diff --git a/.github/workflows/.release-created.yml b/.github/workflows/.release-created.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f46276
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/.release-created.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+
+name: Release Branch Created
+
+# Run whenever a ref is created https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/events-that-trigger-workflows#create
+on:
+  create
+
+jobs:
+  # First job in the workflow builds and verifies the software artifacts
+  bump:
+    name: Bump minor version on develop
+    # The type of runner that the job will run on
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    # Only run if ref created was a release branch
+    if:
+      ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/release/') }}
+    steps:
+      # Checks-out the develop branch
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          ref: 'refs/heads/develop'
+
+      - uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.10'
+
+      - name: Install Poetry
+        uses: abatilo/actions-poetry@v3
+        with:
+          poetry-version: 1.8.5
+
+      - name: Bump minor version
+        run: |
+          poetry version ${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/release/}
+          poetry version preminor
+          echo "software_version=$(poetry version | awk '{print $2}')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+      - name: Commit Version Bump
+        run: |
+          git config --global user.name 'podaac-hitide-backfill-lambdas bot'
+          git config --global user.email 'podaac-hitide-backfill-lambdas@noreply.github.com'
+          git commit -am "/version ${{ env.software_version }}"
+          git push
diff --git a/.github/workflows/build.yml b/.github/workflows/build.yml
index 31c62a6..d23d444 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build.yml
@@ -34,150 +34,60 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install Poetry
         uses: abatilo/actions-poetry@v3
         with:
-          poetry-version: 1.8.1
+          poetry-version: 1.8.5
+
 
       #########################################################################
-      # Versioning (featuring weird gradle output work-arounds)
+      # Versioning Summary
       #########################################################################
-      # NOTE: This step is platform-specific
-      # Retrieve version information for use in the other versioning steps
-      - name: Get version
-        id: get-version
-        run: |
-          echo "the_service=${{ github.event.repository.name }}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "the_env=$(printenv)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "${{ github.event.repository.name }}"
-          echo "pyproject_name=$(poetry version | awk '{print $1}')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          poetry version > .temp_version.out
-          cat .temp_version.out
-          the_version=$(cat .temp_version.out |grep -v Downloading |grep -v '%' |sed -e 's/hitide-backfill-lambdas *//')
-          rm .temp_version.out
-          echo "old_version=$the_version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "the_version=$the_version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "Initial Version: $the_version"
 
-      # Pre-Alpha Logic - Use the project version number and add the short hash
-      # to it
-      - name: Bump pre-alpha version
-        # If triggered by push to a feature branch
-        if: |
-          startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/issue') || 
-          startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/dependabot/') || 
-          startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/feature/')
-        # At pre-alpha, append git-commit to version, set it into gradle
-        # property, read the version out and set to build_service_version
+      - name: Version Management
+        id: versioning
         run: |
-          the_version=$(echo "${{ env.the_version }}" | sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-          the_version=$(echo "$the_version" | sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-          new_version="${the_version}+$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
-          echo "the_version=${new_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "software_version=${new_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          current_version=$(poetry version -s)
+          base_version=$(echo "$current_version" | grep -oE '^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+')
+          
+          # Version calculation based on branch
+          if [[ "${{ github.ref }}" =~ ^refs/heads/(issue|feature|dependabot)/ ]]; then
+            new_version="${base_version%%-*}+$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)"
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=SIT" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          elif [[ "${{ github.ref }}" == "refs/heads/develop" ]]; then
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=SIT" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            new_version=$(poetry version prerelease -s)
+          elif [[ "${{ github.ref }}" =~ ^refs/heads/release/ ]]; then
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=UAT" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            if [[ ${current_version} =~ rc ]]; then
+              new_version=$(poetry version prerelease -s)
+            else
+              new_version="${GITHUB_REF#refs/heads/release/}rc1"
+            fi
+          elif [[ "${{ github.ref }}" == "refs/heads/main" ]]; then
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=OPS" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            new_version=${base_version}
+          fi
+          
           echo "new_version=${new_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "Github REF: ${{ github.ref }}"
 
