IT SAP Basis & Operations Lead

The Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) Basis & Operations Lead is the primary technical owner of the SAP landscape, responsible for system stability, performance, security, compliance, and lifecycle management across on-premise and cloud environments. This role combines hands-on SAP Basis expertise with leadership responsibilities and is a key contributor to the organization’s current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Central Component (ECC) on High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA), future S/4HANA migration, and cloud transformation efforts.

The Lead oversees SAP Basis and Operations administrators, provides technical direction, resolves complex issues, and partners closely with cybersecurity, infrastructure, enterprise architecture, application teams, and business stakeholders.

Core Responsibilities

1. Team Leadership & Operational Oversight * Lead and develop the SAP Basis, Security, and Operations administration team. * Establish priorities, assign work, and ensure timely delivery of operations and project tasks. * Serve as senior technical escalation for critical issues, outages, and root cause analysis. * Promote operational excellence, accountability, documentation quality, and continuous improvement. * Demonstrate ability to operate as both a hands-on expert and a strategic technical leader.

2. SAP Platform Administration * Own system health, availability, performance, and reliability across all SAP environments (Development (DEV), Quality Assurance (QA), Test, Disaster Recovery (DR), Production). * Lead current SAP ECC on HANA and non-SAP installations, upgrades, system refreshes, lifecycle management, and future S/4HANA migration activities. * Troubleshoot complex issues across SAP applications, HANA, Operating System (OS), databases, interfaces, and authentication services. * Maintain technical documentation, operational standards, and platform governance.

3. Architecture, Strategy & Technology Roadmap * Contribute to long-term SAP platform strategy, S/4HANA migration planning, and cloud modernization. * Provide technical oversight for architecture decisions, integrations, infrastructure design, and cloud connectivity (including National Security Services (NS2) if applicable). * Evaluate and recommend emerging technologies and best practices to enhance reliability, scalability, and supportability.

4. Security, Compliance & Audit * Partner with Cybersecurity on platform hardening, privileged access controls, Separation of Duties (SoD), and security governance. * Support audits through documentation, evidence collection, control validation, and remediation planning. * Lead security monitoring, vulnerability management, patch governance, and emergency access processes.

5. Enterprise Integration & Cross-Team Coordination * Maintain reliability of critical interfaces and integrations across SAP, cloud services, middleware, and enterprise systems. * Coordinate and perform technical activities during upgrades, major releases, maintenance events, and incidents. * Support hybrid ecosystems including SAP, cloud apps, Learning Management System (LMS) platforms, and reporting solutions., This is a high-impact role shaping the future of our SAP landscape. The SAP Basis & Security Lead will drive S/4HANA transformation, cloud modernization, cybersecurity maturity, operational excellence, and long-term SAP platform strategy while working with a skilled cross-functional team.

Technical Expertise

• Deep knowledge of SAP architecture, Hands-on Basis administration, HANA performance tuning, monitoring, Disaster Recovery (DR), and lifecycle management.
• Experience supporting complex hybrid SAP landscapes (Error-Correcting Code (ECC), HANA, NetWeaver, S/4HANA, Business Technology Platform (BTP)).
• Ability to diagnose issues spanning infrastructure, security, integrations, and enterprise applications.

Leadership & Problem Solving

• Experience leading technical resources and reviewing technical deliverables.
• Strong incident and problem-management capabilities.
• Ability to translate complex issues into actionable recommendations.

Architecture & Integration

• Understanding of S/4HANA transformation, cloud SAP environments, transport governance, and integration frameworks.
• Familiarity with middleware, cloud connectivity, and cross-platform troubleshooting.

Operational Excellence

• Strong grounding in Information Technology Service Management (ITSM), change management, and process governance.
• Commitment to documentation quality, reliability, and service delivery in mission-critical environments.

Communication & Collaboration

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills., * Bachelor’s degree in engineering/science/information technology discipline: Minimum 4 years of relevant experience. Typical engineering/science/information technology experience ranging from 6 to 10 years.
• OR Master’s degree in engineering/science/information technology discipline: Minimum 2 years of relevant experience.
• OR applicants without a bachelor’s degree may be considered based on a combination of at least 12 years of completed education and/or relevant experience., * 8+ years SAP Basis experience, including HANA administration.
• Expertise in performance tuning, kernel/patch management, and transport management.
• Hands-on S/4HANA experience or involvement in migration programs.
• Strong understanding of SAP Security (roles, provisioning, SoD, audit controls).
• Experience with system integrations, Incident resolution, and cloud-hosted SAP environments (NS2 preferred).
• Proven ability to lead technical troubleshooting and cross-functional collaboration.
• SAP HANA certification.
• Experience with NS2 or Federal Risk & Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)-aligned environments.
• Experience in regulated industries (Department of Energy, Department of Defense (DoD), utilities, manufacturing, etc.).
• Scripting/automation familiarity.
• SAP Security exposure (roles, authorizations, audit support).
• Cybersecurity and risk management familiarity.

Pulled from the full job description

• Tuition reimbursement
• Health insurance

At Pantex, you won’t just find a job-you’ll discover a career of purpose safeguarding national security through work performed nowhere else on Earth. We empower dedicated, innovative individuals like you to achieve their greatest impact surrounded by exceptional talent and limitless opportunities for professional growth. When you #JointheMission, you choose a lifetime career where your commitment is genuinely valued and rewarded. At Pantex, we believe that extraordinary talent thrives when supported by a balanced life. Discover the flexibility that empowers you to excel, coupled with a benefits package designed for your total peace of mind from comprehensive health coverage and robust retirement planning, to opportunities for continuous learning through education reimbursement.

Notes

The minimum education and experience for the lowest career level in the job posting range are listed under Minimum Job Requirements. Successful candidates hired into a higher career level than the minimum in the range must meet the requirements listed in the job leveling charts for the career level into which they are being hired.

If a range of Career Levels is posted, i.e., Senior Associate to Senior Specialist, internal applicants already in one of the Career Levels would come across at their current Career Level. Internal applicants currently in a lower level Career Level would move to the lowest posted Career Level.

Requires a Q clearance; however all qualified candidates will be considered regardless of their current clearance status. The ability to obtain and maintain a Department of Energy Q clearance is required.

Position may require entry into Materials Access Areas (MAA) and participation in the Human Reliability Program (HRP). If HRP is required, candidate must complete a counterintelligence-scope polygraph, pursuant to 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 709. Medical requirements may apply.