Senior Director, SAP Technical Lead
Merck, Rahway, NJ, United States
Senior Director, SAP Technical Lead – Merck
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Position Details
Seniority level: Director
Employment type: Full-time
Job function: Information Technology
Industry: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Overview The SAP Technical Lead is responsible for end-to-end technical leadership across our company's Human Health SAP global landscape, including SAP application development, Basis administration, Cloud Ops and SAP security. This role ensures system stability, performance, scalability, and compliance, while driving engineering best practices, automation, AI aligned with business objectives and priorities. The ideal candidate combines deep SAP technical expertise with strong leadership, stakeholder management, and a pragmatic approach to governance.
What Will You Do
Own the technical roadmap for SAP, aligning with enterprise architecture, business strategy, and release plans.
Define and enforce technical standards, development guidelines, and DevOps practices across our company's SAP technology stack.
Establish governance for transport management, code review and quality, security controls, and technical change management.
Partner with Enterprise Architecture and Security to ensure adherence to architectural principles, Cyber guidelines and regulatory requirements (GxP, SOX, etc.) and audit readiness.
Drive innovation, new technology, and modern ways of working such as Agile.
Define technical roadmap prioritizing AI and latest technology.
Execute roadmap to modernize solutions and applications.
SAP Development Oversight
Lead ABAP and SAP development teams (including Fiori, BTP, Mobile applications).
Ensure best practices for technical designs, standards and performance.
Drive code quality through standards, peer reviews, AI tools, static analysis, unit testing, and pipelines.
Oversee custom enhancements, interfaces, conversions, reports; minimize technical debt.
Guide modernization: Fiori enablement, S/4HANA simplification, clean core, extensibility via BTP.
Basis Administration Leadership
Ensure reliable operations: installation, configuration, upgrades, SPS/FPs, HANA upgrades, patching.
Oversee performance, capacity, HA/DR, backup, monitoring (Cloud ALM).
Manage landscapes on-premise, cloud, RISE, SaaS, hybrid.
Optimize HANA performance, housekeeping, job scheduling.
Ensure OSS notes implementation and vendor coordination.
Lead best-in-class technical operations with SAP and RISE ops.
SAP Security Management Oversight
Ensure SAP security architecture: role design, authorization concepts, SoD.
Oversee GRC Access Control, emergency access, periodic reviews.
Implement security baselines, logging, threat detection.
Remediate audit findings, vulnerability management, regulatory compliance.
Operations, Reliability, and DevOps
Establish CI/CD for SAP with internal toolsets, automated testing, transport orchestration.
Implement observability: metrics, logs, traces; define SLAs.
Drive incident, problem, change management, root cause analysis, post-incident reviews.
Plan releases, environment refreshes; manage downtime windows.
Program and Stakeholder Management
Collaborate with SAP functional leads and ops to prioritize backlog.
Provide technical estimates, risk assessments, resource planning; manage vendor partners.
Communicate complex topics in business terms; present status, risks, mitigation to leadership.
Team Leadership and Development
Build and mentor high-performing SAP technical team.
Define roles, career paths; foster culture of innovation, AI-first, accountability.
Standardize documentation, runbooks, knowledge sharing.
Build internal capabilities in Tech Hubs.
What You Should Have
Extensive experience in SAP and S4 HANA.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related.
Master’s degree preferred.
15+ years progressive SAP technical experience with leadership.
Experience with core ERP, MDG, ATTP, GTS, GRC, BTP, GBT, SLT, Solution Manager, Cloud ALM, integrations and connectors with SaaS SAP applications.
Deep hands-on expertise in ABAP, Fiori/UI5, BTP, ATC, performance tuning.
Experience in SAP Basis administration, HANA DB, transport, performance, HA/DR, Solution Manager, Cloud ALM.
Experience in SAP Security: authorization design, GRC, SoD, audit, HANA security.
S/4HANA transformations, major upgrades, cutover and data migration coordination.
Experience with SAP RISE.
Familiarity with AWS, networking, security fundamentals for SAP.
Strong understanding ITIL processes and change management.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management and documentation skills.
Experience in life sciences / pharmaceutical industry.
Required Skills
Asset Management, Benefits Management, Consulting, Leadership, Management System Development, Product Management, Requirements Management, Role Design, SAP Basis Administration, SAP Development, SAP HANA Administration, SAP Management, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Security Administration, SAP Systems, Security Controls, Stakeholder Communications, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Planning, System Designs, Team Management, Technical Leadership.
Preferred Skills
Current Employees apply HERE.
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE.
EEO Statement As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit: EEOC Know Your Rights, EEOC GINA Supplement. Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts.
Benefits and Compensation Salary range: $187,000.00 - $294,400.00. Eligible for bonus and long-term incentives. Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, retirement 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, compassionate and sick days.
Application You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline is stated on this posting.
Location and Work Arrangement US And Puerto Rico Residents Only. U.S. Hybrid Work Model: Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will work a hybrid schedule: three days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, Friday remote unless business critical tasks require on-site. Hybrid model does not apply to remote roles or positions requiring daily in-person attendance.
