SAP Project Manager

This is a full-time assignment supporting the program across the Explore, Realize, and Deploy phases, including validation workshops, integration testing, cutover, and hypercare.

The Project Manager will report to the Program Sponsor and Steering Committee, lead workstream leads, and collaborate with business SMEs, IT teams, and global SAP governance teams.

Duration: 12 Months

Location: Remote

Work Authorization: U.S. Citizens Only

Travel Requirement: Requires 2-3 weeks of onsite travel to Japan per quarter

Top 4 Skills Required

1. Full-Lifecycle SAP S/4HANA Program Delivery

Experience leading multi-workstream, multi-plant manufacturing SAP implementations from Explore through Realize, Deploy, cutover, and hypercare.

2. Scope Discipline & Governance

Strong experience enforcing standard-first and clean-core delivery, managing enhancement governance, preventing unnecessary customization, and maintaining scope discipline.

3. Japan & Global Stakeholder Leadership

Experience managing executive and steering committee governance across business stakeholders, IT organizations, global teams, time zones, and cultures.

4. Manufacturing Transformation & Adoption

Experience supporting shop-floor transformation, MES integration and cutover, plant-wave rollouts, costing parallel runs, and organizational change initiatives transitioning operations away from paper and spreadsheet-based processes.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced SAP Project Manager to lead the end-to-end delivery of a large-scale SAP S/4HANA manufacturing transformation across multiple plants and business divisions.

The program spans multiple workstreams, including:

• Production Planning & Detailed Scheduling

• Manufacturing Execution

• Quality Management

• Finished-Goods Actual Costing

The technology landscape includes:

• SAP S/4HANA

• SAP Digital Manufacturing

• SAP Business Data Cloud

• SAP Analytics Cloud

• SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP)

The transformation will transition manufacturing operations from paper-based processes, Excel spreadsheets, and legacy tools to standardized, real-time, traceable SAP processes.

A major focus of this role will be maintaining scope discipline, standard-first delivery, clean-core governance, and preventing unnecessary customization.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the integrated program plan, budget, resource planning, critical path, and dependencies across multiple workstreams and platforms.

• Lead program activities across Explore, Realize, Deploy, plant-wave rollout, cutover, and hypercare.

• Enforce formal scope governance and ensure custom development is appropriately evaluated and approved.

• Promote standard SAP functionality and clean-core principles.

• Manage the WRICEF backlog, including requirements, prioritization, sizing, governance, and scope validation.

• Challenge enhancement requests where standard SAP functionality can meet business requirements.

• Lead steering committee and executive governance meetings.

• Prepare decision requests and drive resolution of critical program and design decisions.

• Provide executive-level reporting on program status, risks, issues, dependencies, and benefits realization.

• Coordinate delivery across business SMEs, IT teams, corporate/global SAP teams, and implementation partners.

• Manage program risks, issues, assumptions, actions, and dependencies.

• Govern key risks related to:

  • Over-customization

  • Lot and batch design

  • Machine and system integration

  • Actual costing accuracy

  • Key-person dependency

  • Equipment and PLC readiness

  • Master data governance

• Plan and govern finished-goods Actual Costing parallel runs for plant deployment waves.

• Lead shop-floor cutover, multi-shift hypercare, legacy tool retirement, and transition to operational support.

• Drive organizational change management and adoption activities.

• Support training, documentation, knowledge capture, and transition from paper and spreadsheet-based processes.

• Enforce delivery standards for design sign-offs, testing strategies, defect governance, and auditable documentation.

• Ensure compliance with applicable financial controls, including SOX and J-SOX documentation requirements.

Batch Management & Traceability Experience - Preferred

Batch Management and traceability experience is preferred but not required.

While the Project Manager will not be responsible for configuring SAP functionality, understanding batch, lot, and cavity-level traceability will help effectively govern program scope and risks.

Preferred knowledge includes:

• Batch genealogy and traceability.

• Lot splitting and merging.

• Cavity-level traceability.

• Relationships between planning, manufacturing execution, quality, and inventory.

• Understanding how batch and lot design impacts multiple workstreams.

• Ability to distinguish genuine SAP functionality gaps from requests to replicate legacy processes.

• Understanding the relationship between shop-floor control numbers and SAP S/4HANA batch management.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of IT program and project management experience.

• 5+ full-lifecycle SAP implementations as a Project Manager or Delivery Lead.

• At least 2 SAP S/4HANA implementations.

• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale SAP manufacturing or supply chain transformation programs.

• Experience managing multiple functional workstreams and multiple plant deployments.

• Strong experience with scope governance and preventing unnecessary customization.

• Proven ability to enforce standard-first delivery under business and stakeholder pressure.

• Strong expertise in:

  • Integrated program planning

  • Critical path management

  • Dependency management

  • Resource planning

  • Budget management

  • RAID management

  • Executive reporting

  • Steering committee governance

• Experience leading distributed and multi-party delivery teams across multiple time zones.

• Experience coordinating business teams, IT teams, global teams, and system integration partners.

• Experience leading operational cutovers and multi-shift hypercare.

• Organizational Change Management experience supporting the transition from paper and spreadsheet-based processes to system-driven operations.

• Experience supporting training strategy and user adoption measurement.

• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills.

• Formal Project Management certification such as PMP, PRINCE2, or equivalent.

• Strong working knowledge of SAP Activate methodology.

Preferred Qualifications

• Business-level proficiency in Japanese and English.

• Previous experience delivering SAP programs in Japan or with Japanese manufacturing organizations.

• Familiarity with Japanese business culture and consensus-building practices.

• Experience deploying global SAP templates into country-specific operations.

• Experience balancing global standards with legitimate local business requirements.

• Familiarity with:

  • SAP Digital Manufacturing

  • SAP BTP

  • Clean-core governance

  • SAP Analytics Cloud

• Discrete manufacturing industry experience, including:

  • Electronics

  • Automotive

  • Precision components

• Experience in traceability-driven manufacturing and quality environments.

• PMI-ACP, SAFe, or SAP Activate certification.

Language Requirements

Fluent professional English is required.

Business-level Japanese is strongly preferred but not mandatory.

Japanese language skills are beneficial because many process owners, shop-floor personnel, and legacy-system stakeholders may primarily communicate in Japanese, and some current-state documentation may be maintained in Japanese.

Candidates without Japanese language proficiency will still be considered, as interpretation support and bilingual documentation resources may be available.