SAP S/4HANA Solution Architect

SAP S/4HANA Solution Architect — Manufacturing (Finance, Controllership & Costing Focus)

Sankar Group | Chennai, India | Full-Time | 10+ Years Experience | Reports to Director

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced SAP S/4HANA Solution Architect to lead the design and delivery of SAP solutions for a manufacturing enterprise, with deep strength in Finance, Controllership and Costing. The role owns the end-to-end solution architecture translating business requirements into a robust, scalable and integrated S/4HANA design across finance and manufacturing value chains.

The Solution Architect acts as the critical bridge between internal business stakeholders and the SAP implementation partner ensuring the delivered solution is aligned to business objectives, follows SAP best practices, and is technically sound. The role combines strong functional finance acumen, hands-on SAP system understanding, and the communication skills to drive consensus across diverse stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Solution Architecture & Design

• Own the end-to-end S/4HANA solution architecture across Finance (FI), Controlling (CO) and integration with manufacturing, supply chain and procurement processes
• Translate business requirements into a coherent target architecture, process design and SAP best-practice configuration, balancing standardisation with genuine business needs
• Define and govern the costing model- product costing, material ledger, cost centre / profit centre accounting, overhead allocation and profitability analysis (CO-PA)
• Make and document key design decisions, evaluate fit-gap, and recommend standard SAP vs. custom (RICEFW) approaches with clear rationale

Stakeholder Bridge & Partner Governance

• Serve as the primary bridge between business stakeholders (Finance, Controllership, Manufacturing, Supply Chain) and the SAP implementation partner
• Translate business language into functional/technical specifications for the partner, and translate SAP design back into business impact for leadership
• Review and challenge the implementation partner's design, configuration and deliverables to ensure quality, completeness and alignment to scope
• Drive design workshops, resolve cross-module conflicts, and secure stakeholder sign-off on blueprints and key decisions

Delivery & Quality

• Provide architectural oversight across all phases — discovery, blueprint, build, test, cutover, go-live and hypercare
• Ensure data migration, integration, security and reporting designs support finance and costing requirements (month-end close, statutory and management reporting)
• Identify and resolve solution issues, risks and dependencies; provide structured options and clear recommendations to steering committees
• Embed controls, governance and audit-readiness (GRC / SOX-aligned) within the finance solution design

Required Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years in SAP, with a substantial portion in solution architecture / lead consultant roles
• Minimum 3 full end-to-end SAP / S/4HANA implementations, with at least one as Solution Architect or finance lead
• Demonstrable delivery experience within manufacturing companies (discrete and/or process)
• Strong understanding of Finance, Controllership and Costing functions — not just configuration, but the underlying business and accounting logic
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Commerce, Accounting or related field; CA / CMA / CPA / MBA (Finance) strongly preferred
• SAP S/4HANA (Finance / Management Accounting) certification preferred

Technical & Functional Expertise

Finance, Controllership & Costing (Core)

• S/4HANA Finance (FI): General Ledger, AP/AR, Asset Accounting, Banking, statutory and group reporting
• Controlling (CO): Cost Centre Accounting, Internal Orders, Profit Centre Accounting, CO-PA
• Product Costing & Material Ledger: standard/actual costing, overhead and activity-based costing, variance analysis, WIP and settlement
• Controllership processes: month-end/year-end close, intercompany, consolidation, budgeting and management reporting
• Strong grasp of finance–manufacturing integration: production orders, BOM/routing, valuation, COGS and inventory accounting

SAP Platform & Architecture

• Solid understanding of the SAP S/4HANA system, architecture and Fiori user experience
• Cross-module integration awareness with MM, PP, SD, PM and supply chain processes
• Familiarity with SAP Activate methodology, data migration, interfaces/APIs, and reporting/analytics

Behavioural & Interpersonal Skills

• Excellent problem-solving and analytical ability and able to break down complex, ambiguous problems and drive to practical solutions
• Strong communication and presentation skills, comfortable engaging both finance/business leaders and technical SAP teams
• Ability to influence without authority, manage conflict, and keep design decisions aligned to business value
• Self-driven, structured and outcome-oriented, with strong ownership of the solution

What Success Looks Like

Within the first 3–6 months, you will have established a clear, business-aligned finance and costing solution design; built a trusted working relationship between business stakeholders and the implementation partner; and ensured delivered SAP releases meet quality, control and reporting expectations — with finance month-end close, costing accuracy and management reporting fully supported by the S/4HANA solution.