Senior ABAP QA Lead

Senior ABAP QA Lead / Technical Quality Assurance Lead Location: Europe preferred | Fully remote Timezone: CET Contract: Freelance / Contract Language: Exceptional English required About the role We are looking for an experienced ABAP technical expert to provide Quality Assurance reviews of ABAP developments delivered by external factory/integrator teams. This is a senior hands-on role requiring someone with a strong programming background who can independently assess the quality, technical design and standards of ABAP developments, while also providing leadership and coordination across the integrator teams. The ideal candidate will have years of SAP/ABAP experience, with strong expertise in SAP HANA, ABAP and SQL, combined with proven leadership and stakeholder-management capabilities. Key Responsibilities • Perform technical Quality Assurance reviews of ABAP developments delivered by development factories/integrators. • Review ABAP code and development approaches to ensure quality, maintainability, performance and adherence to standards. • Assess technical solutions and identify potential issues, risks and areas for improvement. • Provide clear technical feedback and recommendations to development teams. • Coordinate and organise multiple external integrators/development teams, ensuring deliverables meet expected quality standards. • Act as a senior technical point of contact between the organisation and development partners. • Challenge technical decisions where required and drive corrective actions through to completion. • Support consistent development and QA practices across different teams. • Work closely with SAP technical stakeholders and development teams to ensure high-quality delivery. • Provide technical leadership, guidance and mentoring where required. • Ensure development activities are properly planned, coordinated and delivered within agreed timelines. Essential Experience • Hands on years of professional SAP/ABAP experience. • Expert-level ABAP knowledge with a strong underlying programming background. • SAP HANA – mandatory. • Strong SQL experience – mandatory. • Proven experience reviewing and assessing ABAP developments from a technical QA perspective. • Strong understanding of software development principles, coding quality and technical design. • Previous experience leading, coordinating or managing development teams/integrators. • Experience working with external development partners or offshore/nearshore teams. • Strong organisational and leadership skills. • Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills. • Exceptional English, both written and spoken. • Comfortable working independently in a remote environment. Desirable • Experience in large-scale SAP transformation programmes. • Experience working with multiple development factories/integrators. • Knowledge of SAP development standards and best practices. • Experience with code quality, performance optimisation and technical governance. • Previous experience in a Technical Lead, ABAP Lead, Development Lead or SAP QA Lead position. • Experience working across international teams. Ideal Candidate We're looking for someone who is genuinely technical, rather than a project manager with some SAP exposure. The successful candidate should be able to review ABAP code, understand the underlying programming principles, challenge developers technically and organise multiple integrators effectively.