Principal Architect - SAP End-to-End Functional Architecture
CRHJob ID: 529979 CRH's Americas Materials business is the leading provider of building materials in North America. The aggregates, asphalt, ready mixed concrete, paving and construction services we deliver are critical to building our world. Our operations span 45 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces with over 30,000 employees across 1,700 operating locations. Position Overview We are seeking a Principal Architect to oversee the end-to-end functional architecture for SAP across the enterprise. Reporting to the SVP, Technology Transformation, this person is the senior design authority for how SAP supports the business across Order to Cash (OTC), Procure to Pay (PTP), Record to Report (R2R), Construction Accounting (CA), and Hire to Retire (H2R), and for how these end-to-end processes connect to each other and to the surrounding application landscape. The ideal candidate combines deep functional expertise in at least one core process area (such as OTC or PTP) with broad working knowledge across the others: able to define the target-state architecture, make and defend design decisions, and keep process, data, configuration, and integrations consistent as the landscape evolves. The role is hands-on enough to be credible with configuration, master data, and interface design, and to review custom development for quality and performance, but the emphasis is on functional architecture, governance, and outcomes rather than writing code. The candidate has a proven track record architecting integrations between SAP and surrounding platforms such as Point-of-Sale (POS), Salesforce, eCommerce, and customer payment portals. This is also a highly business-facing role: the successful candidate will work closely with Sales, Finance, Procurement, Operations, Logistics, HR, and technology leaders, translating current- and future-state process requirements into solution architecture, data models, and integration designs. As principal architect, this person will lead architecture and design workshops, produce solution and design documentation, steer partner and vendor delivery, and mentor SAP functional and technical resources. Key Responsibilities (Essential Duties and Functions) To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Enterprise Solution Architecture & Governance Act as the principal functional design authority for SAP, owning the end-to-end target-state architecture, process flows, data model, and integration blueprint across OTC, PTP, R2R, Controlling, and H2R. Ensure end-to-end process integrity across module boundaries (e.g., order to billing to receivables to close; requisition to receipt to invoice to payment; payroll to general ledger and cost objects). Translate business requirements into functional designs and specifications, including process models, data models, interface specs (IDoc/BAPI/API), and enhancement requirements, and partner with development teams to deliver them. Own the architecture decision log: document design alternatives, trade-offs, and rationale for configuration vs. enhancement vs. custom development, and maintain a single source of truth for the solution. Define and track architecture and process health metrics jointly with business owners (e.g., order cycle time, DSO, PO cycle time, close duration, billing and tax accuracy, interface error rates) and report progress on a regular cadence. Establish and run a standing architecture governance forum (e.g., monthly design review) to review enhancements, change requests, and technical debt, and to keep design decisions transparent and traceable. Driving Architecture & Design Workshops Own end-to-end workshop planning and delivery for design sessions: define objectives, identify the right business and technical stakeholders, build the agenda, and drive to documented, signed-off design decisions. Plan and facilitate requirements-gathering, fit-gap, and solution design workshops with cross-functional stak…