AI FinOps & Token Economics Lead

Microsoft • Redmond, WA

5d

About The Position

The AI FinOps & Token Economics Lead will lead Microsoft Business Operations’ end-to-end approach to vendor AI consumption. The role governs, forecasts, allocates and optimizes token investment against measurable business outcomes, establishing an operating model that connects vendor AI demand, consumption, commercial accountability and value realization. The goal is to ensure investment in appropriate AI capabilities and translate increased consumption into reduced cost, increased capacity, improved quality or better business outcomes.

Within Global Vendor Delivery & Solutions, the role develops MBO’s approach to treating AI as a capacity investment alongside vendor headcount. It works across demand governance, AI FinOps, value realization, vendor commercial governance, optimization and controls, and token strategy. The position also owns FinOps and tokenomics for Copilot and Cowork, including usage visibility, allocation and optimization.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, Economics, Engineering or a related field and at least 4 years of experience in FinOps, cloud or technology cost management, FP&A, or vendor/commercial management, or equivalent experience.
• Strong commercial acumen and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Ability to influence without authority and confidently manage stakeholders and vendors.
• Structured problem-solving skills, a growth mindset and a customer-obsessed focus on business outcomes.
• Ability to work across organizational boundaries as One Microsoft.

Nice To Haves

• At least 6 years of experience in FinOps, technology cost management, FP&A or commercial management.
• Hands-on cloud or AI consumption FinOps experience, such as Azure cost management or token- or usage-based pricing.
• Understanding of large language models, AI agents and token economics.
• Experience with vendor or outsourcing commercial models, statements of work and renewals.
• Strong forecasting and variance-reporting skills using tools such as Power BI and Excel.
• FinOps Certified Practitioner certification or similar.
• Excellent executive communication and influencing skills.

Responsibilities

• Own MBO’s framework for vendor token demand and consumption, including intake, demand forecasting, and role- or workload-level requirements.
• Define approval thresholds and exception processes, budget and funding accountability, and portfolio prioritization across vendor AI use cases.
• Operationalize per-vendor, per-month consumption thresholds, requiring exceptions to be justified against contracted outcomes and measurable business value.
• Create a consolidated view of vendor AI consumption and establish a regular operating rhythm covering actual versus approved consumption, forecasts and run rates, variances and outliers, optimization opportunities, and consumption controls.
• Align the approach with the emerging internal AI FinOps model, emphasizing visibility, allocation, optimization and business outcomes.
• Own FinOps and tokenomics for Copilot and Cowork, including usage visibility, allocation and optimization.
• Link token investment to measurable outcomes through a value chain connecting token investment, AI capability, productivity or capacity, business KPIs, and financial value.
• Connect token investment to the broader vendor commercial model and determine whether Microsoft or the supplier should bear AI consumption costs.
• Ensure AI productivity is reflected in supplier capacity and commercial arrangements so token investment does not become incremental vendor cost.
• Incorporate token economics into statements of work, renewals and vendor transformation discussions.
• Apply the framework distinguishing Microsoft-directed requirements, supplier productivity choices and joint transformation investments.
• Continuously optimize vendor AI consumption by using the lowest-cost capable tool or model, setting appropriate limits, identifying abnormal consumption and eliminating unnecessary usage.
• Move workloads toward more efficient models and configurations, with particular attention to long-running agents, recurring automations, parallel sessions, large contexts and unnecessarily expensive models.
• Recommend increased investment where the economics justify it.
• Evolve MBO’s operating model to treat AI as a capacity investment alongside vendor headcount, embedding token economics in planning, prioritization and vendor strategy.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level