Associate Director, Cloud FinOps Manager (m/f/x)
Berlin, Berlin, GermanyCompetitiveHybrid0 applicants
About this role
About the role
We are looking for a business-oriented leader to architect and own the financial operating model for our entire cloud infrastructure. This isn't a reporting role; you are the single-threaded owner responsible for optimizing one of the company's largest technology investments. Your mission is to transform our cloud spend from a complex cost center into a predictable, efficient engine for innovation. You will report to senior leadership and be empowered to support the negotiation of multi-million dollar contracts, drive cultural change across engineering, and provide the financial clarity required for strategic business decisions.
Responsibilities
- Cultural Change: Act as the evangelist for Cloud FinOps. Champion a culture of cost ownership across our engineering organization by empowering teams with the dashboards, insights, and training needed to make cost an integral part of their design and operating principles.
- Governance & Visibility: Architect a system of governance and accountability. Design and implement a universal resource tagging strategy, moving beyond simple reporting to create robust showback/chargeback models that give engineering teams true ownership of their spend.
- Optimization & Efficiency: Drive a company-wide optimization program. Go beyond "low-hanging fruit" to create a continuous optimization program, partnering with engineering to refactor applications for cost, adopt new pricing models, and eliminate systemic waste.
- Commercial Strategy & Negotiation: Develop and execute the strategy to lead negotiations with our cloud vendors, right-sizing our commitments to align with our business strategy and eliminating financial risk.
- Forecasting & Budgeting: Build and operate our data-driven forecasting model. Partner directly with the Tech and Finance organizations to eliminate spending volatility and provide the business with a reliable cloud budget and accurate forecast.
Requirements
- You are a seasoned leader who operates at the intersection of technology and finance. You are just as comfortable debating architectural trade-offs with a principal engineer as you are presenting a business case to a CFO. You are a strong team player who loves to share knowledge, enable others, and provide and receive feedback.
- Proven Experience: A track record of 7+ years in dedicated Cloud FinOps or Cloud Financial Management roles, with clear success in managing significant AWS spend.
- Mastery of Cloud Economics: Deep expertise in AWS cost structures, including the nuances of Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, Spot, and the Cost and Usage Report (CUR).
- Data-Driven Strategist: Exceptional analytical and financial modeling skills. You don't just create dashboards; you build data-driven business cases to influence executive-level decisions.
- Technical Credibility & Influence: You have hands-on experience and a proven ability to partner with engineering teams to optimize application architecture for cost. You can engage and communicate complex ideas effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Proven Negotiator: Demonstrable, material experience leading or participating in large-scale commercial negotiations with a major cloud vendor.
- Builder's Mentality: You have a proven track record of designing and building a Cloud FinOps practice from an early stage, creating process and strategy where none existed before. Proficiency with scripting (e.g., Python/Bash) and experience with third-party tools (e.g., Vantage, CloudHealth) are strong pluses.