We are seeking a Principal SAP ABAP & BTP Architect (Lead Engineer) to serve as the technical anchor for our global SAP modernization initiatives. With over 15 years of deep technical expertise, you will act as a "player-coach," balancing strategic engineering leadership with active, high-impact hands-on implementation. In this role, you will define the technical vision, establish engineering standards, and champion the "Keep the Core Clean" philosophy. Rather than being buried in routine ticket delivery, your hands-on contributions will focus on configuring complex BTP environments, designing core integration frameworks, and writing foundational code for critical business logic. You will bridge the gap between high-level enterprise architecture and practical, cloud-first execution. Key Responsibilities Technical Leadership & Governance (50%) • Architectural Strategy: Define, govern, and execute the technical strategy for SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), steering the transition from legacy customizations to modern cloud-first extensions. • Standards & Quality Control: Establish rigorous coding, performance, security, and scalability standards across the development lifecycle. Conduct architectural and code reviews for complex solutions. • Team Upskilling & Mentorship: Lead, guide, and upskill a team of mid-to-senior SAP developers, mentoring traditional ABAP engineers on modern cloud frameworks and BTP practices. • Collaborative Liaison: Partner closely with functional consultants, business analysts, and corporate enterprise architects to translate complex business needs into clean technical blueprints. Hands-on Configuration & Core Engineering (50%) • Core Engineering: Write foundational, high-impact code using advanced frameworks, including ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model (RAP) and Cloud Application Programming Model (CAP). • BTP Platform Configuration: Directly configure and manage BTP subaccounts, destinations, security environments (IAS/IPS), and runtime environments (Cloud Foundry/Kyma). • Integration Design: Build and configure critical end-to-end integration flows within the SAP Integration Suite (CPI), establishing template patterns for third-party cloud connections. • Proof of Concepts (PoC): Actively develop technical prototypes and proof-of-concept models to evaluate new SAP technologies and validate design feasibility before full team rollout. Required Qualifications & Technical Skills • Experience: 15+ years of progressive technical experience in SAP development, architecture, and technical team leadership. • Modern ABAP Mastery: Proven expertise in Object-Oriented ABAP, CDS Views, AMDP, and experience designing within RAP or CAP programming models. • BTP Deployment & Configuration: Strong, demonstrable experience configuring SAP BTP services, cloud connectors, and deploying enterprise-grade extensions. • Integration Frameworks: Practical experience configuring interfaces via SAP CPI, API Management, and event-driven architectures. • Modern Engineering Practices: Familiarity with DevOps principles, Git-based version control (abapGit), and continuous integration/deployment (CI/CD) pipelines in an SAP context. • Education: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical field. Soft Skills & Leadership Attributes • Technical Influencer: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate architectural decisions to non-technical business partners and leadership teams. • Pragmatic Architect: A problem-solver who enjoys staying close to the technology and can dive into the code or platform settings to resolve complex bottlenecks when needed. • Change Catalyst: A passion for fostering modern engineering cultures, driving continuous technical improvement, and encouraging team collaboration.