Senior Technology Vendor Manager

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in California, +2 more states.

📋 Description

• Oversee vendor management for Philo’s Engineering and Data teams, prioritizing cloud and infrastructure expenses.

• Collaborate with infrastructure engineers to analyze AWS usage, billing, and commitments, while modeling potential savings from Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, and other commercial options.

• Manage and optimize expenditures with AWS, CDN partners, and transcoding service providers.

• Monitor usage against commitments and identify risks or opportunities.

• Assist Engineering and Data teams in finding, evaluating, and contracting necessary tools, platforms, and services.

• Develop an intake process for engaging new vendors.

• Work alongside IT and Legal for vendor security and risk assessments.

• Establish and disseminate vendor management best practices.

• Conduct vendor research and recommend options based on product requirements, quality, and budget constraints.

• Take ownership of evaluation and selection criteria, facilitating structured vendor comparisons.

• Support build-vs-buy evaluations with cost, effort, and tradeoff assessments.

• Execute proofs of concept prior to committing to new products.

• Lead negotiations regarding pricing, business terms, and SLAs.

• Manage the complete contracting lifecycle, covering NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, and purchase orders.

• Maintain centralized records of vendor owners, contract terms, costs, and renewal dates.

• Collaborate with Finance to model contract costs and project committed spending.

• Provide leadership with insights into vendor spending, overlap, and savings opportunities.

• Identify tools for consolidation or retirement.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for key vendors and escalate issues within the organization.

• Conduct quarterly business reviews and assess performance against SLAs.

• Organize vendor meetings at CES and other industry events.

⛳️ Requirements

• 8–10+ years of experience in vendor management, technology procurement, or a closely related field, primarily focusing on technology and cloud vendors.

• Practical experience managing relationships with a major cloud provider (AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure), including analyzing usage and billing data and suggesting commitment or pricing adjustments.

• Comprehensive knowledge of technology products and categories.

• Proven history of negotiating pricing, terms, and SLAs that resulted in measurable savings or improved terms.

• Experience managing contracts through legal review processes, including NDAs, MSAs, and SOWs.

• Financial acumen, encompassing vendor budgets, cost models, and forecasting committed spending.

• Strong research and analytical capabilities.

• Highly organized and proactive in approach.

• Effective communication with engineers, finance, legal, and non-technical teams, both in-person and remotely.

• Comfortable working independently in a lean, fast-paced environment.

• Experience in a streaming or media company, or familiarity with video technology such as transcoding, stream acquisition, and CDNs (preferred).

• An engineering or technical background (preferred).

• Knowledge of FinOps practices and cloud cost management tools like AWS Cost Explorer (preferred).

• Experience with billing, payments, or BI and analytics platforms (preferred).

• Experience establishing a vendor management or procurement function from the ground up (preferred).

🏝️ Benefits

• Company stock options.

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family.

• 401(k) plan with employer contributions.

• Flexible working hours.

• Up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave.

• Unlimited paid time off for vacation and sick leave.

• $2,000 annual vacation bonus.

• $5,250 annually for professional development and educational assistance.

• $1,250 annual home office + TV stipend in the first year of employment ($250 annually thereafter).

• $500/month ($6,000/year) bonus for employees committing to work at least 3 days per week in our offices.

• Generous commuter benefits ($315/month towards transit, rideshare, bike rental, or parking at our HQ office in San Francisco).

• Free Gympass subscription.

• Dog-friendly office.