SAP PP Lead

Skill - SAP PL2PR Lead

Location - This role requires onsite presence from day one, for five days a week, at the Rivian Plant in Normal, Illinois

Responsibilities

Business Transformation: Act as a "Trusted Advisor" to the business and leadership teams, translating complex supply chain and manufacturing challenges into executable technology roadmaps and solutions that leverage AI/ML for demand forecasting and inventory optimization.

Requirements Gathering and Analysis: Engage with business stakeholders to understand production planning and manufacturing requirements.

Create and maintain project documentation, including process flows, functional and technical specifications, and training materials.

Architectural Governance: Lead the design and configuration of a scalable S/4HANA template for Production Planning (PP/DS), Material Management (MM), and Inventory Management (IM).

Solution Design and Implementation: Lead the design, configuration, and implementation of SAP Plan to Produce (Pl2PR) processes, including Production Planning (PP) and SAP PP/DS modules.

The Digital Thread (PLM-MES): Design and govern the "single source of truth" by architecting real-time integrations between PLM (3DEXPERIENCE Platform) and SAP, and the critical execution handshake between SAP and MES (Rockwell, PICO and homegrown).

Planning Excellence: Define and optimize advanced planning and scheduling capabilities including master data, complex / multi-level BOMs, production versions, heuristics, MRP Live, aATP (advanced Available-to-Promise), capacity planning, and constraint-based detailed scheduling to meet business requirements.

Master Data Authority: Define global standards for Material Master, Work Centers, and Recipes/Routings, ensuring data integrity across the product lifecycle.

Integration and Data Management: Ensure integration between PP/DS and other SAP modules (e.g., MM, QM, APO, SCM) to support efficient data flow across the supply chain.

Support and Optimization: Provide post-go-live support for production planning and scheduling processes, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.

Project Leadership and Management

Qualifications:

Techno-Functional Skills

Must have:

Complex Variant Configuration and BoM experience in iPPE and Classical

Manufacturing experience including Make to Order, Make to Stock, Engineer to Order, Knock Down Kits

Hands on Experience in PPDS, PDS, Rapid Planning Matrix, Resource definitions and Finite Planning, MMP, Sequencing, MRP

Knowledge of SAP APO, PP and integration with R3 PP and costing / finance areas

Discrete manufacturing processes, BOM, Routing, Operation, MRP, Variant configuration, Object dependencies, QM module, Master data preparation and uploading, Lot size procedure, PP integration with EWM, Planned orders, Reporting points, COGI, Post process, MES integration points

Nice to have:

Automotive assembly plant and inbound supply chain experience

EWM system integration with APO (Advanced Planning and Optimising)

 Qualifications:

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Information Technology, or related fields.

SAP certification in SAP PP and/or SAP PP/DS is highly preferred.

MBA in Supply Chain Management

12+ Years of SAP Experience: A minimum of 5 years specifically leading S/4HANA architecture in a large-scale Automotive or Discrete Manufacturing environment.

Minimum of 10 years of experience in SAP PP and PP/DS configuration and implementation including production planning, detailed scheduling/sequencing, and pegging

Strong hands-on experience with full life cycle SAP Plan to Produce (Pl2PR) implementations, including blueprinting, design, configuration, testing, and go-live support.

Lifecycle Success: Must have led at least 3 Full Lifecycle (FLC) implementations as a Lead Architect.

Automotive DNA: Solid understanding of industry-specific processes: JIT/JIS, Kitting, Phantom Assemblies, and Sub-daily Buckets.

Technical Integration: Proven track record of managing complex integration landscapes (SAP BTP, APIs, and middleware) connecting SAP to external systems (like PLM, MES).

Ability to work collaboratively across different organizational units to define processes and solutions

An inquisitive mindset that always challenges status quo and asks why

Exceptional oral and written communication skills