FinOps Engineer

We're not just building better tech. We're rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn't sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them.

It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together.

One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.

We are looking for a Staff FinOps Engineer to join our team of smart, curious humans who push toward something bigger, together. In this high-impact role, you will be the subject matter expert responsible for the financial stewardship of our multi-cloud environment (AWS, Azure, GCP). You will partner directly with Engineering and Finance leadership to create a culture of cost accountability, ensuring that as our data streaming platform grows, it does so in a scalable and efficient manner. This isn't a solo act; you'll be a central partner, helping us build smarter and deliver dynamic experiences.

• Program Leadership & Strategy

  • Own and operate the end-to-end FinOps program, defining the roadmap, goals, and metrics for success.

  • Partner with senior executives and engineering leaders in Weekly Operational Reviews to translate complex cost data into strategic business insights and actionable plans.

  • Effectively communicate program goals, progress, and risks to diverse stakeholders, from finance analysts to principal engineers.

  • Build strong cross-departmental relationships to champion cost optimization efforts and facilitate collaboration between teams.

  • Engage with cloud provider representatives (e.g., Technical Account Managers) to leverage their expertise, share best practices internally, and advocate for our needs.
    

• Financial Governance & Forecasting

  • Own the systems to manage the cloud spend forecast, soliciting input from engineering teams and communicating expected spend to Finance for budgeting purposes.

  • Develop and implement cloud governance best practices, including robust resource tagging strategies, cost allocation models, and showback/chargeback processes.

  • Own our cloud savings targets, managing the portfolio of Reserved Instances, Savings Plans, and Committed Use Discounts to maximize ROI.
    

• Technical Analysis & Optimization

  • Dive deep into our cost and usage data using advanced SQL and data analysis to identify and prioritize savings opportunities.

  • Develop and maintain insightful dashboards and custom reports that empower engineers to manage their own cloud spend effectively.

  • Analyze our architecture and infrastructure to provide expert recommendations for rightsizing, storage tiering, and architectural improvements.

  • Solicit and evaluate cost-saving ideas from across the organization, estimating their potential impact and building a prioritized backlog of initiatives.
    

• Culture & Enablement

  • Lead a federated community of Cost Ambassadors, chairing regular meetings to drive tactical savings efforts.

  • Train and educate engineers on FinOps principles, tooling, and best practices for reviewing and tracking their cloud spending.

  • Champion a culture of cost-consciousness where every engineer feels accountable for the financial impact of their code.

• 10+ years of experience in a Technical Program Management, Cloud Operations, or dedicated FinOps role.

• Deep expertise in AWS, Azure, and/or GCP cost management tools (e.g., Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, GCP Billing) and pricing models.

• Strong proficiency in SQL and experience with data visualization tools (Tableau, Power BI, Looker, etc.) to analyze large, complex datasets.

• A proven track record in stakeholder management, with the ability to lead effective virtual meetings and hold senior leaders accountable for outcomes.

• A solid understanding of cloud-native technologies and architectures, including containers (Kubernetes), serverless, and managed database services.

• Experience with financial forecasting and budgeting in a matrixed enterprise environment.

• FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) or Professional certification.

• AWS/Azure/GCP certifications (e.g., Cloud Practitioner, Solutions Architect).

• Experience with third-party FinOps platforms (e.g., Apptio Cloudability, CloudHealth, Flexera).

• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or CloudFormation

• Prior experience in FPA as a financial analyst or financial manager

• Hands-on experience with modern data stack technologies (e.g., dbt,, Apache Iceberg, BigQuery, LookerStudio).

• A history of thought leadership, such as writing technical blog posts or speaking at industry events.

Belonging isn't a perk here. It's the baseline. We work across time zones and backgrounds, knowing the best ideas come from different perspectives. And we make space for everyone to lead, grow, and challenge what's possible.

We're proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. Employment decisions are based on job-related criteria, without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other classification protected by law.