-      # Alpha Logic - Use the project version number and add -alpha.1 or bump
-      # alpha number
-      - name: Bump alpha version
-        env:
-          VERSION: ${{ env.the_version }}
-        # If triggered by push to the develop branch
-        if: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/develop' }}
+      - name: Override Environment for Deploy Command
+        if: contains(github.event.head_commit.message, '/deploy')
         run: |
-          if [[ ${VERSION} == *"-alpha"* ]]; then
-            alpha_number=$(echo "${VERSION}" | sed -e "s/^.*-alpha.//g")
-            alpha_number=$(echo "$alpha_number" | sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-            alpha_number=$((alpha_number+1))
-            the_version=$(echo "$the_version" | sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-            the_version=$(echo "$the_version" | sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-            the_version="${the_version}-alpha.$alpha_number"
-            echo "software_version=${the_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "the_version=${the_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          else
-            the_version="${{ env.the_version }}-alpha.1"
-            echo "software_version=${the_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "the_version=${the_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          message="${{ github.event.head_commit.message }}"
+          override_env=$(echo "$message" | grep -oE '/deploy (sit|uat)' | awk '{print $2}')
+          if [[ -n "$override_env" ]]; then
+            override_env_upper=$(echo "$override_env" | tr '[:lower:]' '[:upper:]')
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=${override_env_upper}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            echo "TARGET_ENV_LOWERCASE=${override_env}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+            echo "Overriding deployment target to: ${override_env_upper}"
           fi
-          echo "new_version=${the_version}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "venue=sit" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=SIT" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-      # Release Candidate Logic - Remove -alpha* and add -rc.1, or bump the rc
-      # number
-      - name: Bump rc version
-        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/release/') }}
-        env:
-          VERSION: ${{ env.the_version }}
-          COMMIT_VERSION: ${{ github.ref }}
+      - name: Set Lowercase Environment
         run: |
-          commit_version=$COMMIT_VERSION
-          commit_version=$(echo "${commit_version}" |sed -e "s/^.*\///g")
-          commit_version=$(echo "${commit_version}" |sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-          commit_version=$(echo "${commit_version}" |sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-          echo "COMMIT VERSION: $commit_version"
-          file_version=${VERSION}
-          file_version=$(echo "${file_version}" |sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-          file_version=$(echo "${file_version}" |sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-          echo "FILE VERSION: $file_version"
-          if [[ "$commit_version" != "$file_version" ]]; then
-            echo "Commit version and file version are different, using commit version"
-            VERSION=$commit_version
-          fi
-          if [[ ${VERSION} == *"-rc"* ]]; then
-            echo "Bumping up the release candidate number from ${VERSION}"
-            rc_number=$(echo "${VERSION}" | sed -e "s/^.*-rc.//g")
-            rc_number=$(echo "${rc_number}" | sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-            rc_number=$((rc_number+1))
-            the_version=$(echo "$the_version" | sed -e "s/-rc.*//g")
-            the_version=$(echo "$the_version" | sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-            VERSION="${the_version}-rc.${rc_number}"
-          else
-            echo "Initializing the first release candidate for ${VERSION}"
-            VERSION=$(echo "${VERSION}" |sed -e "s/-alpha.*//g")
-            VERSION="${VERSION}-rc.1"
-          fi
-          echo "software_version=${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "the_version=${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "new_version=${VERSION}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "venue=uat" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=UAT" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "TARGET_ENV_LOWERCASE=$(echo ${{ env.TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE }} | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
-
-      # Release Logic
-      - name: Release version
-        # If triggered by push to the main branch
-        if: ${{ startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/main') }}
-        env:
-          VERSION: ${{ env.the_version }}
-        # Remove -rc.* from end of version string
-        run: |
-          software_version=$(echo "${VERSION}" | sed -e s/-rc.*//g)
-          software_version=$(echo "${software_version}" | sed -e s/-alpha.*//g)
-          echo "software_version=$software_version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "new_version=$software_version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "the_version=$software_version" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "venue=ops" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-          echo "TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE=OPS" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
-
-      #########################################################################
-      # Versioning Summary
-      #########################################################################
-      - name: Versioning Summary
-        run: |
-          echo "the_service: ${{ env.the_service }}"
-          echo "old version : ${{ env.old_version }}"
-          echo "new version : ${{ env.new_version }}"
-          echo "the_env: ${{ env.the_env }}"
-          echo "software_version: ${{ env.software_version }}"
-          echo "GITHUB REF: ${{ github.ref }}"
-          echo "VENUE: ${{ env.venue }}"
-          echo "Target Env Uppercase: ${{ env.TARGET_ENV_UPPERCASE }}"
-
-      # NOTE: This step is platform-specific
       # Update the version number in the application package itself
       - name: Update version number in the application package
         run: |
-          poetry version ${{ env.the_version }}
+          poetry version ${{ env.new_version }}
 
       #########################################################################
       # Install & Test & Snyk
@@ -245,12 +155,12 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           git config user.name "${GITHUB_ACTOR}"
           git config user.email "${GITHUB_ACTOR}@users.noreply.github.com"
-          git commit -am "/version ${{ env.the_version }}"
+          git commit -am "/version ${{ env.new_version }}"
           git push
 
       - name: Push Tag
         env:
-          VERSION: ${{ env.the_version }}
+          VERSION: ${{ env.new_version }}
         if: |
           github.ref == 'refs/heads/develop' ||
           github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'    ||
@@ -280,7 +190,7 @@ jobs:
           ls -la 
           ls -la package
           cd package/; zip -r ../terraform/hitide-backfill-lambda.zip . -x '*.pyc'
-          cd ../; cd terraform; zip -r ../hitide-backfill-lambdas-${{ env.the_version }}.zip *
+          cd ../; cd terraform; zip -r ../hitide-backfill-lambdas-${{ env.new_version }}.zip *
 
       - name: Upload Release Artifacts
         if: |
@@ -292,9 +202,9 @@ jobs:
           github.event.head_commit.message == '/deploy sandbox'
         uses: ncipollo/release-action@v1.14.0
         with:
-          tag: ${{ env.the_version }}
+          tag: ${{ env.new_version }}
           artifacts: "*.zip"
           token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          body: "Version ${{ env.the_version }}"
+          body: "Version ${{ env.new_version }}"
           makeLatest: "${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}"
           prerelease: "${{ github.ref != 'refs/heads/main' }}"
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 86dc116..a187b20 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 - Poetry Update
+- Update versioning in github actions
 ### Deprecated
 ### Removed
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 82f6aa4..c354152 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tool.poetry]
 name = "hitide-backfill-lambdas"
-version = "0.5.0-alpha.2"
+version = "0.5.0a2"
 description = ""
 authors = ["podaac-tva <podaac-tva@jpl.nasa.gov>"]
 license = "Apache-2.0"