Senior Systems Specialist (ERP) - Middlesbrough

Altrad are currently recruiting for a Senior Systems Specialist (ERP) to join the team based in Middlesbrough.

The successful candidate will own the technical architecture and lifecycle of a complex, multi-country ERP estate spanning Microsoft Dynamics AX, Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC), Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O) and legacy NAV, supporting multiple legal entities, countries and operating models.

Key Deliverables

Multi-Country ERP Technical Ownership & Architecture

• Serve as technical authority for a heterogeneous Microsoft ERP estate covering Dynamics AX, Business Central, Dynamics 365 F&O and legacy NAV across multiple legal entities, countries and operating models.
• Design target, transitional and coexistence architectures, including platform boundaries, data flows, environment strategies and migration paths between legacy and strategic ERP platforms.
• Maintain clear application and dependency maps across Microsoft base application versions, country/localisation packs, ISV layers, bespoke extensions, integrations, batch services, reporting and downstream data products.
• Define technical standards for configuration versus customisation, extension patterns, environment topology, supportability, resilience, performance, observability, security and data privacy.
• Govern enterprise versus local design decisions, ensuring justified country-specific requirements are accommodated without creating uncontrolled divergence or unnecessary technical debt.

ERP Platform Engineering & ISV Layer Management

• Own the technical integrity of layered ERP solutions where Microsoft platform components, localisations, multiple ISV products and bespoke changes have interdependent release and upgrade requirements.
• Maintain compatibility matrices covering ERP version, runtime/platform version, localisation, ISV release, custom extension, API/interface version and key infrastructure dependencies.
• Review and challenge solution designs and code produced internally or by vendors across AL/C-AL, X++ and related ERP technologies, ensuring changes are supportable, extensible and aligned to clean upgrade paths.
• Coordinate technical changes across multiple suppliers and ISVs, identifying collision points, sequencing dependencies and preventing one vendor change from adversely affecting another layer of the ERP stack.
• Troubleshoot issues that span ERP base code, ISV functionality, custom extensions, SQL/database services, identity, integrations, reporting and end-user clients.

Integration, Data & Interoperability

• Design and govern integrations using appropriate Dynamics patterns including REST/OData APIs, data entities, web services, business events, file/EDI interfaces and other legacy interfaces where required.
• Use Azure integration services such as API Management, Logic Apps, Functions and messaging patterns to decouple systems, control interfaces and improve resilience and observability.
• Co-design integration contracts with Data Engineering, covering schemas, ownership, lineage, versioning, error handling, service levels and data quality at system boundaries.
• Partner with Data & Analytics teams to enable ERP data consumption through governed pipelines to platforms such as Azure Data Lake, Fabric and Databricks, using incremental/CDC patterns where appropriate.
• Protect master data integrity and support consistent cross-country data definitions while recognising legitimate local statutory and operational variations.

Release, Environment & ERP Lifecycle Management

• Own environment and release strategies across Dev, Test, UAT, Pre-Production and Production, adapting controls to the different deployment models used by AX, BC and F&O.
• Lead major/minor ERP upgrades, cumulative/platform updates, hotfixes, ISV upgrades, extension releases, API deprecations and security patching across multiple country instances.
• Plan upgrades as an end-to-end dependency exercise, validating Microsoft base application, localisation, ISV, custom code, interface and reporting compatibility before production deployment.
• Establish and operate CI/CD and release controls using Azure DevOps and relevant Microsoft lifecycle/admin tooling, including automated build/test, artefact promotion, approvals, audit trail and rollback.
• Define regression and cutover strategies that test critical country processes, statutory functions, integrations and ISV-dependent business scenarios before release.
• Support ERP rationalisation and modernisation roadmaps, including controlled transition from legacy AX/NAV estates to BC and/or F&O where this is the approved target architecture.

