Managing Director, Director - SAP Business AI Platform (BAIP, formerly BTP) Architect (Metro Detroit)

The role

SAP renamed Business Technology Platform to SAP Business AI Platform in 2026 and brought its data and AI capabilities under the same roof. That rename is not cosmetic. It is SAP declaring that extension, integration, data, and AI are one architectural problem. This role owns that problem for our clients and sets the technical direction for our firm.

You are the person who keeps the ERP core clean. Every extension, every integration, every AI agent our clients want either belongs on the platform or does not get built. You make that call, you architect the solution, and you stay close enough to the build to know it works. This is a senior role, not a slideware role.

You will also lead the technical side of Beacon, turning what our engineering team proves out into software we can sell, deploy, and support. At Managing Director level you own the platform and AI practice: the offerings, the team, and the client relationships where architecture is the deciding factor.

What you’ll do

• Set platform and AI architecture direction for client programs and for Spotlight: reference architectures, standards, and the patterns our teams reuse.
• Architect side-by-side extensibility on BAIP using CAP and RAP, and make the honest call on when key-user extensibility inside S/4HANA is the right answer instead.
• Own integration architecture. SAP Integration Suite, iFlows, API Management, Event Mesh, and the connections from S/4HANA out to MES, WMS, PLM, EDI, quality systems, and the non-SAP data stack: Fivetran, Snowflake, Databricks, and whatever the client already owns.
• Design the data layer. SAP Business Data Cloud, Datasphere, HANA Cloud, and data product modeling that makes business data usable by AI without duplicating it into six places.
• Build AI capability that survives an audit. AI Foundation, Generative AI Hub, Joule Studio agent development, SAP Knowledge Graph, and retrieval patterns that ground agents in real business context rather than plausible-sounding output.
• Establish platform governance. Global account and subaccount topology, identity and authorization design, transport management (CTMS), lifecycle and DevOps, and consumption cost control so the client is not surprised by their credit burn in month four.
• Advise CIOs and CFOs on the boundary question. What belongs in the ERP core, what belongs on BAIP, and what should live entirely outside SAP. Mid-market clients get this wrong constantly and pay for it at every upgrade.
• Productize Beacon. Lead the architecture that turns proven capabilities into versioned, supportable software: release management, deployment patterns, documentation, and the support model behind it.
• Lead technical pursuits. Be the architect in the room during the sales cycle, scope solutions honestly, and build the credibility that wins the work. At Managing Director level, own client relationships and grow the platform practice.
• Build and mentor the team. Hire and develop the architects and engineers who work on client programs and on Beacon.

What you bring

• 10+ years of enterprise technology delivery, including 3+ years hands-on with SAP BTP or BAIP. You have shipped things to production on the platform, not just attended enablement. Managing Director candidates typically bring 15+ years and experience leading a technology practice or platform team.
• Architecture leadership. You have led architects or engineers, set standards they followed, and owned the call when the trade-offs were hard.
• Development depth in CAP or RAP, with working proficiency in Node.js or Java, plus SAPUI5 or Fiori.
• Strong SAP Integration Suite and Cloud Integration experience: real iFlows, real error handling, real production support scars.
• Familiarity with Cloud Foundry and Kyma runtimes and the trade-offs between them.
• Working knowledge of Datasphere, Business Data Cloud, or HANA Cloud data modeling.
• Practical generative AI experience: LLM integration, RAG patterns, prompt and agent design, and a clear-eyed view of where AI adds value versus where it adds risk.
• Experience shipping software as a product, not just as a project deliverable. Versioning, release management, documentation, and supportability.
• The ability to explain an architecture decision to a CFO in business terms. Our clients are mid-market. There is no enterprise architecture committee to hide behind.
• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• SAP certifications in BTP Extensions, Integration Suite, or the successor BAIP credentials.

Bonus points

• Hyperscaler depth in AWS, Azure, or GCP.
• SAP Analytics Cloud, including planning.
• Manufacturing systems background: MES, IoT, and shop floor integration.
• Open-source AI framework experience outside the SAP stack.
• SAP Build or Build Process Automation.

The details

• Level: Managing Director or Director, based on experience
• Location: Hybrid
• Employment: Full-time
• Experience: 10+ years enterprise technology, 3+ years hands-on BAIP or BTP
• Travel: About 20 to 25%

About Spotlight Partners

Spotlight Partners is a privately held SAP consulting firm that lives at the intersection of SAP Cloud ERP and AI transformation, helping clients accelerate toward streamlined operations and untapped potential.

We specialize in two things: creating investment-grade business cases that articulate exactly the expected return on an SAP engagement, and taking a proprietary approach to developing supplemental AI within and outside the SAP ecosystem. That approach is Beacon, our AI platform, and we need someone to turn what our engineering team proves out into software we can actually sell and support.

Spotlight Partners is a uniquely experienced and curated group of talent built to deliver balance across business operations and technology, without the red tape and bureaucracy of other consulting firms.

None of this works without the right people, and we’ve been deliberate about who’s in the room. Spotlight Partners asks a lot: sound judgment, real ownership, and a genuine commitment to clients over convenience. What you get in return is a team that makes you sharper. People who know the work, say what they think, and hold the line on quality even when it’s inconvenient. It’s demanding. It’s also where people do the best work of their careers.