E-Invoicing Product Architect

Context & Strategic Ambition We are embarking on a strategic transformation to establish a brand-new, world-class global E-Invoicing Centre of Expertise (COE). This COE is charged with governing, architecting, and executing our technology strategy to meet rapidly evolving global e-invoicing, digital reporting, and continuous transaction control (CTC) mandates. As a key initial hire into the core e-invoicing leadership team, the E-Invoicing Product Architect will have a defining influence on our technical landscape. This individual will establish the foundational technology solution architecture, blueprints, and integration roadmaps for our global e-invoicing platform and its touchpoints with core enterprise systems. The scope spans across critical business cycles including Order to Cash (O2C), Invoice to Pay (I2P), and Record to Report (R2R). Crucially, the successful candidate will design a scalable, resilient core architecture supporting both initial implementations and future country rollouts, ensuring rapid adaptability as international tax laws and digital requirements change. Core Accountabilities The E-Invoicing Product Architect holds ultimate accountability for the technological integrity, scalability, and compliance of our global e-invoicing ecosystem. The core accountabilities include: - Global Technology Architecture Definition: Establish, maintain, and own the end-to-end global e-invoicing technical architecture, ensuring alignment with corporate enterprise architecture standards, security frameworks, and business objectives. - Process Integration & Alignment: Ensure seamless technical and data flow integration across three critical finance process streams: - Order to Cash (O2C): Outbound billing, digital signature application, government clearance validation, and customer distribution. - Invoice to Pay (I2P): Inbound receipt, government validation, automated matching, and posting into Accounts Payable systems. - Record to Report (R2R): Tax reporting ledger alignment, continuous transaction control compliance, and audit trail retention. - Scalability & Future-Proofing: Design a flexible "Global Template" architecture that allows for localized compliance variations without fracturing the core platform standard. Enable rapid deployment cycles for new countries as national tax authorities mandate electronic formats. - Vendor & Platform Governance: Act as the primary technical authority evaluating, approving, and governing relationships with global e-invoicing vendors, middleware providers, tax engines, and system integrators. Key Responsibilities Architecture Design & Blueprinting - Develop comprehensive architectural blueprints, data flow diagrams, and integration specifications for the global e-invoicing platform. - Design solution across e-invoicing, order to cash, invoice to pay and record to report technologies; Including SAP DRP, EDICOM, VIM and High Radius. - Design standard integration patterns (via APIs, EDI, ALE/IDoc, and middleware) connecting core ERPs (e.g., SAP ECC/S4HANA, cloud finance applications) to e-invoicing providers (e.g., Sovos, Pagero, SAP Document Compliance, Avalara, or Tungsten Network) and local tax authority portals. - Define and manage standard data schemas, field mapping guidelines, and transformation rules for transactional data (e.g., XML, UBL, JSON, Edifact formats). Compliance & Country Onboarding Support - Partner closely with Tax, Legal, and Finance Compliance teams to translate complex legislative requirements (such as Peppol standards, CTC models, and local digital reporting requirements) into technical system designs. - Lead technical scoping and feasibility assessments for upcoming regional rollouts (such as ViDA in Europe, local mandates in APAC, LATAM, etc.). - Support both the initial pilot implementations and downstream design phases for future countries, maintaining a modular architecture that easily accommodates localized regulatory updates. Team Collaboration & Agile Execution - Collaborate closely with the e-invoicing Tech Engineers, Product Owners, Project Managers, and Scrum Masters to define technical user stories, refine the backlog, and execute sprints. - Provide clear, actionable technical guidance to engineering and implementation teams during build, test, and deployment phases. - Conduct rigorous technical design reviews and sign-offs to guarantee system scalability, security, high availability, and disaster recovery readiness. Technology Roadmap & Innovation - Formulate and maintain the multi-year e-invoicing technology roadmap under the direction of the Finance Technology Senior Director. - Evaluate emerging technologies, artificial intelligence/machine learning capabilities in document matching, and automation trends to continuously improve operational efficiency within the COE. - Drive standardizing efforts to retire legacy, fragmented local e-invoicing point solutions in favor of the global unified architecture. Candidate Profile (Qualifications & Experience) Education & Professional Experience - Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, Finance Systems, or a related field. - Experience: Minimum of 8 years in Enterprise Technology, with at least 4 years dedicated to solution architecture or system integration in e-invoicing, digital tax compliance, or EDI domains. - Track Record: Proven success architecting and delivering global enterprise-scale systems within multinational organizations. Experience establishing a technology COE is highly desirable. Technical Skills & Knowledge - ERP Mastery: Deep technical understanding of core ERP architectures (specifically SAP SD/FI/MM or S/4HANA document compliance frameworks like DRC/eDocument Cockpit). - Process Technologies: Technical understanding of SAP DRC, EDICOM, VIM and High Radius and how these are connected within e-invoicing landscape - Process Knowledge: Strong functional understanding of end-to-end O2C, I2P, and R2R business processes and how tax compliance checkpoints integrate into these flows. - Integration Technologies: Proficiency in modern integration technologies including REST/SOAP APIs, iPaaS middleware (e.g., MuleSoft, SAP BTP, Dell Boomi), EDI standards, and cryptographic signing methodologies. - Standards & Mandates: Comprehensive knowledge of global e-invoicing networks (e.g., Peppol) and schemas (UBL, XML, OASIS, CII). Familiarity with Clearance, Reporting, and Portal-based government CTC tax models. Leadership & Behavioral Competencies - Strategic Vision: Ability to conceptualize complex architectures and articulate their business value to senior executives, including the Finance Technology Senior Director. - Stakeholder Influence: Strong capability to lead and influence cross-functional, global teams across Finance, Tax, Procurement, and IT without direct reporting lines. - Problem Solving: Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills; a proactive mindset capable of troubleshooting complex system dependencies under tight regulatory deadlines. - Communication: Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with the ability to translate technical jargon into business-friendly terminology.