SAP S/4HANA Advanced Variant Configuration (AVC) Consultant

Title: SAP S/4HANA Advanced Variant Configuration (AVC) Consultant

Classic LO-VC to Advanced Variant Configuration Migration

Location: San Diego, CA — Onsite (3–4 days/week expected)

Engagement Type: Contract

Start Date: Immediate (transition coverage from outgoing resource)

Duration: Initial 6–12 months with extension potential

Job Description:

The client is engaged in a Brownfield ECC-to-S/4HANA conversion program. As part of that engagement, there is an urgent need for a senior SAP Variant Configuration consultant to step into the program and lead the migration of classic Variant Configuration (LO-VC) to S/4HANA Advanced Variant Configuration (AVC).

This is a hands-on functional design role, not a pure Architect seat. The right candidate has built and lived in LO-VC at deep technical depth (variant tables, characteristics, dependencies, configuration profiles, integration with SD/MM/PP), and has direct experience reconfiguring those models for AVC under S/4HANA conditions. The candidate will validate existing design artifacts, close open decisions, hand off build-ready specs to development, and coordinate with the CLIENT's offshore delivery team on configuration and testing.

Why This Role Matters

The Client’s product business — DNA/RNA sequencing instruments with tiered configurations, regional variants, and bundled consumables — runs heavily on variant configuration logic. The integrity of pricing, BOM derivation, order processing, and downstream service contract generation all flows through VC. Migrating that logic from LO-VC to AVC without breaking what works is a precision job. The team that gets this right protects revenue continuity for one of the most recognizable names in genomics.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Validate existing VC → AVC design artifacts. Review functional design documents (FDDs), config specs, and configuration models inherited from the outgoing resource. Identify gaps, open decisions, and risk areas. Drive closure with business and IT stakeholders.
• Lead AVC configuration design and build hand-off. Translate validated LO-VC logic into AVC equivalents — configuration profiles, classes (class type 300), characteristics, variant tables, dependencies (selection conditions, procedures, constraints, actions), and runtime behavior. Produce build-ready specifications for the CLIENT offshore configuration team.
• Own integration touchpoints across SD, MM, and PP. Variant pricing (condition records keyed to characteristic values), order BOM derivation, material variant handling, MRP behavior, and integration with order-to-cash flows downstream.
• Coordinate with CLIENT's offshore delivery team. Daily working rhythm with India-based configuration and testing teams. Lead design workshops, drive SIT and UAT issue resolution, and ensure clean configuration hand-offs.
• Partner with Client business SMEs. Translate business product structures, regional variants, and product launch requirements into AVC models that scale. Push back on customization when standard AVC capabilities will do the job.
• Support cutover planning and hypercare. Pre-go-live validation, defect triage, post-go-live stabilization, and knowledge transfer to Client internal teams and CLIENT AMS support.

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE (MUST-HAVES)

• 8 years SAP functional experience with at least 5 years focused on Variant Configuration in production environments.
• Hands-on LO-VC design and implementation in SAP ECC. Full lifecycle delivery — blueprint, design, build, test, go-live, support. Not just maintenance or AMS exposure.
• Direct experience migrating or reconfiguring VC for S/4HANA Advanced Variant Configuration (AVC). Has actually performed the LO-VC → AVC translation work on at least one program. Understands the differences in runtime behavior, model structure, dependency handling, and integration patterns between classic VC and AVC.
• Deep technical fluency across the VC stack. Characteristics, classes (class type 300), configuration profiles, variant tables, dependencies (selection conditions, procedures, constraints, actions), object dependencies, configuration simulator, KMAT material handling, order BOMs, and material variants.
• Integration design across SD, MM, and PP. Variant pricing with condition records keyed to characteristic values; order BOM derivation; integration with sales order entry, MRP, and production planning.
• Brownfield S/4HANA conversion experience. Has worked on at least one program converting an existing ECC system to S/4HANA. Understands the implications of conversion vs. greenfield on existing configuration, master data, and historical transactions.
• Senior consulting demeanor. Comfortable presenting design recommendations to executive stakeholders, brokering disagreements between business and IT, and operating as the senior design authority in the room.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE (NICE-TO-HAVES)

• Medical device, life sciences, biotech, or industrial manufacturing industry experience — particularly in installed-base / instrument businesses with tiered product configurations.
• GxP-validated SAP environment exposure (FDA-regulated industries) — understands implications for change management, documentation, and validation testing.
• SAP CPQ integration experience — particularly for service-business and contract pricing scenarios that depend on instrument configuration data.
• SAP Activate methodology fluency.
• Prior experience working with Client or Big 4 SAP delivery models — comfortable with offshore-onshore working cadences.
• Familiarity with SAP Variant Configuration LO-MD-VC tools, configuration analysis reports (CU50, CU51), and configuration migration utilities.
• Exposure to integration with downstream Service Management modules (S/4 SM / installed base, equipment master, service contracts) — useful given Client's broader program scope.

TECHNICAL SKILLS & TOOLS

SAP S/4HANA Advanced Variant Configuration (AVC) | SAP ECC LO-VC (Classic Variant Configuration) | Configuration Profiles, Classes (Type 300), Characteristics, Variant Tables | Dependencies — Selection Conditions, Procedures, Constraints, Actions | Object Dependencies |Configuration Simulator | KMAT / Material Variants / Order BOMs | SAP SD (Variant Pricing, Order Management) | SAP MM (Material Master, MRP) | SAP PP (Production Planning) | SAP Activate Methodology | HP ALM / Jira | MS Office Suite |Confluence / SharePoint