What does a release engineer do?
Release engineers are skilled professionals who ensure that all hardware and software components are correctly working together through the use of their knowledge in coding and programming languages. To make sure that products are configured and implemented successfully, these engineers are required to work with production members, software engineers, and quality assurance (QA) professionals. They must assess the quality and risk of the new products as well as troubleshoot any issues pertaining to the software's performance. Release engineers must also organize a release schedule for a software product by using data analysis and production progress reports.
Release engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real release engineer resumes:
- Manage safety, quality control and oversight of plumbing and mechanical projects.
- Write scripts in perl and shell to automate the build process and packaging the product.
- Manage all the bugs and changes into a production environment using the JIRA issue tracking tool.
- Configure and manage SPLUNK for monitoring over existing platform.
- Develop Ansible Playbooks to simplify and automate day-to-day server administration tasks.
- Develop PowerCLI/PowerShell scripts to automate VMWare host and virtual machine inventory.
- Create automated PowerShell scripts for web app deployment in azure.
- Provide consulting services for curtain walls, re-cladding, masonry and various roofing systems.
- Perform all Linux operating system, disk management and patch management configurations, on Linux instances in AWS.
- Configure and administer Jenkins towards automating builds and provide continuous integration.
- Integrate Kubernetes with network, storage, and security to provide comprehensive infrastructure and orchestrate container across multiple hosts.
- Complete coursework in HVAC controls logic and technology.
- Create models, families and details for firm s library using REVIT.
- Develop BIM best practices and incorporate them into firm policy and procedures.
- Improve and enhance the software release, configuration, and SDLC management processes.
Release engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of Release Engineers are proficient in GIT, Python, and Jenkins. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Detail oriented, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Release Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- GIT, 7%
Performed all necessary day-to-day Subversion Git support for different projects.
- Python, 7%
Developed automation scripting in Python (core) and used Puppet to deploy and manage Java applications across RHEL Linux servers.
- Jenkins, 6%
Managed Jenkins security by authorizing access to jobs using matrix based strategy.
- Continuous Integration, 6%
Educated team about continuous integration and automated testing practices and supported them throughout development.
- Java, 5%
Demonstrated experience in automating deployment of Code in Java/J2ee Environments.
- Windows, 4%
Designed and developed MarketFirst installation software programs for Windows platform.
"git," "python," and "jenkins" are among the most common skills that release engineers use at work. You can find even more release engineer responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for a release engineer to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "developers are the creative minds behind new computer software." Additionally, a release engineer resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "experience in creating inventory, job templates and scheduling jobs using ansible tower experience in writing python modules for ansible customizations. "
Detail oriented. Many release engineer duties rely on detail oriented. "developers often work on many parts of an application or system at the same time and must therefore be able to concentrate and pay attention to detail.," so a release engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways release engineer responsibilities rely on detail oriented: "developed qa test modules using proprietary object oriented languages. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of release engineers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday release engineer duties, as "software developers must be able to work well with others who contribute to designing, developing, and programming successful software." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "required: project management skills and interpersonal skills along with overall engineering understanding. "
Analytical skills. A big part of what release engineers do relies on "analytical skills." You can see how essential it is to release engineer responsibilities because "developers must analyze users’ needs and then design software to meet those needs." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical release engineer tasks: "used heap analyzer, thread analyzer to analyze the java core dumps and heap dumps respectively. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in release engineer job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what release engineers do. Release engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "developers must be able to give clear instructions to others working on a project." You can also see how release engineer duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "created new release process and automation to improve the consistency and communications part of the release process. "
Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to release engineer responsibilities. Much of what a release engineer does relies on this skill, seeing as "because developers are in charge of software from beginning to end, they must be able to solve problems that arise throughout the design process." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of release engineers: "created the architecture and developed the customer support web site for ge network solutions using jsp, java beans and xml. "
The three companies that hire the most release engineers are:
- Oracle44 release engineers jobs
- S&P Global43 release engineers jobs
- Tata Group14 release engineers jobs
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Compare different release engineers
Release engineer vs. Senior software development engineer
A senior software development engineer specializes in leading the efforts in designing and developing software and information systems, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically revolve around installing and repairing existing computer systems, conducting regular maintenance checks, troubleshooting, testing new designs, and performing research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of operations, improving them to achieve optimal performance. Furthermore, as a senior software development engineer, it is essential to monitor and encourage the team, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a release engineer are more likely to require skills like "continuous integration," "aws," "source code," and "release management." On the other hand, a job as a senior software development engineer requires skills like "software development," "web services," "api," and "scrum." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Senior software development engineers tend to make the most money working in the automotive industry, where they earn an average salary of $134,736. In contrast, release engineers make the biggest average salary, $109,075, in the technology industry.senior software development engineers tend to reach higher levels of education than release engineers. In fact, senior software development engineers are 9.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Release engineer vs. Software engineer-consultant
A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, release engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "continuous integration," "windows," "aws," and "release management." Meanwhile, a software engineer-consultant has duties that require skills in areas such as "architecture," "software development," "scrum," and "api." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Software engineers-consultant may earn a higher salary than release engineers, but software engineers-consultant earn the most pay in the insurance industry with an average salary of $118,185. On the other hand, release engineers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $109,075.software engineers-consultant earn higher levels of education than release engineers in general. They're 6.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Release engineer vs. Contract software engineer
A software development engineer is responsible for designing and developing software systems and applications based on clients' specifications and business needs. Software development engineers manage operating systems and analyze network codes to maintain the compatibility of the software applications and control systems. They also run diagnostic tests for every software structure to ensure smooth navigations and perform immediate troubleshooting for inconsistencies. A software development engineer must have a strong command of programming languages, as well as technological processes and analytical skills.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a release engineer is likely to be skilled in "continuous integration," "windows," "aws," and "source code," while a typical contract software engineer is skilled in "software development," "javascript," "http," and "api."
Contract software engineers typically earn similar educational levels compared to release engineers. Specifically, they're 4.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Release engineer vs. Software development engineer
Types of release engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
