Delivery Management Project Manager I

Cloud FinOps SME - Enterprise Data Platform (Databricks)

Location Preferred locations: San Jose, CA Alternative - Lehi, Utah

2-3 days onsite.

Cloud FinOps SME - Enterprise Data Platform (Databricks)

Role

The Cloud FinOps Subject Matter Expert (SME) will be responsible for driving cloud financial management (FinOps) for the enterprise Data Cloud platform built on Databricks across AWS and Azure. This role will monitor and optimize cloud consumption, provide cost transparency, develop forecasting models, and collaborate with engineering teams to improve platform efficiency and resource utilization.

The role will also establish governance practices, enable cost accountability across teams, and provide actionable insights into platform utilization and cost drivers. The position will report to the Director of Enterprise Data Platform.

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What You Will Do

Monitor, analyze, and optimize cloud spending across Databricks workloads, AWS, and Azure services

Develop and maintain cloud cost visibility dashboards and usage analytics to provide transparency into platform consumption and spending

Partner with Data Engineering, Platform Engineering, and Product teams to implement cost-efficient cloud architecture and workload strategies

Implement and manage cost allocation frameworks (tagging, workspace mapping, business units, products) to track unit economics such as cost per customer, workload, or data pipeline

Develop and maintain cloud consumption forecasting models and support budgeting and financial planning cycles

Establish and promote FinOps governance policies and best practices, including cluster usage guidelines, auto-scaling, instance optimization, and idle resource management

Identify and drive cost optimization initiatives such as cluster right-sizing, workload scheduling, storage lifecycle policies, and reserved capacity planning

Collaborate with Finance teams to support showback and chargeback reporting and improve cost accountability across engineering teams

Analyze Databricks platform utilization patterns and recommend improvements to cluster configurations, job orchestration, and resource usage

Work with cloud service providers on demand planning, reserved instances, savings plans, and capacity reservations

Identify opportunities for automation and process improvement in cloud cost management and reporting

Track and report FinOps KPIs, optimization initiatives, and realized savings

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Qualifications

To be successful in this role you have:

6-10 years of experience in cloud cost management, FinOps, platform operations, or technical program management

Strong understanding of public cloud services and pricing models (AWS and/or Azure)

Experience working with data platforms such as Databricks, Apache Spark, or large-scale analytics environments

Experience developing cost analytics, forecasting models, and financial reporting dashboards

Knowledge of cloud cost optimization techniques including rightsizing, autoscaling, workload scheduling, and reserved capacity planning

Experience implementing cost allocation models and tagging strategies for cloud resource tracking

Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate cloud usage data into financial insights and optimization recommendations

Experience collaborating with engineering, finance, and product teams in a cross-functional environment

Experience using data analysis tools such as SQL, Python, or BI platforms for reporting and analytics

Excellent communication skills with the ability to present insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

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Nice to Have

FinOps Foundation FinOps Certified Practitioner certification

Experience working with Databricks cost optimization and cluster management

Familiarity with cloud cost management tools such as CloudHealth, Cloudability, or native cloud cost management platforms

Experience building cost dashboards using BI tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or Looker

Knowledge of enterprise data platform architecture

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Soft Skills

Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities

Excellent communication and cross-team collaboration skills

Ability to influence engineering teams toward cost-efficient design and operational practices

Proactive, self-driven mindset with strong ownership

Organized with strong attention to detail and documentation skills

Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment

The role is primarily FinOps (Financial Operations) rather than pure data engineering.

~Main objective is cost optimization and financial governance of cloud analytics platforms.

~Looking for a FinOps specialist for a data platform.



Key Responsibilities

~Help business teams and internal teams control cloud platform costs.

~Work mainly with Databricks on Azure, with some AWS exposure.

~Optimize usage of cloud analytics platforms to maximize value.

~Support capacity planning and budgeting for business teams.

~Provide quarterly projections and annual planning inputs on platform costs.

~Identify opportunities to automate cost monitoring and optimization processes.

~Ensure governance and proper usage of platforms: Avoid duplicate data, Avoid redundant workloads, Improve observability and visibility across platforms.



Platforms

~Primary

Databricks (must have)

Azure cloud environment

~Secondary

AWS exposure

Power BI optimization and monitoring



Must Have

~Strong FinOps / cloud cost management experience

~Databricks platform experience

~Ability to manage cloud cost optimization and governance

~Excellent communication skills (role interacts with many departments and directors)

~Candidate must be comfortable discussing financial topics and communicating with multiple stakeholders.

~Technical engineering background

~Experience optimizing Power BI

~Ability to create backlog, epics, and stories for improvement initiatives.



Agile / Scrum Expectation

~Not a dedicated Scrum Master role.

Candidate can:

~Help create backlog of cost optimization initiatives

~Define epics/stories

~Prioritize improvements with the manager.