Release Manager

Lighthouse Games is a new AAA studio in Leamington Spa. We are defined by our pedigree of talent and serious ambition to build a new best-in-class game. When you join us at Lighthouse, you will be able to create the best work of your career in an environment that feels truly collaborative. You will learn from the best and work alongside the future greats of the gaming industry. 

As a Release Manager, you will play a pivotal role within the QA department, taking ownership of the end-to-end release process across all target platforms. You will coordinate build cadence, milestone readiness, platform certification submissions and go-live logistics, working closely with the QA Lead on test coverage, exit criteria and release-gate decisions. This is a high-visibility, cross-functional role that requires close collaboration with Production, Engineering, Build Engineering, Art, Design, Audio and QA.

Requirements

• Coordinate build packaging, patch scheduling, and hotfix deployment processes.

• Maintain the branching and build-promotion strategy in partnership with Build Engineering.

• Own the build release schedule, ensuring builds are packaged, promoted and distributed in line with agreed milestones and release timelines.

• Coordinate build handovers between Engineering, Build Engineering, QA and Production, ensuring all teams have clear visibility.

• Ensure release builds meet agreed readiness criteria before promotion to QA, certification or production environments.

• Track build stability and identify potential risks or blockers.

• Manage build versioning and ensure consistent naming, labelling and tracking across platforms and environments.

• Coordinate patch and hotfix timelines, ensuring appropriate testing, approvals and deployment windows are agreed with relevant teams.

• Work closely with Build Engineering to identify and resolve build pipeline, packaging or deployment issues that could impact delivery.

• Communicate build status, deployment timelines, blockers and changes to relevant stakeholders in a clear and timely manner.

Desirable Experience 

• Previous experience working as a Release Manager.
• Experience managing complex releases across multiple platforms.
• Familiarity with platform certification processes and requirements.
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycles, build pipelines, branching strategies and deployment processes.
• Experience working closely with Build Engineering, DevOps or technical teams to manage build promotion and release pipelines.
• Knowledge of QA methodologies, test coverage, release criteria and quality gates.
• Experience using source control and build management systems in a production environment.
• Experience working within Agile development environments and coordinating multiple teams against fixed milestones.
• Experience producing release dashboards, status reports, risk registers and executive-level reporting.
• Strong understanding of release risk management, including technical, content, certification and schedule risks.
• Experience working with external stakeholders, platform holders or third-party partners.
• A strong understanding of game development workflows and the relationship between Production, Engineering, Art, Design, Audio and QA.

Benefits

• 25 Days Holiday, plus 1 day for your birthday
• Studio Shutdown between Christmas and New Year
• Discretionary Bonus Scheme
• Private Pension Scheme
• Private Healthcare
• Health and Well-Being Benefits
• Dental Care
• Optical Treatments
• Mental Health Support
• Hybrid Working Model