IT Principal, SAP Architect

Alkermes; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits package

Opportunity to work on SAP S/4HANA

Go-live and hypercare support

Job summary

Alkermes, Inc. in Boston, MA, seeks a Principal SAP S/4HANA Solution Architect to lead end-to-end architecture across the S/4HANA programme and shape the road map for ongoing evolution as go-live approaches.

You will govern SAP processes, data, integration, and security, promote Clean Core adherence, and drive design decisions with senior stakeholders. The role emphasizes collaboration across IT and delivery teams and strong architectural leadership.

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of technology experience, preferably in Life Sciences or regulated environments.
• Extensive experience as an SAP Solution Architect on S/4HANA programmes.
• End-to-end S/4HANA implementation experience near go-live, including hyper-care.
• Strong understanding of core SAP processes (FI/CO, MM, SD, PP) and cross-functional integration.
• Hands-on with SAP BTP and SAP Integration Suite/CPI in complex landscapes.
• Experience defining non-functional requirements and operational readiness for production.

Responsibilities

• Own and govern the end-to-end solution architecture for the S/4HANA programme, ensuring alignment across business processes, data, applications, integration, and security.
• Lead architecture governance and design authority forums; drive decisions, manage exceptions, and resolve cross-stream design gaps, risks, and technical debt.
• Validate end-to-end solution readiness ahead of go-live, including non-functional requirements and operational handover into hypercare.
• Partner with programme leadership, functional leads, and delivery teams for cutover planning, environment strategy, data migration validation, and integration sequencing.
• Engage senior stakeholders and provide architectural leadership across delivery phases; escalate complex issues as needed.
• Ensure adherence to SAP Clean Core principles and the agreed extensibility strategy; protect the core while enabling continuous improvement.
• Define and govern BTP-based extensions and integration approaches (SAP Integration Suite/CPI, APIs, event-driven patterns).
• Oversee integration readiness (build quality, testing, monitoring/alerting, runbooks), production-ready interfaces.
• Support rapid issue resolution during go-live and early life support, coordinating across SAP and non-SAP platforms.
• Define and transition to a sustainable target architecture and a roadmap for post go-live optimisation.

Skills

Solution architecture

SAP S/4HANA

Stakeholder management

Integration patterns

Go-live readiness

Architectural governance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in computer science

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

SAP BTP

SAP Integration Suite/CPI

TOGAF

Job description

We are seeking a Principal SAP S/4HANA Solution Architect to provide end-to-end architecture leadership and long-term ownership of the S/4HANA solution landscape. While the programme is approaching go‑live in July, the primary focus of this role is to define and govern the target architecture, ensure architectural integrity across all workstreams, and shape the roadmap for ongoing evolution, optimisation, and innovation.

The Solution Architect will provide governance and design assurance across the SAP landscape (process, data, integration, security, and operations), supporting delivery through go‑live and establishing a sustainable foundation for steady‑state operations. This includes adherence to SAP Clean Core principles and enterprise standards, clear design decision-making, and a forward‑looking architecture roadmap, with SAP BTP and SAP Integration Suite/CPI as key enabling components for integration and extensibility.

Responsibilities

• Own and govern the end-to-end solution architecture for the S/4HANA programme, ensuring alignment across business processes, data, applications, integration, and security.
• Lead architecture governance and design authority forums; drive decisions, manage exceptions, and resolve cross-stream design gaps, risks, and technical debt.
• Validate end-to-end solution readiness ahead of go-live, including non-functional requirements (performance, resilience, monitoring, supportability) and operational handover into hypercare.
• Partner with programme leadership, functional leads, and delivery teams to support cutover planning, environment strategy, data migration validation, and integration sequencing.
• Engage senior stakeholders and provide architectural leadership across delivery phases; act as escalation point for complex, cross-functional technical issues.
• Ensure adherence to SAP Clean Core principles and the agreed extensibility strategy; protect the core while enabling continuous improvement.
• Define and govern BTP‑based extensions and integration approaches (SAP Integration Suite/CPI, APIs, event-driven patterns), ensuring secure, scalable, and supportable designs.
• Oversee integration readiness (build quality, testing, monitoring/alerting, runbooks), ensuring all interfaces are production-ready and operable.
• Support rapid issue resolution during go-live and early life support, including integration failures, performance issues, and data inconsistencies, coordinating across SAP and non‑SAP platforms.
• Define and transition to a sustainable target architecture and support model, including principles, standards, and a roadmap for post go‑live optimisation and innovation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information management, mathematics, statistics, biostatistics, business, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 8–12 years of technology experience, preferably in Life Sciences or within a regulated environment.
• Extensive experience as an SAP Solution Architect on S/4HANA programmes, owning end-to‑end solution architecture and design governance.
• Proven experience in at least one end-to‑end S/4HANA implementation approaching or at go‑live, including hyper‑care/early life support.
• Strong understanding of core SAP processes and cross‑functional integration (e.g., FI/CO, MM, SD, PP) and how they operate end to end.
• Solid understanding of integration patterns (APIs, messaging, event‑driven), identity and access, and cloud/security considerations across SAP and non‑SAP platforms.
• Hands‑on experience with SAP BTP and SAP Integration Suite/CPI (design, monitoring, troubleshooting) in complex integration landscapes.
• Experience defining non‑functional requirements and operational readiness (monitoring/alerting, logging, runbooks, support model) for production environments.
• Strong understanding of cut‑over planning, data migration validation, environment management, and release strategy.
• Experience working with SAP Activate (or comparable delivery methodology) and collaborating effectively across SI and internal teams.
• Strong stakeholder management, communication, and decision‑making skills; able to balance speed of delivery with architectural integrity in time‑critical environments.

Desired Skills

• SAP certifications in S/4HANA, BTP, or Integration.
• Experience with RISE with SAP or S/4HANA Cloud.
• Knowledge of enterprise architecture frameworks (e.g., TOGAF).

Soft Skills

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving abilities.
• Proven leadership in complex, multi‑stream delivery environments.
• Delivery‑focused with strong attention to detail.

The annual base salary for this position ranges from $175,000 to $197,000. In addition, this position is eligible for an annual performance pay bonus. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, training, knowledge, and experience. Alkermes offers a competitive benefits package.

Alkermes, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any qualified applicant or employee because of race, creed, color, age, national origin, ancestry, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression and identity, disability, genetic information, veteran status, military status, application for military service or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law. Alkermes also complies with all work authorization and employment eligibility verification requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act and IRCA. Alkermes is an E‑Verify employer.