ERP Enterprise Solution Engineer

Position: ERP Enterprise Solution Engineer Position Type: Full time Department : Information Technology Location: Salt River, Cape Town, South Africa Experience: 7+ years with a degree in Information Technology/Systems Company Description Watchmaker Genomics is a global life sciences company with R&D and production facilities in Cape Town, South Africa, and headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. Our team is driven by a passion for innovation and a commitment to collaboration, creativity, and scientific rigor. We believe that the intersection of biology, engineering, and computer science offers exciting opportunities to develop novel technologies that advance research and enhance human health. We leverage our enzyme engineering and computational biology capabilities to develop products that support high-growth applications in genomics, molecular diagnostics, and personalized medicine. Position Description: Watchmaker Genomics is inviting applications for an on site, full time position of an ERP Enterprise Solutions Engineer in our Cape Town office. This position reports to the Director of Global IT, will own the full lifecycle of our Epicor Kinetic ERP platform and its integrated application estate, and will play a pivotal role in facilitating effective communication and collaboration between the IT department and various business units within our organization. This role is responsible for understanding business needs, aligning technology solutions, and ensuring the successful stabilization, optimization, and utilization of our ERP, MES and other related systems to support the achievement of our strategic goals, including planning and executing new phased rollouts of modules, integrations, sites and entities. The IT Enterprise Solutions Engineer - ERP will be a key advocate for leveraging technology to enhance operational efficiency and drive business outcomes. The role owns ERP architecture, technical design, live/test environments, SQL Server and application health, integrations, security, releases, monitoring, backup and recovery readiness, and technical delivery of new modules, fixes and rollouts. It works with business process owners, IT Infrastructure, CSV/Quality, the Master Data Management team, Data Architects, BI report writers and external partners to ensure changes are scalable, controlled and aligned with approved business rules and regulated processes. The successful candidate will thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced working environment and contribute directly to our company culture and success. This position will offer unique challenges, learning and growth including the opportunity to implement global solutions. The role supports both our Boulder (US) and Cape Town (South Africa) sites across time zones, with periodic travel for phased rollouts and on site support weeks, and after-hours availability during cutover windows, hypercare periods and month end. Responsibilities: ERP Architecture and Technical Ownership Own the global Epicor Kinetic architecture, technical roadmap and solution standards, ensuring new modules, fixes and enhancements align with approved business rules, processes, security and CSV controls; Translate approved requirements into system configuration, technical specifications, integrations and controlled development using appropriate Epicor capabilities; Provide technical leadership to the ERP Application Engineer and act as the final internal escalation point for complex ERP issues. Platform, Server and Environment Management Administer various environments, SQL Server, application services, scheduled processes, monitoring, patches, upgrades and deployment registers; Maintain system availability and recoverability through backup/restore verification, recovery planning, performance monitoring and coordinated infrastructure remediation. Liaise with solution architects to align enterprise system architecture with broader enterprise architecture principles. Integration, Security and Controlled Change Design, operate and troubleshoot ERP integrations, APIs and interfaces with finance, banking, tax, shipping, CRM, data and manufacturing systems; Administer privileged ERP security, service accounts, credentials and technical access controls, and maintain controlled release, change and rollback procedures. ERP Platform and Environment Lifecycle Management Administer the Epicor Kinetic environment estate, including LIVE, TEST and DEV environment management and refreshes, backup and restore verification, and version and patch management aligned to tested baselines; Maintain deployment registers for customizations, BPM directives, Epicor Functions and configuration changes, and monitor scheduled processes and system agent health; Operate monitoring and alerting for applications, databases, print and integration services. Data, MDM, Reporting and BI Collaboration Support the Master Data Management team with ERP data models, DMT-related technical guidance, migration dependencies, troubleshooting and validation; MDM retains responsibility for preparing and executing master data uploads; Support Data Architects and BI report writers with ERP source definitions, data lineage, extracts, BAQs/SSRS, integration dependencies and ERP-side troubleshooting; Own technical configuration and controlled deployment of ERP reports, labels, CofA outputs and print-routing components where these reside within the ERP platform. Incident, Rollout and Compliance Management Lead L2/L3 technical incident and problem resolution, root-cause analysis, vendor escalation and permanent corrective actions; Lead technical release, cutover, recovery and hypercare activities for new modules, integrations, sites and entities; Ensure technical changes protect traceability, label/CofA integrity, financial posting integrity and regulated-system compliance. Project Management and Plan of Record Develop comprehensive project plans, timelines, and milestones for system initiatives, and maintain a single integrated plan of record with a RAID log, decision log and steering reporting cadence; Ensure every task, decision and risk has a named owner and keep all planning documents coherent with the plan of record. Regulated Systems Compliance Maintain CSV validation evidence and change control for configurations, customizations and lot mask changes; Safeguard traceability, label and CofA integrity, and financial posting integrity in system design and operation. Required Experience: ERP Implementation and Support Experience: Hands on experience implementing, administering and supporting Epicor Kinetic is required or strongly preferred. Business Process Understanding: Strong familiarity with various business processes across different departments, such as finance, supply chain, manufacturing, and HR, is crucial. This helps in translating business requirements into effective technology solutions. Data Mapping and Transformation: Proficiency in defining data mapping, transformation, and conversion processes to ensure seamless data flow between systems. Experience with data manipulation tools and techniques is essential. Integration and Middleware Knowledge: Demonstrated experience with designing, implementing, and managing integrations between ERP systems and other applications using middleware solutions Project Management: Proven track record in managing projects, especially those related to ERP implementation, upgrades, or integration initiatives. Skills in defining project scopes, timelines, resource allocation, and risk management are important. Change Management and Training: Experience in change management strategies, including user training and adoption planning, to ensure smooth transitions during ERP implementations and updates. Vendor and Partner Collaboration: Experience in working collaboratively with external partners, third party vendors, and consultants to facilitate successful system integrations. Regulated Environment Experience: Exp