Chief data architect - delivery

We help the world run better
At SAP, we keep it simple: you bring your best to us, and we'll bring out the best in you. We're builders touching over 20 industries and 80% of global commerce, and we need your unique talents to help shape what's next. The work is challenging – but it matters. You'll find a place where you can be yourself, prioritize your wellbeing, and truly belong. What's in it for you? Constant learning, skill growth, great benefits, and a team that wants you to grow and succeed.

What You'll Do:

The Chief Data Architect is a senior technology leader responsible for defining and governing the customer’s end-to-end data architecture. You will position SAP BDC as the enterprise data foundation while aligning it with modern industry platforms such as Databricks, Snowflake, and hyperscaler services to enable scalable analytics and AI use cases.

As the primary architecture advisor to SAPs top Enterprise Customers, you will shape their data strategy and vision, create architecture roadmaps, and guide decisions that reduce technical debt and drive long-term value. You will establish architectural guardrails, oversee governance, and ensure solutions align with business objectives and transformation priorities.

You will provide architecture leadership across the delivery lifecycle—solution design, implementation, and operational readiness—while supporting critical escalations and communicating risks and recommendations to C-level stakeholders.

This role requires strong collaboration with Account Executives, SAP product teams, hyperscaler experts, and partners to ensure cohesive solution delivery. Through thought leadership and value-based guidance, you will accelerate adoption of SAP BDC as a modern data platform, enabling high-quality analytics, AI innovation, and measurable business outcomes.

What You Bring:

• 
  Senior strategic mindset with proven ability to influence C-level stakeholders and align technical roadmaps to business value.

• Deep understanding of the following Data & Analytics Platforms: Databricks, Snowflake, BigQuery, Azure/AWS/GCP analytics stacks, Kafka/Event streaming, Lakehouse patterns, Palantir and OpenSource technologies, including the Apache ecosystem

• Solid SAP platform understanding (BDC, Datasphere, SAC, BW/4HANA, SAP Business Suite, HANA Cloud) and experience of SAP with external data platforms integrated architecture.

• Strong governance, security, and compliance orientation (data lineage, MDM, GDPR/CCPA considerations).

• Exceptional communication, storytelling, and presentation skills for executive forums and customer engagements.

• Comfort operating in ambiguous environments and managing architectural trade-offs and technical debt.

• Have a good understanding of the commercial and pricing aspect of SAP BDC and other SAP services in the data and analytics space.

EXPECTATIONS AND TASKS

1. Enterprise Data Strategy & Architecture Leadership

• Define the customer’s end-to-end data architecture vision, positioning SAP BDC as the enterprise data foundation.

• Create and communicate data architecture roadmaps aligned to business priorities, cloud strategy, and AI ambitions.

• Guide decisions on architecture trade-offs, modernization paths, and reduction of technical debt.

• Ensure solution integrity across SAP, hyperscaler, and non-SAP data platforms such as Databricks and Snowflake.

2. Data Governance, Standards & Architectural Guardrails

• Establish and enforce architectural guardrails, ensuring consistency, compliance, and long-term sustainability.

• Lead data governance frameworks, ensuring data quality, lineage, lifecycle management, and security are embedded.

• Drive adherence to clean-core principles and best practices for extensibility and integration.

• Define quality gates, architecture reviews, and approval processes across delivery teams.

3. Solution Design, Delivery Oversight & Critical Guidance

• Own the definition of customer-specific data solution architectures for analytics and AI use cases.

• Validate designs, guide project teams, and support delivery decisions across implementation phases.

• Support critical project escalations, ensuring timely analysis, risk resolution, and stakeholder alignment.

• Coordinate with SAP colleagues, partners, and hyperscaler architects to ensure cohesive delivery.

4. Executive Advisory, Communication & Stakeholder Alignment

• Act as the trusted data and analytics advisor to customer C-level and steering committees.

• Present architectural recommendations, risks, and strategic insights to executive audiences.

• Provide clear storytelling and narrative that connects data architecture to business value realization.

• Foster strong relationships across business, IT, and SAP leadership teams.

5. Innovation Realization & Platform Adoption

• Promote adoption of SAP BDC as the strategic data foundation.

• Enable modernization of analytics platforms, BI landscapes, and AI/ML architectures.

