Performance Test Architect/Lead

Description
Role Objective :

To design and execute the Performance Engineering and Testing strategy for SAP S/4HANA and its integrated ecosystem

The Performance Test Architect & Lead will ensure scalability, reliability, and resilience of enterprise systems through robust performance frameworks, optimized workloads, and CoE-led governance.

This role blends technical depth, delivery oversight, and cross-functional leadership to enable production-ready performance across all SAP and non-SAP layers.

Key Responsibilities
Performance Architecture & Strategy :

• Define and own the end-to-end Performance Test Architecture across SAP S/4HANA,and integrated systems.
• Translate NFRs into measurable KPIs for UI, API, database, and infrastructure layers.
• Develop Day-in-the-Life workload models simulating concurrent users across business flows.
• Establish a unified Performance Governance Framework that integrates SAP, middleware (OData, Kafka), and GCP observability layers.
• Ensure alignment of performance objectives with business SLAs and release timelines.

Test Planning, Tooling, And Environment Setup

• Develop comprehensive Performance Test Plans, workload distributions, and concurrency models based on system architecture.
• Lead scripting and test data setup using LoadRunner (SAP GUI, Web HTTP), JMeter (OData APIs, Kafka), and SAP GUI Scripting.
• Integrate APM and monitoring tools (Dynatrace, Grafana, SAP ST03/ST12/STAD) to enable end-to-end traceability.
• Validate environment readiness, work process configuration, and GCP resource allocation before load execution.
• Establish tool governance for version control, logging, and performance data archiving.

Test Execution & Analysis

• Lead Load, Stress, Endurance, and Failover tests across UI, API, batch, and infrastructure layers.
• Validate transaction throughput, response times, queue latency, and resource utilization across SAP and middleware.
• Measure and report on performance of critical business flows in retail such as Goods Issue, Goods Receipt , and ASN Processing.
• Analyze trends using Dynatrace dashboards, SAP work process logs, and GCP metrics to identify bottlenecks.
• Present performance summaries with actionable insights for tuning and Go-Live readiness.

Performance Engineering & Optimization

• Conduct in-depth root cause analysis across SAP application, database, and network layers.
• Working with development team to Optimize custom Z-programs, RFC calls, and long-running queries using SAP HANA Studio and SQL Plan Analyzer.
• Recommend improvements in work process allocation, buffering, and thread utilization.
• Collaborate with Basis and Infra teams to fine-tune autoscaling policies, load balancing, and caching strategies on GCP.
• Maintain a repository of performance tuning playbooks and reusable diagnostics templates.

Leadership, Governance & Stakeholder Management

• Lead a cross-functional team of performance engineers, ensuring adherence to NFRs and test governance standards.
• Run Performance CoE governance cadences, reviews, and retrospectives to ensure delivery maturity.
• Serve as the performance liaison with SAP Basis, Integration, Infra, and Functional teams.
• Provide executive-level reporting on system scalability, SLA compliance, and risk areas.
• Drive continuous improvement through metrics-based decision-making and lessons-learned documentation.

Required Technical Skills
Category :
Tools / Technologies / Expertise
Performance Testing Tools :

• LoadRunner (SAP GUI + Web HTTP), Apache JMeter (REST, Kafka), SAP GUI Scripting

Monitoring & Analysis

• Dynatrace, Grafana, GCP StackDriver, SAP ST03/ST12/STAD, HANA Studio

SAP Ecosystem

• SAP S/4HANA (MM, SD, WM, FI), CMS, SIM, ISM, ROCS

Integrations

• OData APIs, IDoc MBGMCR04, Kafka, Java Adapters, OpenText

Database

• SAP HANA Query Optimization, Z-table Indexing, SQL Plan Tuning

Infrastructure

• GCP Compute Engine, Load Balancing, Autoscaling, HA/Failover Testing

Scripting & Reporting

• Python, SQL, Swagger, Power BI, Excel-based KPI Dashboards

Experience & Qualifications

• 10+ years in Performance Testing and Engineering, with at least 5+ years in SAP S/4HANA and HANA DB ecosystems.
• Proven experience with API and middleware performance validation (OData, Kafka, IDoc).
• Strong understanding of SAP Basis tuning, work process management, and HANA query optimization.
• Experience leading performance test teams and establishing Performance CoE frameworks.
• Bachelor- ?- 's /Master- ?- 's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.

Preferred Certifications

• Micro Focus LoadRunner Professional
• SAP Certified Technology Associate (S/4HANA)
• Google Cloud Performance Engineering or Infrastructure Optimization

Success Metrics

• % Execution of Performance Testing Roadmap Milestones
• SLA Adherence Rate for critical business flows
• Number of bottlenecks identified and resolved per cycle
• Reusable Framework Adoption Rate across projects
• Performance Improvement (Response Time Reduction %)
• Team Skill Index and Training Completion KPIs

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