Staff Software Development Engineer

As a Staff Software Development Engineer on the Connectors Engineering – SAP Portfolio team, you'll be the senior, hands-on technical resource for AvaTax's most complex SAP implementations. You'll work directly with Certified Implementation Partners (CIPs) and customer IT/Basis/ABAP teams to diagnose and resolve technical issues that arise while deploying AvaTax and related products across SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA (Private Cloud), and SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud.

You'll own problems end-to-end rather than routing them — debugging ABAP code, dumps, and BAdI/enhancement logic, navigating SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud's Clean Core extensibility model (BTP, CDS views, restricted BAdIs), and resolving the large majority of issues yourself. You'll escalate to Connector Engineering only when an issue is a confirmed product defect, packaging it with the reproduction steps, logs, and traces engineering needs to act quickly. In doing so, you'll protect engineering's roadmap capacity, strengthen Avalara's credibility with high-stakes enterprise SAP partners, and help build the runbooks and mentoring that raise the broader SAP Tax Technology team's troubleshooting capability over time.

• Serve as the primary technical owner on partner-led and direct SAP implementation projects, joining CIP calls with the depth and authority to resolve issues on the spot.

• Diagnose technical issues from functional consultants, partners, and customers — spanning connector behavior, ABAP customization, BTP configuration, BAdI/enhancement logic, SAP Basis, or customer-specific code — and resolve them directly in the majority of cases.

• Escalate to Connector Engineering only for confirmed product defects, with full reproduction steps, logs, and ABAP traces included.

• Own issues to full closure; success is measured by resolution, not hand-off speed.

• Debug live issues across SAP ECC, S/4HANA Private Cloud, and S/4HANA Public Cloud, including ABAP debugging, dump analysis, and connector/interface tracing.

• Review and advise on custom BAdI implementations, user exits, and enhancement logic partners/customers use to extend Avalara connector functionality (e.g., FlexMapper custom field mapping, address validation BAdIs).

• Navigate SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud's extensibility model (BTP, CDS views, restricted BAdI framework) to find compliant technical paths where standard extensibility is limited.

• Apply first-principles troubleshooting to distinguish connector defects from customer configuration, custom code, or platform issues.

• Understand tax calculation, VAT, and e-invoicing concepts — including country-specific mandates such as real-time reporting and clearance models — well enough to troubleshoot where they intersect with SAP tax determination and connector behavior.

• Use REST API tooling (Postman, SOAP UI) and log/trace analysis to reproduce issues with evidence, inspecting JSON/XML payloads, authentication, and sync vs. async processing.

• Analyze connector, ERP-native, and internal logs/traces to pinpoint failure points and separate configuration, data, platform, and product-defect causes.

• Prepare escalation-ready diagnostic artifacts (repro steps, payloads, logs, error codes, business impact) for the rare genuine engineering escalations.

• Join customer- and partner-facing calls to explain technical analysis, progress, and options in clear, non-engineering language.

• Build trusted relationships with CIP technical teams and customer ABAP/Basis resources, positioning Avalara as a strong technical partner on high-stakes, multi-year SAP engagements.

• Proactively manage expectations on complex or long-running issues, keeping stakeholders aligned on status and next steps.

• Communicate the boundary of support clearly — guiding on approach and diagnosis without taking ownership of partner/customer-owned custom code.

• Partner with Connector Engineering to keep engineering focused on product development rather than ad hoc firefighting.

• Work with the functional SAP Tax Technology team to raise their independent debugging capability through runbooks, troubleshooting guides, and training.

• Document recurring technical patterns (common ABAP errors, BAdI pitfalls, BTP/CDS restrictions) to build institutional knowledge and reduce repeat escalations.

• Contribute technical input to roadmap and prioritization discussions based on patterns seen across implementations.

• Identify and implement opportunities for AI to accelerate technical triage, such as AI-assisted analysis of ABAP dumps, logs, and traces.

• Design and build AI-powered triage agents that auto-classify escalations, surface likely root cause, and recommend next steps or routing.

• Integrate AI/LLM capabilities into troubleshooting workflows with appropriate safeguards, observability, and deterministic fallbacks — especially for compliance-critical tax processes.

• Use AI-assisted tooling (e.g., Cursor or similar) to speed up documentation, runbooks, and issue write-ups, and continuously evaluate emerging AI tools relevant to SAP technical support.

• Operate as a self-starter with minimal day-to-day direction, proactively identifying and acting on technical risk to go-lives, partner trust, or competitive exposure.

• Exercise sound judgment on the rare cases that genuinely require engineering involvement — independent resolution is the strong default.

• Maintain high accountability on time-sensitive, high-visibility implementations where delays can affect go-live dates and partner relationships.

• B.S. in Computer Science or Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8–12+ years of experience in SAP technical roles, with direct, hands-on ABAP development and debugging experience, aligned to scope and level of this role.
• Proven experience with SAP BTP, CDS views, and the SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud extensibility model (including its BAdI restrictions).
• Direct experience with SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA (Private Cloud) integrations, ideally including third-party/ISV connector or middleware integrations.
• Demonstrated ability to debug in live customer/partner environments and to read and interpret ABAP dumps, traces, and enhancement/BAdI code.
• Strong client-facing skills: comfortable leading technical conversations with enterprise customers and Certified Implementation Partner teams, translating deep technical detail into clear guidance for non-technical stakeholders.
• Excellent troubleshooting instincts — able to quickly isolate root cause across a complex chain of SAP configuration, custom code, connector logic, and integration middleware.
• Hands-on fluency with integration and API diagnostic tooling — Postman, SOAP UI, REST/SOAP API testing, and reading JSON/XML payloads, request/response cycles, and standardized error codes to reproduce and evidence issues.
• Working knowledge of tax calculation, VAT, and e-invoicing concepts, including how country-specific e-invoicing mandates affect SAP document flows.
• Self-starter who can operate with significant autonomy, manage competing high-priority issues, and drive them to resolution without constant oversight — and without defaulting to engineering escalation as the first move.
• Demonstrated, hands-on applied AI capability: able to give specific examples of using AI to materially improve speed, quality, or scale of technical work, with the ability to explain tool/approach choices and relevant risk and governance considerations.

• Prior experience in a partner-facing or consulting role (SI, ISV, or SAP-focused consultancy) involving enterprise, multi-year implementations.
• Working knowledge of Avalara's SAP connector architecture, FlexMapper, or willingness to ramp up quickly.

We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we're a billion dollar business - and we’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world.

We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products.  Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability.

• You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here.

• You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers.

• You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

Total Rewards 

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses. 

Health & Wellness 
Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance. 

Inclusive culture and diversity 
Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship. 

Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.