SAP Tech Lead ME/MII (Permanent – Onsite – Location Not Specified)

SAP Tech Lead ME/MII (Permanent – Onsite – Houston, TX)

Our client, a leader in the automotive industry, is seeking a highly experienced and strategic SAP Tech Lead ME/MII. This permanent, hands-on role is a vital part of their SAP Center of Excellence (COE), providing essential SAP functional and technical design thought leadership and direction to the Supply Chain organization. This position is central to a large transformation project initiated in 2022, focusing on the implementation of SAP ME (Manufacturing Execution) and MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) modules for GST.

As the SAP Lead ME/MII, you’ll be the go-to expert for SAP Manufacturing, collaborating extensively with manufacturing and supply chain teams. You’ll also work cross-functionally with teams handling FICO, Material Management, Variant Configuration, Order to Cash, and PTM, proactively identifying and resolving gaps and changes. This role is crucial for high-volume supply chain operations within the automotive sector, requiring you to work closely with both technical and business teams to drive continuous improvement.

What You Will Do: Leading SAP Manufacturing Solutions from Design to Deployment

As an SAP Tech Lead ME/MII, you’ll orchestrate the entire lifecycle of manufacturing execution and integration solutions, ensuring seamless data flow, operational efficiency, and strategic alignment within a high-volume automotive supply chain.

• Requirement Gathering: You’ll collaborate extensively with key business stakeholders to deeply understand manufacturing needs. This involves meticulously gathering functional requirements and translating them into precise technical specifications tailored for the client’s SAP ME and MII implementation. Your ability to bridge the gap between business processes and technical solutions is paramount.
• Solution Design: You’ll be responsible for architecting the overall SAP ME and MII solution. This includes designing robust data integration strategies, planning for custom application development, and creating insightful dashboard designs to visualize key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to manufacturing operations. Your designs will prioritize scalability, reliability, and usability.
• Configuration and Implementation: You’ll take a hands-on role in configuring critical SAP ME modules. This includes setting up production orders, defining work centers, establishing routing rules, configuring data collection mechanisms, and ensuring seamless integration with diverse shop floor systems (e.g., PLCs, sensors, robotics). Your precision in configuration directly impacts manufacturing execution accuracy.
• MII Application Development: You’ll utilize your expertise to build custom MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) applications within the MII development environment. These applications will be designed to collect, process, and display real-time manufacturing data on dashboards, often incorporating advanced data visualization tools. Your development efforts will provide critical insights into shop floor performance and enable real-time decision-making.
• Integration with ERP: You’ll establish seamless data flow between SAP ME/MII and the core SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. This involves configuring integration points, managing data synchronization processes, and ensuring accurate data consistency across various SAP modules (e.g., Production Planning, Material Management, Finance). This integration is vital for a unified view of manufacturing and business operations.
• Data Analysis and Reporting: You’ll proactively create comprehensive reports and analytics based on granular shop floor data. This involves identifying operational trends, pinpointing bottlenecks in production processes, and uncovering opportunities for continuous process improvement. Your analytical insights will drive efficiencies and enhance the overall performance of manufacturing operations.
• User Training and Support: You’ll be a key resource for end-users, providing thorough training on how to effectively utilize SAP ME and MII functionalities. Beyond training, you’ll offer ongoing support, troubleshooting issues, and guiding users to maximize their efficiency and productivity with the implemented solutions.

What We Need From You: Essential Qualifications for an SAP Manufacturing Expert

To excel as an SAP Tech Lead ME/MII, you’ll need extensive SAP solution architecture experience, deep hands-on proficiency with SAP ME/MII, and a robust understanding of integration technologies and project leadership.

