Cloud FinOps Architect Lead

We are seeking a Cloud Optimization Architect to lead the financial and technical evolution of our Azure ecosystem. This is a senior-level technical role focused on the intersection of high-performance engineering and cloud financial accountability. You will be the primary architect responsible for ensuring our $1M+ annual Azure spend is optimized for maximum value through Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC), automated governance, and data-driven FinOps practices.

Responsibilities

Lead the Inform, Optimize, and Operate phases of the FinOps lifecycle to maintain a lean cloud footprint; Proactively manage the lifecycle of Azure Reservations and Savings Plans to maximize ROI and coverage; Develop and maintain automated Power BI dashboards and Showback/Chargeback reports to provide stakeholders with granular visibility into spend; Implement and enforce Azure governance controls (Azure Policy, Tagging, Management Groups) to prevent cost leakage; Lead monthly Optimization Reviews with application owners to identify and execute rightsizing opportunities for underutilized resources; Design and support Azure Databricks environments with a strict focus on cost-efficiency, implementing Auto-termination, Spot Instance policies, and Unity Catalog governance; Build and maintain Azure reference architectures delivered exclusively via Terraform and/or Bicep; Integrate cost-estimation tools (e.g., Infracost) directly into CI/CD pipelines to provide visibility into the financial impact of code changes before deployment; Build automated workflows to detect and remediate zombie resources (unattached disks, idle Load Balancers, etc.); Architect secure, cost-optimized hybrid connectivity (VPN, ExpressRoute, VNet peering) and global DNS strategies; Design disaster recovery strategies (RTO/RPO) that balance business continuity with cost (e.g., Pilot Light vs. Multi-region Active/Active); Establish monitoring and logging standards using Azure Monitor and Log Analytics to track both performance and cost anomalies

Requirements

8+ years of experience in IT infrastructure or systems engineering; 5+ years of hands-on Azure architecture experience with a proven track record of managing spend at scale ($50k–$100k+/month); Expert-level proficiency in IaC: Extensive experience with Terraform (preferred) or Bicep in a production environment; Advanced Azure Billing Knowledge: Deep understanding of EA/MCA agreements, Azure Resource Graph (Kusto/KQL), and retail vs. negotiated rates; Data Platform Experience: Hands-on experience optimizing Azure Databricks, ADLS, and Entra ID integration

Nice to have

FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) – Highly Preferred; AZ-305: Azure Solutions Architect Expert; AZ-400: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert; AZ-700: Azure Network Engineer Associate; SC-300: Identity and Access Administrator Associate