Sam Kumar

Enterprise Architect & AI Transformation Leader | Driving Digitalization at the Intersection of SAP, AWS, and GenAI.

Atlanta Metropolitan Area

About

I am an Enterprise Architect and Product Leader with 30+ years building business-critical systems across SAP, Cloud, Data, and — most recently — AI. My career has spanned wireless billing platforms for tier-1 carriers, BI and HANA architectures for global beverage companies, S/4HANA greenfield programs, and most recently the architecture of Delta Air Lines' In-Flight Services platform serving 800+ stations worldwide. I am most energized by the intersection of business strategy and emerging technology — translating real operational pain into measurable, modern, AI-native solutions. I lead from the front: I sit with the business to understand the problem, design the architecture, mentor the team building it, and stay accountable through production. My teams describe me as a calm, high-trust leader who shows up for the work and for the people doing it. What I have been doing recently: ▪ Architected and led the IFS Brand-Ready Catering platform at Delta Air Lines (SAP Innovation Awards 2020 Finalist) — a Native HANA / SAP UI5 / Fiori / OData solution adopted by 800+ stations worldwide. ▪ Led the Data Squad portfolio at Delta — building the enterprise middleware and analytics backbone on SAP BTP Cloud Foundry, SAP Integration Suite, and AWS (Lambda, Glue, Redshift). ▪ Paved Delta's migration path from SAP BTP Neo to Cloud Foundry, XS Classic HANA to XSA, and legacy SAP UI5 to the modern toolchain — de-risking a long-term roadmap and unlocking new BTP services. ▪ Founded a 10-session enterprise AI curriculum covering LLM Fundamentals, RAG, Vector Databases, AI Agents, Prompt Engineering, Eval & Observability, Hands-on Frameworks (Bedrock, LangChain, LlamaIndex), MCP Fundamentals, Amazon Q + MCP, and Amazon Q + SAP Enterprise. ▪ Built a flagship proof-of-concept connecting Amazon Q to SAP BTP Neo (OData) and SAP ECC (RFC/BAPI) via dual MCP servers — natural-language access to enterprise SAP data. ▪ Hands-on working experience with Anthropic Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and AWS Kiro; trained the entire team on Kiro for code optimization, code generation, and technical documentation. What I bring: deep SAP architecture (S/4HANA, Native HANA 1.0/2.0, BW on HANA, BTP, Integration Suite), strong product instincts, hands-on AI/GenAI fluency, and a track record of building global teams that ship. Open to: Enterprise Architect, SAP BTP Cloud Architect, Director of Engineering / Architecture, Product Manager, or AI/Data Strategy roles — full-time, remote-friendly, or hybrid (Atlanta GA). Let's talk: [email protected]

Experience

  • Senior SAP BTP Cloud Architect & Product Lead — IFS Catering & Data Squad Portfolios at Delta Air Lines
    Feb 2019 - Present · 7 yrs 5 mos

    Concurrently led two strategic portfolios for Delta IFS and Data Squad, plus a parallel AI thought-leadership initiative. Portfolio 1 — IFS Brand-Ready Catering (SAP Innovation Awards 2020 Finalist) Architected the cloud-native HANA platform extending on-prem SAP ERP to 800+ stations worldwide — real-time inventory, POs, stock transfers, vendor invoicing, and shipments. Designed Procure-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash on SAP UI5 / Fiori, OData, Native HANA, and SAP Cloud Connector. Built the analytics backbone — calc views, KPI dashboards, and SAC/Tableau visualizations across inventory, vendor performance, and consumption. Set HANA modeling, security, transport, and landscape standards; shipped R1 to prod; led R2 design; mentored onshore/offshore teams. Portfolio 2 — Data Squad: Middleware, Analytics & Cloud Data Led the team building Delta's enterprise middleware and analytics on SAP BTP Cloud Foundry, SAP Integration Suite, and AWS (Lambda, Glue, Redshift). Architected event-driven and batch patterns with reusable iFlows — replacing legacy point-to-point interfaces and accelerating time-to-market. Built the analytics & data lake foundation — Glue/Redshift pipelines feeding executive dashboards and ML/AI use cases; set observability and quality standards. Paved migration from BTP Neo to Cloud Foundry, XS Classic HANA to XSA, and legacy SAP UI5 — de-risking the long-term roadmap. AI Thought Leadership & Enablement Founded a 10-session enterprise AI curriculum: LLM Fundamentals, RAG, Vector DBs, AI Agents, Prompt Engineering, Eval & Observability, Frameworks (Bedrock, LangChain, LlamaIndex), MCP, Amazon Q + MCP, and Amazon Q + SAP. Built a flagship POC connecting Amazon Q to SAP BTP Neo (OData) and SAP ECC (RFC/BAPI) via dual MCP servers. Hands-on with Anthropic Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and AWS Kiro; trained the team on Kiro for code optimization, generation, and documentation. In-house AI evangelist advising leadership on adoption and GenAI architectures.

