SAP Test Manager – Greenfield Implementation

SAP Test Manager – Greenfield Implementation

Location: Chicago,IL
Work Model: Mandatory onsite, 4 days per week in Lisle, IL

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced SAP Test Manager to lead the end-to-end testing function for a large-scale SAP Greenfield implementation. This role will be accountable for defining and driving the overall testing strategy, governance, execution oversight, and quality outcomes across the program lifecycle, from planning through hyper care.

The ideal candidate will bring strong SAP program testing leadership, excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to influence stakeholders on testing methodology, governance, and quality expectations across business, implementation partners and IT leadership, system integrators, and cross-functional teams. This individual must be capable of operating at both strategic and execution levels while ensuring business process coverage, risk mitigation, and go-live readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Program Test Strategy and Leadership

Lead the end-to-end testing strategy for the SAP Greenfield implementation across all phases, from planning through hyper care.
Define the overall test approach, scope, test levels, entry and exit criteria, and quality governance framework for the program.
Develop and manage the master test plan covering System Integration Testing (SIT), End-to-End Testing (E2E), UAT support, regression, cutover, mock conversions, and post-go-live validation.
Act as the single point of accountability for all program-level testing activities, outcomes, risks, and readiness decisions.
Influence program stakeholders on test methodology, governance, quality gates, and best practices to ensure consistency and effectiveness across workstreams.
 

Test Planning, Governance, and Execution Oversight

Establish test management processes, standards, templates, and governance aligned with program, PMO, and enterprise quality expectations.
Coordinate testing across SAP modules, integrated systems, third-party applications, legacy remediation, data migration, reporting, security, controls, and interfaces.
Oversee test scenario, test case, and test script design to ensure full business process coverage and end-to-end traceability to requirements.
Validate readiness for each test phase and provide recommendations for signoff based on agreed quality criteria.
Ensure compliance with audit, control, security, and regulatory requirements relevant to SAP implementation testing.
Stakeholder Management and Communication

Partner closely with business leads, SAP functional teams, technical teams, infrastructure teams, system integrators, vendors, and PMO teams to align testing outcomes.
Provide regular status updates, dashboards, executive summaries, and risk reports to program leadership and steering committees.
Communicate complex testing issues, risks, dependencies, and mitigation strategies clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Build strong collaboration across business, IT, SI partners, and leadership teams, while maintaining focus on quality, schedule adherence, and business readiness.
Demonstrate strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence decision-making and drive alignment on testing priorities and quality standards.
Defect, Environment, and Test Data Management

Drive defect management by establishing triage processes, severity and priority definitions, escalation paths, and closure governance.
Ensure test environment readiness and coordinate with infrastructure and technical teams to support successful execution cycles.
Ensure test data strategy, availability, and readiness in partnership with business, data, and technical teams.
Identify testing risks, dependencies, and quality gaps early and lead mitigation and recovery planning.
Resource and Delivery Management

Manage test resource planning, task allocation, offshore/onshore coordination, and tester productivity across workstreams.
Monitor the progress of test design, execution, defect closure, automation, and reporting against program milestones and release commitments.
Support business users during UAT by coordinating issue clarification, retesting, defect resolution, and status communication.
Ensure cutover testing, mock conversions, production validation, and hyper care defect tracking are completed successfully.
Drive lessons learned, continuous improvement, and test process optimization throughout the program lifecycle.
Tools and Automation

Govern test tool usage such as qTest, Tosca, NeoLoad, ADO or other approved tools for planning, execution, defect tracking, reporting, and traceability.
Oversee automation strategy for regression and repeatable business-critical scenarios where applicable.
Promote disciplined testing methodology, reporting standards, and tool adoption across the program.
Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field.
10+ years of experience in QA/Test Management, with significant experience leading testing for large-scale SAP implementations.
Proven experience managing testing for at least one full SAP Greenfield implementation.
Strong knowledge of SAP testing lifecycle, including SIT, E2E, UAT, regression, cutover, mock conversions, and hyper care support.
Demonstrated experience coordinating testing across SAP modules, integrations, legacy systems, third-party applications, interfaces, and data migration.
Strong leadership experience in program-level test planning, execution governance, defect management, and stakeholder communication.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to present to business leaders, IT leadership, and steering committees.
Strong ability to influence stakeholders on testing methodology, governance, quality gates, and program readiness decisions.
Experience managing global or distributed teams, including offshore/onshore coordination.
Hands-on experience with test management and defect tracking tools such as qTest, SAP ALM, Tosca, JIRA, Azure DevOps, or similar.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a complex program environment.
Preferred Qualifications

Experience in manufacturing, supply chain, finance, order management, or other complex enterprise business domains.
Experience working with system integrators and third-party vendors in large enterprise transformation programs.
Familiarity with test automation strategy and implementation for SAP and integrated applications.
Knowledge of audit, compliance, security, and controls testing within SAP programs.
SAP, testing, or project management certifications are a plus.
Leadership Expectations

Serve as the trusted testing leader for the program and maintain full accountability for quality outcomes.
Build confidence with stakeholders through structured governance, disciplined execution, and transparent communication.
Drive quality-focused decision-making while balancing business timelines and program risks.
Create a culture of ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and proactive issue resolution.
Ensure testing is positioned not only as an execution activity, but as a strategic lever for reducing risk and enabling a successful Go-Live.
Work Requirement