Technical Executive Director, SAP Basis & Platform Operations

The Technical Executive Director, SAP Basis & Platform Operations, is responsible for ensuring the stability, security, and performance of the current global SAP environment.

This role leads the SAP Basis organization with accountability for 24x7 operations, platform lifecycle management, and technical architecture, with a strong focus on evolving the landscape toward S/4HANA, RISE, and cloud-first delivery models.

This role will drive the transformation from traditional SAP Basis operations to a modern platform engineering capability, enabling scalability, automation, and improved service delivery. While maintaining operational excellence across ECC and integrated NetWeaver platforms, this role will accelerate the adoption of cloud-based services, hybrid architectures, SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) capabilities.

Partnering with Enterprise Architecture, SAP functional/engineering leadership, and infrastructure teams, this position will define and execute a multi-year transformation roadmap, aligning SAP platform capabilities with long-term business strategy. Success in this role requires the ability to lead through change, operate within shared responsibility models (RISE), and balance current-state reliability with future-state innovation.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

SAP Platform Strategy & Transformation

• Help define and execute the SAP platform strategy, aligning to S/4HANA, RISE, and cloud-first architecture principles
• Develop and maintain a multi-year transformation roadmap, including S/4HANA readiness and adoption planning
• Partner with enterprise architecture and SAP leadership to drive innovation and future-state platform capabilities

Global SAP Basis Operations Leadership

• Lead the global SAP Basis organization, ensuring reliable 24x7 production support across all SAP environments
• Own service delivery performance, including SLAs, incident management, problem resolution, and change control
• Drive evolution from traditional Basis operations to a platform engineering and service-oriented model

Key Roles & Responsibilities (Continued)

Platform Lifecycle & Technical Engineering

• Oversee SAP platform lifecycle activities, including upgrades, patching, migrations, and transformation initiatives
• Lead technical execution of modernization efforts, including HANA optimization and S/4 readiness activities
• Ensure optimal performance, capacity planning, and system tuning across SAP landscapes

RISE, Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure Management

• Lead SAP platform operations across RISE, cloud (Azure), and on-premise environments
• Define and manage operating models within shared responsibility frameworks with SAP
• Drive infrastructure optimization, including cost management, scalability, and performance

Key Roles & Responsibilities (Continued)

Future-State Enablement (S/4HANA, RISE, BTP)

• Establish foundational capabilities required for S/4HANA transformation and cloud adoption
• Enable adoption of SAP BTP services, integration capabilities, and platform extensibility
• Lead transition to modern tools such as SAP BDC, Cloud ALM and advanced monitoring frameworks

Vendor & Partner Management

• Manage strategic relationships with SAP, cloud providers, and third-party service partners
• Govern service delivery across a multi-vendor ecosystem, ensuring accountability and performance
• Coordinate effectively within SAP-managed and hybrid cloud service models

Key Roles & Responsibilities (Continued)

Risk, Security & Compliance

• Ensure SAP platform compliance with security standards, audit requirements, and regulatory expectations
• Oversee vulnerability management, patching strategies, and risk mitigation efforts
• Ensure readiness for disaster recovery and business continuity scenarios

Leadership & Talent Development

• Mentor and develop talent aligned to modern SAP and cloud capabilities

• 12+ years of experience in SAP Basis, platform engineering, or SAP technical operations within large-scale, global environments
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing SAP Basis teams and/or managed service providers
• Proven track record of leading SAP platform transformation initiatives, including modernization and cloud adoption
• Experience operating in complex, highly integrated SAP landscapes, preferably supporting a single global instance or similarly scaled environment

Core SAP Technical Expertise

• Deep expertise in SAP Basis administration across ECC and NetWeaver-based platforms, including BW, PI/PO, Portal, and Solution Manager
• Strong experience with SAP HANA databases, including performance tuning, system optimization, and migration support
• Demonstrated experience leading or supporting major SAP lifecycle events (upgrades, migrations, system refreshes, Unicode/HANA conversions, etc.)
• Strong understanding of transport management, system architecture, and cross-system integration dependencies

Qualifications (Continued)

Cloud, Hybrid & Emerging SAP Capabilities

• Hands-on experience supporting SAP workloads in cloud environments (Azure preferred), including infrastructure design, networking, and performance optimization
• Experience with or direct involvement in S/4HANA environments and migration planning/execution
• Strong familiarity with SAP RISE (Private or Public Cloud) operating models, including shared responsibility and SAP-managed services
• Working knowledge of hybrid SAP landscapes, including connectivity (VPN, ExpressRoute), identity integration, and cloud-to-on-premise integration patterns
• Experience with SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), including integration, extensibility, or data services strongly preferred

Architecture & Strategic Capability

• Ability to define and evolve target-state SAP platform architecture aligned to cloud-first and S/4HANA strategies
• Experience partnering with Enterprise Architecture to define multi-year roadmaps and transformation strategies
• Strong understanding of infrastructure design, capacity planning, and system scalability across hybrid and cloud environments

Qualifications (Continued)

Operational Excellence & Governance

• Deep understanding of ITIL-based service management processes (Incident, Problem, Change Management)
• Proven experience modernizing operations through automation, standardization, and service optimization
• Experience implementing or supporting modern monitoring, observability, and performance management frameworks
• Strong focus on automation and operational efficiency within SAP platform management

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Experience managing and governing third-party service providers and SAP support relationships
• Ability to operate effectively in a multi-vendor, globally distributed delivery model, including SAP-managed cloud services
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage technical teams, business stakeholders, and executive leadership

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
• SAP certifications (Basis, NetWeaver, HANA, or S/4HANA) preferred
• Cloud certifications (Azure and/or SAP BTP) strongly preferred