Data Platform Architect - Data Foundations for AI (all genders) (DE)

Data Platform Architect - Data Foundations for AI (all genders) Location: Remote or hybrid within one of the following countries: Germany, Spain, Romania, Netherlands, Austria, UK, France Contract: full time / indefinite Language(s): English (C1/ C2) Serrala is the global leader in finance process automation. For over 40 years, we have been advancing the office of the CFO with our award-winning suite of finance automation applications. Our solutions streamline all working capital-related processes, including Order to Cash, Procure to Pay, Cash Flow Management, and Treasury, across both cloud and SAP environments. Our 10+ hubs across Europe, North America, and India support over 2,800 clients worldwide, reflecting the trust we've built with a diverse global community. Join us as we lead the future of finance automation! Role Summary Serrala is building a unified Data Platform to enable cross‑domain outcomes across Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Payments & Cash. The Data Platform Architect will own the target reference architecture and technical standardization of our data foundation, designed as a hybrid reference architecture (cloud + customer‑managed realities) and implemented as a layered model with a strong focus on governance, security, and compliance (GDPR, SOC2, ISO). Our current landscape is fragmented across multiple data stores and regions, and compliance/security practices are inconsistent today - this role exists to change that. What You’ll Do 1) Architect the Serrala Data Platform (Hybrid Reference Architecture) · Define and evolve Serrala’s end‑to‑end data platform architecture across ingestion, storage, processing, catalog, governance, and consumption - explicitly designed for a hybrid world (Serrala-hosted + customer-managed constraints). · Establish architectural principles to shift analytical and AI workloads away from operational systems, reducing coupling to product databases and enabling scalable ML/AI consumption. 2) Standardize on a Primary Stack (and make it production-grade) · Lead evaluation and decisioning to standardize on one primary data stack (e.g., Azure, Databricks or Snowflake, etc.), then define the “golden path” implementation patterns, reference components, and templates. · Translate today’s heterogeneous landscape (SAP, SQL, NoSQL, time-series, cloud storage, varied access methods) into a coherent target architecture and migration approach. 3) Deliver the Unified Bronze/Silver/Gold Foundation (AR/AP/Payments) Design the layered data model for AR, AP, Payments & Cash: · Bronze: raw ingestion with traceability and contracts · Silver: cleansing, normalization, consolidation across product semantics · Gold: curated domain-ready data products and consumption models · Drive a pragmatic “start building the bronze layer” execution approach, enabling early value while keeping long-term platform integrity. 4) Data Governance, Security, and Compliance by Design Define governance controls addressing GDPR, SOC2, ISO requirements through: · access control patterns (RBAC/IAM), encryption expectations, auditability · data classification + retention strategies adaptable to customer-managed variations · consistent compliance guardrails across products and regions 5) Integration Patterns for Serrala’s Reality (SAP + SaaS + Streaming) Define ingestion and integration patterns for: · SAP landscapes and interfaces (e.g., CDS-Views, OData Services, SAP BTP, SAP Datasphere, SAP Business Data Cloud) · product APIs, CDC/streaming (Kafka), and file/document sources “bidirectional data share” where needed 6) Technical Leadership & Enablement · Act as technical authority for platform decisions: run architecture reviews, publish standards, mentor engineers, and ensure consistent implementation across squads. · Partner closely with Product Managers, Talented Engineers and AI platform/ agent teams to ensure the data platform is fit for downstream AI use and analytics use (e.g., reliable consumption zones, traceability). Required Experience & Skills · 8+ years in data engineering / platform architecture, with several years owning end-to-end platform design. · Proven experience designing multi-zone / layered lakehouse-style architectures (ingestion → storage → processing → consumption), including data quality, lineage, and cataloging. · Strong knowledge of at least one major modern data stack (Azure, Databricks, Snowflake or similar), and ability to lead standardization. · Experience with hybrid integration constraints (customer-managed environments, mixed regions, varied access methods). · Strong hands‑on experience with SAP‑centric data landscapes, including SAP S/4HANA environments. · Practical knowledge of SAP Datasphere and/or SAP Business Data Cloud for analytics, data sharing, or integration scenarios. · Experience designing data architectures that integrate SAP‑embedded solutions with cloud-native SaaS platforms. · Understanding of SAP clean‑core considerations and how to design non-invasive data access patterns that scale across customers. · Strong governance/security background: designing for compliance and auditability (GDPR/SOC2/ISO emphasis in this role). · Comfortable with streaming/CDC/event patterns (e.g., Kafka) and enterprise integration realities. · Strong stakeholder management: can translate ambiguity into a pragmatic architecture plan and drive alignment. Nice-to-Have · Experience with SAP-centric enterprise data landscapes and harmonizing semantics across heterogeneous products. · Experience building data platforms that directly enable AI/ML consumption (feature/embedding readiness, telemetry-as-data patterns). Working Style / Mindset · You think in reference architectures + execution, not ivory-tower diagrams. · You optimize for repeatability, governance, and scale, while still delivering incremental value. · You treat compliance and auditability as architecture constraints, not documentation tasks. Why you’ll love it here Step into a dynamic, agile workplace where continuous learning is championed by leadership, and innovation in finance automation is fuelled by cutting-edge tech, AI integration, and strategic SAP transformation. We partner with the best to stay ahead - so you can too. At our core, we're Reliable , Passionate , Empowering , and Enterprising - committed to lasting customer and employee relationships, bold innovation, and your growth every step of the way. EEO Statement We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We celebrate and support diversity by providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability or handicap, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, arrest record, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. To all recruitment agencies Serrala does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our job alias, Serrala employees or any other organization location. Serrala is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.