Financial Operations Engineer

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Virginia.

📋 Description

• Analyze and oversee AWS usage and expenses utilizing Cost Explorer, Cost and Usage Reports, Cost Optimization Hub, Budgets, Trusted Advisor, and various third-party platforms.

• Identify idle, orphaned, and overprovisioned resources while quantifying potential savings opportunities.

• Recommend and manage Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, and Spot usage effectively.

• Create dashboards, executive summaries, and showback/chargeback reports for engineering, finance, and leadership teams.

• Provide forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis in collaboration with the Finance department.

• Configure cost anomaly detection and alert systems; lead investigations and remediation of unexpected expenditures.

• Design and impose tagging standards and AWS account structures for effective cost allocation.

• Automate rightsizing, scheduling, tag compliance, budget guardrails, and CI/CD cost checks utilizing Terraform, CloudFormation, Python, and Bash.

• Advise engineering teams on cost-effective AWS architecture, including Kubernetes/EKS, containers, and serverless solutions.

• Define FinOps KPIs, conduct stakeholder reviews, and provide training and documentation.

• Support Koniag IT Systems and its federal government customer in mission-critical cloud cost optimization initiatives.

⛳️ Requirements

• Proven experience in machine learning and statistical modeling.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Finance, Engineering, Statistics, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

• Over 5 years of experience in cloud cost optimization, FinOps, or cloud engineering, with a strong emphasis on AWS.

• In-depth understanding of AWS pricing and billing models along with the cost drivers of core services (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, EKS, data transfer).

• Practical experience with AWS cost management tools (Cost Explorer, CUR, Budgets) and at least one FinOps platform or BI tool.

• Experience with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform or CloudFormation) and automation scripting (Python, Bash, or PowerShell).

• Demonstrated ability to translate technical usage into financial insights and communicate effectively with engineers and finance leaders.

• Familiarity with FinOps principles and the Inform, Optimize, Operate lifecycle.

• FinOps Certified Practitioner (or higher) and/or AWS certifications such as Cloud Practitioner, Solutions Architect, or DevOps Engineer.

• Knowledge of the FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS).

• Experience with Kubernetes cost allocation and optimization (EKS, Kubecost), as well as serverless and container architectures.

• Background in multi-account governance and multi-cloud cost management (Azure, GCP).

• Proficiency in SQL and data analysis, including tools like Athena over CUR data, and experience in building financial or forecasting models.

• Experience in integrating cost awareness into DevOps or CI/CD workflows while collaborating within Agile/Scrum teams.

• Background in establishing or advancing a FinOps practice, including executive reporting and unit-economics metrics.

• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.

• Capability to balance cost efficiency with reliability, performance, and delivery speed.

• Curiosity, self-direction, and comfort in navigating ambiguous situations.

🏝️ Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• 401(k) retirement plan.

• Paid time off.

• Paid parental leave.

• Life and disability insurance.

• Flexible spending accounts.

• Commuter benefits.

• Tuition reimbursement.