1. Experience & S/4HANA Core :

What to look for: 4 to 6 years of hands-on SAP ABAP development experience, with a strong preference for candidates who have worked in modern S/4HANA environments.

Key Keywords: SAP ABAP, S/4HANA Extensibility, Enhancement Framework, BAdIs, Explicit/Implicit Enhancement Points.

2. Modern ABAP & RAP :

What to look for: Proven experience writing modern Object-Oriented ABAP (OO-ABAP) and building business objects using the latest RAP framework.

Key Keywords: OO-ABAP, RAP (ABAP RESTful Application Programming Model).

3. API & Integration Expertise :

What to look for: Strong background in designing, building, and exposing secure SAP APIs to connect with external applications. They should understand API security protocols.

Key Keywords: OData (v2/v4), SEGW, RESTful APIs, SOAP, RFCs, BAPIs, OAuth, SAML, API Keys.

4. SAP BTP & Clean Core Extensions :

What to look for: Experience developing side-by-side or on-stack extensions on SAP BTP to support "clean core" architecture.

Key Keywords: SAP BTP, SAP BTP ABAP Environment, Steampunk, Side-by-side Extensions.

5. HANA Database & Advanced Data Modeling :

What to look for: Deep technical skills in database-level development specifically optimized for the SAP HANA database.

Key Keywords: CDS Views (Core Data Services), Associations, Annotations, AMDP (ABAP Managed Database Procedures), Table Functions.

6. Modern Development Tools (ADT) :

What to look for: Candidates who have transitioned away from legacy SAP GUI (SE80) and conduct their daily development in modern IDEs.

Key Keywords: ADT (ABAP Development Tools), Eclipse, VS Code.

7. Code Quality & Performance Tuning :

What to look for: Experience writing automated tests to guarantee high code quality and the ability to troubleshoot and optimize slow-performing custom code or database queries.

Key Keywords: ABAP Unit Testing Framework, Performance Tuning, Query Optimization.