Operations, Performance & Problem Management

• Own ERP operational health and service targets, using application telemetry, SQL/database diagnostics, batch monitoring, integration logs and platform monitoring to identify emerging issues.
• Lead resolution of complex, cross-platform incidents and problem-management root cause analyses, coordinating Microsoft, ISVs, infrastructure teams and internal specialists where ownership is shared.
• Drive performance tuning and capacity planning across ERP application tiers, databases, integrations and supporting Azure services.
• Maintain robust backup/restore, disaster recovery, support runbooks and technical operating procedures aligned to agreed RTO/RPO and service requirements.

Security, Access & Compliance

• Apply secure-by-design controls across ERP identity, roles, permissions, segregation of duties, privileged access, service accounts and integration identities.
• Ensure ERP designs and changes meet applicable UK/EU data residency, GDPR, Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO/IEC 27001 requirements, together with relevant contractual and sector controls.
• Maintain auditable change, access and deployment records and ensure vulnerabilities, unsupported components and technical exceptions are identified and remediated through controlled plans.

Stakeholder, Vendor & Delivery Management

• Translate complex business requirements into technical ERP designs, clearly separating global/common requirements from country, entity and ISV-specific needs.
• Manage and technically assure third-party ERP partners, developers and ISVs, holding suppliers to agreed architecture, coding, documentation, security, testing and support standards.
• Coordinate roadmaps across Microsoft, ISV and internal delivery teams so release sequencing, end-of-support dates and platform dependencies are visible and actively managed.
• Provide clear technical decision records, architecture diagrams, runbooks and handovers to BAU/support teams.

Team Leadership & Technical Mentoring

• Act as the senior escalation point for analysts and technical specialists working across ERP, integrations and connected business systems.
• Mentor colleagues in structured troubleshooting, dependency analysis, release management and safe support of complex multi-layer ERP environments.
• Review and sign off technical fixes and changes, ensuring appropriate standards, peer review and change governance are followed.

Essential

Key Requirements / Qualifications

• Proven experience supporting, designing or technically owning complex, multi-country and multi-entity ERP environments rather than a single standardised implementation.
• Strong Microsoft Dynamics ERP background across Dynamics AX, Dynamics 365 Business Central and Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, with deep expertise in at least one platform and strong working knowledge of the others;
• Demonstrable experience managing layered ERP architectures comprising Microsoft base applications, country/localisation components, multiple third-party ISVs, bespoke extensions and integrations.
• Strong understanding of AL/C-AL and X++ concepts sufficient to diagnose issues, review technical designs/code and work effectively with specialist developers; hands-on development capability in one or more Dynamics technologies is advantageous.
• Proven delivery of ERP upgrades, migrations, platform changes and controlled releases where compatibility across Microsoft, ISV and custom layers must be actively managed.
• Experience with Dynamics integration patterns including REST/OData, APIs, data entities, webhooks/business events, OAuth and Azure integration services such as API Management, Logic Apps, Functions and messaging.
• Strong environment and release-management knowledge, including Azure DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, artefact promotion, lifecycle/admin tooling and robust rollback/cutover planning.
• Good SQL Server and database diagnostic skills, with the ability to investigate performance, data integrity, batch and cross-system issues in ERP contexts.
• Understanding of multi-country ERP considerations including legal entities, localisation, tax/statutory requirements, currencies, languages, data residency and controlled variation from global standards.
• Strong vendor and ISV management skills, with the ability to challenge technical proposals, coordinate multiple suppliers and maintain clear accountability across shared solution boundaries.
• Secure-by-design mindset covering identity, permissions, segregation of duties, auditability, data protection and controlled privileged access.
• Excellent problem solving and technical communication skills, including the ability to explain complex ERP dependencies and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Desirable

• Experience in Engineering, Construction, Energy, Industrial Services or similarly complex project-led environments.
• Experience of vertical/industry ISVs layered on Microsoft Dynamics ERP platforms, particularly where multiple ISV products and localisations must coexist.
• Power Platform and Dataverse experience, including Power Apps, Power Automate and governance of ERP-adjacent low-code solutions.
• Familiarity with Azure data tooling and modern analytics platforms including Data Factory, Fabric, Databricks and lakehouse concepts.
• ITIL/Agile delivery experience, service transition and formal change/CAB participation.
• Relevant Microsoft Dynamics 365, Azure or Power Platform certifications.

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