Cloud FinOps Specialist

Job Title: Cloud FinOps Expert / Specialist

Overview

Key Responsibilities

• Cloud Cost Management
• Monitor and analyze cloud usage and spending across AWS, Azure, and GCP.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities and implement optimization strategies.
• Financial Analysis & Reporting
• Develop financial models for forecasting and budgeting cloud expenses.
• Prepare and present cost reports and dashboards for stakeholders.
• Governance & Compliance
• Ensure adherence to company policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain accurate tagging and allocation for cost transparency.
• Collaboration
• Work with engineering teams to design cost-efficient architectures.
• Partner with finance and procurement for contract negotiations and reserved instance planning.
• Tooling & Automation
• Manage cloud cost management tools (e.g., CloudHealth, Apptio, Spot.io).
• Automate reporting and anomaly detection for cloud spend.
• Training & Evangelism
• Educate teams on FinOps principles and best practices.
• Promote a culture of financial accountability in cloud usage.
  

Required Skills

• Technical
• Strong knowledge of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
• Familiarity with FinOps Foundation principles.
• Experience with cost management tools and data analytics (Power BI, Tableau).
• Financial
• Expertise in budgeting, forecasting, and cost allocation.
• Ability to create and interpret financial models.
• Analytical & Communication
• Strong problem-solving and data analysis skills.
• Excellent communication for cross-functional collaboration.
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Computer Science, or related field.
• 8–10 years of experience in cloud technologies and 4-6 years of experience in cloud cost management, financial operations.
• Certifications: AWS/Azure/GCP Certified Cloud Practitioner, FinOps Certified Practitioner (preferred).
  

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Cloud Cost Optimization

• Percentage reduction in monthly cloud spend without impacting performance.
• Savings achieved through reserved instances, savings plans, or spot instances.
  

Forecast Accuracy

• Variance between forecasted and actual cloud spend (target: ±5–10%).
  

Resource Utilization

• Percentage of underutilized or idle resources identified and remediated.
• Ratio of tagged vs. untagged resources (target: >95% tagged).
  

Automation & Efficiency

• Number of automated cost optimization scripts/processes implemented.
• Reduction in manual effort for cost reporting and anomaly detection.
  

Governance & Compliance

• Compliance rate with cost allocation and tagging policies.
• Number of policy violations detected and resolved.
  

Stakeholder Engagement

• Frequency and quality of cost optimization reports delivered to stakeholders.
• Training sessions conducted on FinOps best practices.
  

Business Value Metrics

• Cost per application/service vs. business value delivered.
• ROI on cloud investments.