• Educational Foundation: You must possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems (MIS), or another business discipline from a four-year accredited college or university. This academic background provides a strong foundation for understanding both technical and business aspects of enterprise systems.
• Extensive SAP Solution Architecture Experience: You are required to have 10+ years of experience in SAP solutions architecture, or possess an equivalent combination of education and experience that demonstrates comparable expertise. This signifies a seasoned professional capable of designing complex SAP landscapes and integrating various modules.
• Hands-On SAP ME & SAP MII Experience: You must have significant hands-on experience in both SAP ME (Manufacturing Execution) and SAP MII (Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence). Crucially, this includes experience in SAP MEINT (Manufacturing Execution Integration with SAP ERP) for seamless ERP integration, demonstrating your ability to connect shop floor operations with core business processes.
• Proficiency in Core Web and Database Technologies: You have hands-on experience in SQL (for database querying and manipulation), JavaScript (for front-end development and MII applications), XML (for data exchange), XSLT (for XML transformations), and web services (for system integration). This diverse skill set is essential for building and connecting SAP manufacturing solutions.
• Knowledge of SAP ERP Integration: You possess in-depth knowledge of SAP ERP integration with SAP ME/MII. This includes understanding data flow, common integration points, and troubleshooting methods for ensuring accurate and timely data synchronization between enterprise planning and manufacturing execution systems.
• Experience Delivering Technical Enterprise Solutions: You have a proven track record of delivering technical enterprise solutions to business initiatives. This demonstrates your ability to translate business requirements into tangible technical outcomes, managing the full lifecycle of solution delivery in a large organizational context.
• Experience Producing Enterprise Guidelines and Standards: You have experience in producing enterprise guidelines and standards related to SAP implementations, data governance, or system integration. This highlights your ability to establish best practices that ensure consistency, quality, and compliance across the organization.
• Strong Analytical Skills: You possess strong analytical skills, enabling you to dissect complex manufacturing data, identify process bottlenecks, and derive insights that drive continuous improvement and operational optimization. Your ability to proactively identify and resolve technical and business gaps is crucial.
• In-Depth Knowledge of Technical Concepts and Trends: You have in-depth knowledge of technical concepts, technical training, and industry trends relevant to SAP Manufacturing, automation, and supply chain operations. This commitment to continuous learning keeps your skills sharp and current.
• Knowledge of IT Applications and Systems: You possess broad knowledge of IT applications and systems beyond just SAP, enabling you to understand how various enterprise systems interact and contribute to the overall IT landscape.
• Ability to Solve Technical Problems Quickly and Efficiently: You have a demonstrated ability to solve technical problems quickly and efficiently. This includes diagnosing complex issues, identifying root causes, and implementing effective solutions with minimal disruption to manufacturing operations.
• Strong Knowledge of Technical Project Management and Workflow: You have strong knowledge of technical project management and workflow methodologies. This indicates your ability to plan, execute, and monitor technical projects, ensuring adherence to timelines and deliverables.
• Leadership and Project Ownership: You possess the ability to lead, coordinate, and manage complex projects. Critically, you also have the ability to lead and own projects from start to finish, taking full responsibility for their success and for resolving technical process changes that arise during implementation.
• Strong Written and Verbal Communication Skills: You have strong written and verbal communication skills. This enables you to effectively communicate with customers to identify business needs, explain complex technical concepts clearly to diverse audiences, and articulate project status and recommendations to various stakeholders.
• Independent Work and Team Player Mentality: You demonstrate the ability to work independently, managing your tasks and priorities autonomously. Simultaneously, you are a strong team player, capable of collaborating effectively within cross-functional teams to achieve shared goals and foster a supportive environment.
• Ability to Thrive in a Fast-Paced Environment: You have the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment, adapting quickly to new challenges, technologies, and business requirements within a high-volume supply chain operation.
• Strategic Minded with Strong Analytical Skills: You are strategic minded with strong analytical skills, enabling you to not only solve immediate problems but also contribute to long-term architectural vision and continuous improvement.
• Self-Starter and Collaborative: You are a self-starter, demonstrating initiative and proactivity in identifying opportunities and tackling challenges. Your ability to collaborate in a team environment is also essential for success.

Physical and Environmental Requirements:

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of the job. While performing the duties of the job, the associate is required on a daily basis to analyze and interpret data, communicate, and remain in a stationary position for a significant amount of the workday and frequently access, input, and retrieve information from the computer and other office productivity devices. The associate is regularly required to move about the office and around the corporate campus. The associate must frequently move up to 10 pounds and occasionally move up to 25 pounds.

If this SAP Tech Lead ME/MII role aligns with your extensive experience in SAP ME and MII, your expertise in manufacturing integration, and your passion for driving transformation in the automotive industry, we encourage you to learn more about this exciting permanent opportunity. This is a fantastic chance to lead critical SAP initiatives and make a significant impact on high-volume supply chain operations.

Ready to provide thought leadership and hands-on expertise in SAP Manufacturing?