SAP S/4HANA Release Manager

Our client is seeking an experienced SAP S/4HANA Release Manager to support a major enterprise-wide S/4HANA implementation. This is a hands-on release management role responsible for coordinating transport movement, release governance, and deployment activities across both project and support landscapes.

You will work directly with the Release Management Lead in a highly collaborative Agile environment, partnering with BASIS, technical development teams, functional teams, and business stakeholders to ensure smooth and successful releases throughout the SAP landscape. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in SAP ChaRM, transport management, retrofit processes, and dual-landscape SAP environments., * Manage and coordinate SAP transport movement activities through SAP Solution Manager ChaRM.

• Support release execution across both implementation (N+1) and production support landscapes.

• Coordinate transport sequencing, deployment scheduling, approvals, and release governance activities.

• Support Agile Program Increment (PI) releases and deployment activities throughout the implementation lifecycle.

• Execute and manage SAP retrofit activities between parallel landscapes.

• Monitor transport logs and troubleshoot release-related issues.

• Collaborate with BASIS, ABAP, technical, functional, and business teams to ensure successful deployments.

• Maintain release calendars and coordinate change movement windows across environments.

• Participate in release readiness reviews, deployment planning, and cutover activities.

• Communicate risks, dependencies, deployment status, and release outcomes to stakeholders., This position offers an opportunity to play a key role in one of client’s strategic SAP S/4HANA transformation initiatives. You will work directly alongside the Release Management Lead while helping govern enterprise-wide release activities, transport movements, and deployment coordination across complex SAP landscapes. This is a highly visible role with significant influence on the success of the overall implementation program, * Some weekend/after-hours support may be needed during heavier deployment periods (estimated roughly once every three months), planned within a standard 40-hour workweek.
• Interview process is expected to be one video interview, with a second round only if necessary.
• Work authorization: open (per intake discussion).

• 5+ years of SAP Release Management, SAP Change Management, or SAP Transport Management experience.

• Hands-on experience with SAP Solution Manager ChaRM.

• Strong understanding of SAP Transport Management System (TMS).

• Experience supporting SAP implementation projects, preferably SAP S/4HANA programs.

• Experience working within Agile delivery methodologies and Program Increment (PI) release cycles.

• Deep understanding of dual-landscape SAP environments.

• Proven experience managing SAP retrofit processes.

• Experience reviewing transport logs and coordinating issue resolution.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills. __________________

Preferred Skills

• SAP S/4HANA implementation experience.

• Experience supporting multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs).

• SAFe Agile experience or certification.

• Jira and Agile planning tools experience.

• SAP cutover planning and release governance expertise.

• Experience supporting project and support release streams simultaneously., * Has worked directly on large-scale SAP implementation programs rather than solely post-production support.

• Brings extensive experience with dual landscapes and retrofit activities.

• Understands Agile delivery methodologies and PI-based release schedules.

• Can independently manage transport movement and release coordination activities.

• Works effectively with technical, functional, BASIS, and business teams.

• Thrives in a fast-paced implementation environment with frequent release activity., * 7+ years of SAP release management experience, including at least 2 full-cycle SAP S/4HANA program deployments.
• Experience managing end-to-end SAP S/4HANA release cycles across both project (N+1) and support landscapes.
• Strong understanding of SAP landscape strategy, including parallel/dual landscapes.
• Hands-on expertise with:
• SAP Solution Manager (ChaRM)
• SAP TMS
• Transport path governance, transport sequencing, and deployment window coordination
• Ability to maintain a unified release calendar and coordinate deployments across multiple teams/workstreams.
• Cutover planning experience, including planning/validation of code freezes, dual-track deployments, and go/no-go readiness.
• Experience leading release readiness reviews, defect triage, and rollback planning.
• Proficiency with JIRA and other ITSM/ALM tools used for release tracking and reporting.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills to drive status updates, escalations, and leadership visibility.
• Must-have: Experience with retrofit processes in a dual landscape SAP setup.

Nice to Have Skills

• SAFe certification (e.g., RTE, SAFe Agilist) or experience coordinating Agile Release Trains.
• Exposure to SAP BTP, cloud-based integrations, and middleware release planning.
• Experience managing support releases alongside active project code cycles in a large-scale SAP program.

Preferred Education and Experience

• 7+ years of relevant SAP release management experience (as noted above).
• Demonstrated experience supporting large-scale SAP implementations and enterprise release governance.

• 12-month contract engagement.

• Potential conversion opportunity with target salary of approximately $125,000.

• Occasional weekend support during major Program Increment deployments (approximately once per quarter).

• Open to W2 and H1B candidates.