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Position Details
Seniority level: Director
Employment type: Full-time
Job function: Information Technology
Industry: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
Overview The SAP Technical Lead is responsible for end-to-end technical leadership across our company's Human Health SAP global landscape, including SAP application development, Basis administration, Cloud Ops and SAP security. This role ensures system stability, performance, scalability, and compliance, while driving engineering best practices, automation, AI aligned with business objectives and priorities. The ideal candidate combines deep SAP technical expertise with strong leadership, stakeholder management, and a pragmatic approach to governance.
What Will You Do
Own the technical roadmap for SAP, aligning with enterprise architecture, business strategy, and release plans.
Define and enforce technical standards, development guidelines, and DevOps practices across our company's SAP technology stack.
Establish governance for transport management, code review and quality, security controls, and technical change management.
Partner with Enterprise Architecture and Security to ensure adherence to architectural principles, Cyber guidelines and regulatory requirements (GxP, SOX, etc.) and audit readiness.
Drive innovation, new technology, and modern ways of working such as Agile.
Define technical roadmap prioritizing AI and latest technology.
Execute roadmap to modernize solutions and applications.
SAP Development Oversight
Lead ABAP and SAP development teams (including Fiori, BTP, Mobile applications).
Ensure best practices for technical designs, standards and performance.
Drive code quality through standards, peer reviews, AI tools, static analysis, unit testing, and pipelines.
Oversee custom enhancements, interfaces, conversions, reports; minimize technical debt.
Guide modernization: Fiori enablement, S/4HANA simplification, clean core, extensibility via BTP.
Basis Administration Leadership
Ensure reliable operations: installation, configuration, upgrades, SPS/FPs, HANA upgrades, patching.
Oversee performance, capacity, HA/DR, backup, monitoring (Cloud ALM).
Manage landscapes on-premise, cloud, RISE, SaaS, hybrid.
Optimize HANA performance, housekeeping, job scheduling.
Ensure OSS notes implementation and vendor coordination.
Lead best-in-class technical operations with SAP and RISE ops.
SAP Security Management Oversight
Ensure SAP security architecture: role design, authorization concepts, SoD.
Oversee GRC Access Control, emergency access, periodic reviews.
Implement security baselines, logging, threat detection.
Remediate audit findings, vulnerability management, regulatory compliance.
Operations, Reliability, and DevOps
Establish CI/CD for SAP with internal toolsets, automated testing, transport orchestration.
Implement observability: metrics, logs, traces; define SLAs.
Drive incident, problem, change management, root cause analysis, post-incident reviews.
Plan releases, environment refreshes; manage downtime windows.
Program and Stakeholder Management
Collaborate with SAP functional leads and ops to prioritize backlog.
Provide technical estimates, risk assessments, resource planning; manage vendor partners.
Communicate complex topics in business terms; present status, risks, mitigation to leadership.
Team Leadership and Development
Build and mentor high-performing SAP technical team.
Define roles, career paths; foster culture of innovation, AI-first, accountability.
Standardize documentation, runbooks, knowledge sharing.
Build internal capabilities in Tech Hubs.
What You Should Have
Extensive experience in SAP and S4 HANA.
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related.
Master’s degree preferred.
15+ years progressive SAP technical experience with leadership.
Experience with core ERP, MDG, ATTP, GTS, GRC, BTP, GBT, SLT, Solution Manager, Cloud ALM, integrations and connectors with SaaS SAP applications.
Deep hands-on expertise in ABAP, Fiori/UI5, BTP, ATC, performance tuning.
Experience in SAP Basis administration, HANA DB, transport, performance, HA/DR, Solution Manager, Cloud ALM.
Experience in SAP Security: authorization design, GRC, SoD, audit, HANA security.
S/4HANA transformations, major upgrades, cutover and data migration coordination.
Experience with SAP RISE.
Familiarity with AWS, networking, security fundamentals for SAP.
Strong understanding ITIL processes and change management.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management and documentation skills.
Experience in life sciences / pharmaceutical industry.
Required Skills
Asset Management, Benefits Management, Consulting, Leadership, Management System Development, Product Management, Requirements Management, Role Design, SAP Basis Administration, SAP Development, SAP HANA Administration, SAP Management, SAP S/4HANA, SAP Security Administration, SAP Systems, Security Controls, Stakeholder Communications, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Strategic Leadership, Strategic Planning, System Designs, Team Management, Technical Leadership.
Preferred Skills
Current Employees apply HERE.
Current Contingent Workers apply HERE.
EEO Statement As an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, we provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. As a federal contractor, we comply with all affirmative action requirements for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. For more information about personal rights under the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment laws, visit: EEOC Know Your Rights, EEOC GINA Supplement. Learn more about your rights, including under California, Colorado and other US State Acts.
Benefits and Compensation Salary range: $187,000.00 - $294,400.00. Eligible for bonus and long-term incentives. Comprehensive benefits: medical, dental, vision, retirement 401(k), paid holidays, vacation, compassionate and sick days.
Application You can apply for this role through https://jobs.merck.com/us/en (or via the Workday Jobs Hub if you are a current employee). The application deadline is stated on this posting.
Location and Work Arrangement US And Puerto Rico Residents Only. U.S. Hybrid Work Model: Effective September 5, 2023, employees in office-based positions in the U.S. will work a hybrid schedule: three days on-site per week, Monday - Thursday, Friday remote unless business critical tasks require on-site. Hybrid model does not apply to remote roles or positions requiring daily in-person attendance.
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