• Identify opportunities to leverage AI, automation, and advanced consumption patterns to deliver measurable business value.

• Contribute thought leadership, reusable architecture assets, and best practices across SAP and customer teams.

6. Business Value Assessment and TCO Realization

• Evaluate and articulate the business value of proposed solutions by analyzing customer pain points, desired outcomes, and measurable impact. Translate technical capabilities into clear business benefits for both internal and external stakeholders.

• In close collaboration with the account teams, conduct comprehensive TCO assessments to compare different data environments. Identify cost drivers, quantify savings opportunities, and present data-driven insights that support investment decisions.

7. AI-Driven Transformation & Innovation Acceleration

• Understand the customer’s AI strategy, priorities, and existing capabilities, identifying maturity level, strategic opportunities, and potential adoption barriers.

• Map SAP’s AI and data portfolio (including BDC, Datasphere, AI Foundation, Joule, and BTP orchestration services) to customer needs, ensuring alignment with business and technical goals.

• Identify integration opportunities with partner and hyperscaler ecosystems (Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, Azure, GCP) to create a unified, interoperable AI landscape.

• Drive co-creation of AI use cases that deliver tangible business outcomes, leveraging trusted enterprise data through SAP BDC as the unified data layer.

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, Information Systems, or Business Administration (or equivalent experience).

WORK EXPERIENCE

• 
  15–20+ years in data architecture, enterprise architecture, or analytics leadership roles; demonstrable track record leading large transformations.

• Proven experience in designing modern data platforms and delivering analytics/AI programs at scale

• Prior roles engaging with C-suite and steering committees; experience in pre-sales/advisory and enterprise adoption & consumption.

• Deep expertise with data Lakehouse implementations.

Bring out your best
SAP innovations help more than four hundred thousand customers worldwide work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively. Originally known for leadership in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, SAP has evolved to become a market leader in end-to-end business application software and related services for database, analytics, intelligent technologies, and experience management. As a cloud company with two hundred million users and more than one hundred thousand employees worldwide, we are purpose-driven and future-focused, with a highly collaborative team ethic and commitment to personal development. Whether connecting global industries, people, or platforms, we help ensure every challenge gets the solution it deserves. At SAP, you can bring out your best.



We win with inclusion
SAP’s culture of inclusion, focus on health and well-being, and flexible working models help ensure that everyone – regardless of background – feels included and can run at their best. At SAP, we believe we are made stronger by the unique capabilities and qualities that each person brings to our company, and we invest in our employees to inspire confidence and help everyone realize their full potential. We ultimately believe in unleashing all talent and creating a better world.


SAP is committed to the values of Equal Employment Opportunity and provides accessibility accommodations to applicants with physical and/or mental disabilities. If you are interested in applying for employment with SAP and are in need of accommodation or special assistance to navigate our website or to complete your application, please send an e-mail with your request to Recruiting Operations Team: [email protected].


For SAP employees: Only permanent roles are eligible for the SAP Employee Referral Program, according to the eligibility rules set in the SAP Referral Policy. Specific conditions may apply for roles in Vocational Training.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, et al), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, protected veteran status, or disability.

Compensation Range Transparency : SAP believes the value of pay transparency contributes towards an honest and supportive culture and is a significant step toward demonstrating SAP’s commitment to pay equity. SAP provides the annualized compensation range inclusive of base salary and variable incentive target for the career level applicable to the posted role. The targeted combined range for this position is $243,300 - $571,700 USD. The actual amount to be offered to the successful candidate will be within that range, dependent upon the key aspects of each case which may include education, skills, experience, scope of the role, location, etc. as determined through the selection process. Any SAP variable incentive includes a targeted dollar amount and any actual payout amount is dependent on company and personal performance. Please reference this link for a summary of SAP benefits and eligibility requirements: SAP North America Benefits.

AI Usage in the Recruitment Process

For information on the responsible use of AI in our recruitment process, please refer to our Guidelines for Ethical Usage of AI in the Recruiting Process.

Please note that any violation of these guidelines may result in disqualification from the hiring process.


Requisition ID: 443011 | Work Area: Consulting and Professional Services | Expected Travel: 0 - 30% | Career Status: Executive | Employment Type: Regular Full Time | Additional Locations: #LI-Hybrid