Release Manager - Kohler Ventures

Work Mode: Hybrid

Location: Hybrid, 3+ days/week onsite at New York City, NY (Midtown Manhattan) or Palo Alto, CA

Opportunity

Kohler Ventures is anindependent company wholly-owned by KohlerCo., a globalleader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products, tile and homeinteriors, and an international host to award-winning hospitality andworld-class golf destinations. Our mission is to build new digitalbusinesses that empower consumers to lead healthier lives. We explore howfamiliar experiences can be enhanced and innovations developed through theintegration of leading-edge technology, science, and design. Come join us as webuild a best-in-class global multi-disciplinary team across artificialintelligence, machine learning, design, advanced software and hardwareengineering, strategy, venture investments, sales, marketing, and partnerships.Our locations are Palo Alto, CA US, New York City, NY US, Kohler, WI US, Seoul,Korea, and Tel Aviv, Israel.

We are seeking a highlyorganized and technically adept Release Manager to lead andcoordinate the release lifecycle across software, firmware, hardware, and machinelearning. This role is critical in ensuring seamless integration and deliveryof complex, multi-disciplinary products that power our next-generationconnected solutions. You will work closely with engineering, product management,quality assurance, and operations teams to manage dependencies, mitigate risks,and deliver high-quality releases on time.

In your role as Release Manager at Kohler Ventures you will:

Release Planning & Coordination
a. Own the end-to-end release process across software, firmware, hardware, and ML pipelines.
b. Define and manage release schedules, milestones, and gates in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
c. Coordinate release readiness reviews, go/no-go decisions, and post-release retrospectives.
Cross-Disciplinary Integration
a. Ensure alignment between software, firmware, hardware, and algorithmic components.
b. Manage versioning, compatibility, and integration testing across disciplines.
c. Collaborate with MLOps teams to integrate model training, validation, and deployment into the release pipeline.
Process & Tooling
a. Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines and release automation tools.
b. Implement best practices for release governance, change control, and rollback strategies.
c. Drive continuous improvement in release processes and tooling.
Risk & Quality Management
a. Identify and mitigate release risks, including technical debt, resource constraints, and cross-team dependencies.
b. Ensure compliance with quality standards, regulatory requirements, and security protocols.
c. Partner with QA and validation teams to ensure robust testing coverage.
Communication & Documentation
a. Serve as the central point of contact for all release-related communications.
b. Maintain detailed release documentation, including release notes, deployment guides, and change logs.
c. Provide regular updates to stakeholders and leadership on release status and issues.

Skills/Requirements

RequiredQualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field from a reputable institution
3+ years of experience in release management or technical program management.
Experience managing releases across software, firmware, and hardware domains.
Strong understanding of CI/CD, version control (Git), and AWS DevOps practices.
Excellent organizational, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Experience with tools like Jira, Confluence, Jenkins, ArgoCG, and Github Actions.
Travel requirements: 10% both domestic and international as needed.
Availability to work outside of standard business hours as needed to be able to collaborate
with teams across multiple time zones.

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience in regulated industries (e.g., automotive, consumer electronics, medical devices).
Knowledge of embedded systems, edge computing, or real-time operating systems.
Familiarity with Agile, Scrum, and SAFe methodologies.
Familiarity with MLOps practices and tools (e.g., MLflow, Kubeflow, SageMaker).

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Why Choose Kohler?
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing, access to career growth and development opportunities, a diverse and inclusive workplace, and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30,000 bold leaders across the globe, we’re driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives.

About Us
It is Kohler’s policy to recruit, hire, and promote qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. If, as an individual with a disability, you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact kohlerjobs@kohler.com. Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.