  • Celltech Systems, Inc. (32 yrs 6 mos)
    • Managing Principal
      Jan 1994 - Present · 32 yrs 6 mos

      Involved in company’s growth by securing new partners, consulting engagements and by delivering new projects. Supporting portfolio management activities with Sales & Marketing team. Managed client engagement services and solution implementation. Support clients with knowledge expertise in SAP BI/BOBJ products.

    • SAP Program Manager | Solution Architect
      Jul 2016 - Dec 2018 · 2 yrs 6 mos

      Led S/4HANA Finance & Logistics greenfield implementation for Oil Refinery (Lagos, Nigeria) — one of the largest refineries globally — using SAP Activate methodology (Prepare → Explore → Realize → Deploy → Run). ▪ Architected HANA BI program; delivered Attribute/Analytic/Calculation views across HANA 1.0 SPS09–SPS12 and HANA 2.0 SPS00–SPS03; led migrations to HANA 2.0 SPS02. ▪ Built data provisioning using SLT, Data Services, CDS, SDI, and OData; deployed BOBJ suite (WebI, Lumira, Dashboards); authored a self-paced HANA 1.0 / 2.0 modeling course adopted by client teams.

  • PMC Partner at SAP
    2015 - 2018 · 3 yrs

  • Program Manager / Solution Architect - BI / Native HANA / SAP SuccessFactors at CONA Services - A Coca-Cola System IT Services Company
    May 2015 - Jun 2016 · 1 yr 2 mos

    Program Management • Involved in CONA BI Program to bring-in the best long-term CONA BI EDW on HANA Landscape/Appliance. • Conduct Business requirements/review sessions with Coca-Cola Bottlers for BI releases. • Facilitate offshore/onshore team meetings to define actions and drive the decision-making process • Manage day-to-day client interactions and expectations for multiple projects • Create strategies for risk mitigation and contingency planning on complex projects/programs • Efficiently identify and solve project and/or landscape issues, escalating to SAP / Landscape architects when necessary • Implementing and maintaining process controls • Reporting of BI Program Project Status and meet deadlines. • Authorize and oversee the deployment, monitoring, functional requirements. Solution Architect • Architect for CONA BI Program, integrating diverse business processes. Provided solutions with focus on successful operational, tactical & strategic metrics and KPI’s. Provide FSDs by release to Accenture – Technical Partner. • Reviewed Functional Solutions with Coca-Cola BPLs for approvals. • Trusted Advisor for clients on emerging and changing SAP BI HANA Technologies • Engaged horizontally and vertically with client organization to bring right results • Establish and maintain regular written and in-person communications with the organization’s executives and Business Process Leads (BPLs). • Conduct Kick-Off meets with Coca-Cola Bottlers and set standards for UAT and Testing phases. • Responsible for Test Environment/HP ALM/UAT Reporting. • Created a SOW based delivery model • Responsible for creation of project proposals, staffing requirements. Projects Handled: CONA BI Program FSDs for GL, AP, Procurement, CAM, Profitability Analysis, TPM, WM, Costing and HCM. HCM/SuccessFactor – End-to-End Solution – FSDs to Build/Delivery with Accenture.

  • Program Manager at COCA-COLA (CONA & CCR)
    Nov 2011 - Jun 2016 · 4 yrs 8 mos

    Architected CONA BI program on Native HANA EDW landscape; delivered FSDs across GL, AP, Procurement, CAM, Profitability Analysis, WM, Costing, Trade Promotion Management, Field Sales, DOIP, Fleet Management, FSV Settlement Billing, and HCM.