Job Description & Details
This is a heavy-hitting architecture role focused entirely on complex, engineer-to-order manufacturing environments where standard out-of-the-box SAP setups simply fall apart. You'll be the person bridging the gap between product engineering and shop floor execution, making sure variant configuration and dynamic routing actually hold up under real-world pressure.
What You'll Actually Be Doing
Expect to spend your days knee-deep in Variant Configuration models, complex BOM structures, and defining how custom engineering translates into repeatable manufacturing processes. You'll be leading design workshops, mapping out the architecture for CTO and ETO workflows, and wrestling with cross-module integrations that connect your production planning directly to sales, materials, and quality management without breaking a sweat.
The Core Tech Stack
You need absolute mastery over SAP Production Planning and Variant Configuration, paired with a deep intuition for Bill of Materials, Routings, and Bill of Process design. Since this is an S/4HANA shop, familiarity with modern manufacturing solutions and PLM integrations is non-negotiable, as you'll be pulling design data straight from engineering platforms into the core ERP.
Interview Expectations
Be prepared for deep-dive scenario questions where the interviewer throws a notoriously tricky multi-level configurable BOM at you and asks how you would handle dynamic routing changes mid-production. The hiring manager is secretly testing whether you've actually built these systems from scratch or if you've just coasted on maintenance projects, so focus heavily on the architectural tradeoffs you've made in past implementations.
Application Advice
Your resume needs to scream CTO and ETO experience right at the top—don't bury your variant configuration projects under generic SAP PP buzzwords. Make sure to explicitly feature terms like Variant Configuration, S/4HANA Manufacturing, Bill of Process, and cross-functional integration with SD/MM to get past the automated screeners and grab the attention of the engineering leads.