Master Data Architect

Scotts Miracle-Gro•Marysville, OH

17h•$125,000 - $147,100

About The Position

The Lead Architect - Master Data is a high-impact, senior technical leadership role responsible for defining and driving the global master data architecture strategy. As we undergo a critical transformation from SAP ECC to S/4HANA Cloud, this role will serve as the primary architect ensuring data readiness, governance, and seamless integration across enterprise domains. Reporting directly to the VP, Data Intelligence & AI, you will lead the architectural design and execution for core data domains, including Business Partner (Customer/Vendor), Material, and Finance. You will bridge the gap between business strategy and technical execution, championing SAP Best Practices, Clean Core principles, and modern data management frameworks to build a resilient foundation for enterprise AI and analytics.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Data Analytics, Finance, or a related field (Master’s degree preferred).
10+ years of progressive experience in Enterprise Data Architecture and Master Data Management (MDM).
5+ years of hands-on experience with SAP S/4HANA, with a proven track record of serving as the Data or Architecture Lead on at least one completed, full-lifecycle ECC to S/4HANA migration (inclusive of cutover management).
Deep technical knowledge of SAP MDG, SAP BTP (Integration Suite), and SAP Datasphere.
Strong proficiency in SAP Activate methodology, Fit-to-Standard delivery, and Clean Core compliance.
Mastery of SAP Simplification Lists, ABAP Cloud extensibility models, and CDS Views for data exposure.
Strong understanding of ERP data structures, with specific expertise in the SAP Finance data model (Universal Journal, G/L, Cost/Profit Centers), alongside Material and Business Partner models.
Expert-level knowledge of data profiling tools, data lineage, and ETL/ELT data pipelines.
Candidates must possess at least one of the following industry-recognized certifications: SAP Certified Application Associate - Master Data Governance (SAP MDG) or Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP) (Master or Practitioner level).
Ability to translate complex corporate strategies into pragmatic, scalable technical data architectures.
Exceptional communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical data concepts to non-technical, executive stakeholders (VP and C-suite levels).
Resilient leader capable of driving process and data transformation across deeply entrenched legacy business practices.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree

Responsibilities

Define and own the target-state master data architecture for the SAP ECC to S/4HANA Cloud migration.
Serve as design authority for the master data workstream — setting data models, conversion standards, and migration design principles aligned to SAP Activate.
Provide architectural guidance in Fit-to-Standard workshops for data domains, ensuring decisions align with S/4HANA best practices and long-term data strategy.
Analyze the SAP Simplification List to identify deprecated objects, mandatory conversions, and architectural changes, translating them into actionable master data roadmaps.
Architect master data solutions adhering to Clean Core / ABAP Cloud extensibility frameworks, prioritizing Side-by-Side or Key User extensibility over classic ABAP custom modifications.
Design modern data exposure and consumption models leveraging Core Data Services (CDS) Views and the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) ecosystem (including Integration Suite and Event Mesh).
Lead the architectural design and structural alignment of Finance master data for S/4HANA, specifically guiding the Universal Journal (ACDOCA) restructuring of General Ledger (G/L) accounts, profit centers, and cost centers.
Establish and maintain standard data models for Business Partner (incorporating Customer/Vendor integration), Material, and Finance domains to ensure cross-functional data integrity.
Evaluate, select, and design the master data governance solution — whether SAP MDG, a lighter-weight workflow built on SAP BTP (Build Process Automation, Fiori, CDS), or a hybrid approach — sized appropriately to the company's scale and complexity.
Define the blueprint for governance workflows, stewardship, request/approval processes, and consolidation patterns across master data domains, leveraging SAP Datasphere for downstream integration and analytics alignment.
Define the methodology and standards for the multi-phase data cleansing lifecycle — profiling, remediation, re-profiling, and sign-off — establishing the architectural guardrails and quality gates that the cleansing program executes against.
Select and architect the data profiling and automated remediation tooling stack.
Define acceptance criteria, validation rule libraries, and migration readiness thresholds that govern when data is approved for conversion.
Partner with business data stewards to define data quality KPIs and the catalog of S/4HANA target validation rules.
Establish the measurement framework used to assess migration readiness; execution against those KPIs is owned by the data quality lead and stewards.
Act as the primary technical advisor to the VP, Data Intelligence & AI, and collaborate closely with Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial business leaders.
Provide technical mentorship and architectural guidance to data engineers, analysts, and external implementation partner resources.
Foster an organizational culture of data ownership, designing workflows that empower data stewards to maintain high-quality data post-migration.