads as the project moves through testing regions into production. Accommodates a flexible schedule as most releases occur outside of regular business hours.

• Supports release execution by monitoring each phase of the release. Validates the release as it progresses through various release gates and test phases, alerts appropriate stakeholders of any errors or issues that need to be addressed.

• Provides release coordination and communication during and after deployment.

• Facilitates emergency releases from production incident identification to incident closure after release.

Release Standards and Processes

• Identifies opportunities to make tactical improvements to the release management process.

• Maintains documentation of all processes.

• Creates release management standards to be followed.

• Works closely with the Change Management team to stay current on all change, configuration and internal controls standards and processes.

• Understand and utilize best practices in ITIL Release and Change Management, including source code control systems (BitBucket/Git/etc.)

This role has been categorized as a Remote position. “Remote” employees do not have a permanent corporate office workplace and, instead, work from a physical location of their choice which must be identified to the Company. Employees may live in any of the 50 US States, with limited exceptions. In certain cases, an employee in a remote-designated job may need to live in a specific region or time zone to support customers or clients as part of their role.

In California, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, New York City and Washington the standard base pay range for this role is $104,000.00 - $166,100.00 Annually. This base pay range is specific to California, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, New York City and Washington and may not be applicable to other locations.

In addition to a competitive base salary this position is also eligible for equity awards based on factors such as experience, performance and location. Actual amounts will vary depending on experience, performance and location.

Who you are

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years in an IT/Software Engineering/Release

• Minimum of 3 years experience creating builds and executing releases with build management, continuous integration, and automation tools such as Jenkins, TeamCity, or Ansible Tower

• Minimum 3 years software development / scripting experience using .NET, Powershell, Java, Python or similar tools.

• Familiarity with web technologies such as Javascript, Angular, Ionic, etc.

• Familiarity with SQL and database technologies such as Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL

• Proven experience organizing and facilitating release implementation and review meetings

• Attention to detail for ensuring quality release and practices within the team

• Understanding of Software development methodologies.

• Experience coordinating large releases and changes including developing project plans to manage them to completion.

• Excellent written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.

• Ability to conduct research into systems issues and products as required.

• Ability to communicate ideas in both technical and user-friendly language.

• Highly self-motivated and directed, with keen attention to detail.

• Proven analytical and creative problem-solving abilities.

• Ability to work in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

Formal Education:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or related technical degree and 5 years of related experience, or equivalent.

Get to know us

Zillow is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people.

As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates help movers find and win their home through digital solutions, first class partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences. Millions of people visit Zillow Group sites every month to start their home search, and now they can rely on Zillow to help make it easier to move. The work we do helps people get home and no matter what job you're in, you will play a critical role in making home a reality for more and more people.

Our efforts to streamline the real estate transaction are supported by a deep-rooted culture of innovation, our passion to redefine the employee experience, a fundamental commitment to Equity and Belonging, and world-class benefits. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability coverages as well as parental leave, family benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off. We’re also setting the standard for work experiences of the future, where our employees are supported in doing their best work and living a flexible, well-balanced life. But don’t just take our word for it. Read recent reviews on Glassdoor and recent recognition from multiple organizations, including: the 100 Best Companies to Work For, Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Corporate Equity Index, and TIME 100 Most Influential Companies list.

Zillow Group is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please contact us at RecruitingAccessibility@zillowgroup.com.

Applicants who receive job offers from Zillow Group will be asked to sign a Proprietary Rights Agreement which includes confidentiality, intellectual property assignment, customer and employee non-solicitation, and non-competition provisions. If you are contacted for a role at Zillow Group and wish to review a copy of the Proprietary Rights Agreement prior to receiving an offer, you may request a copy from your Recruiter.