Cost Allocation Data Engineer

Inabia Software & Consulting•Bellevue, WA

6d•Remote

About The Position

This is not a standard data engineering role. As a Cost Allocation Data Engineer, you will sit at the intersection of cloud economics, financial modeling, and data engineering, building the core allocation logic that enables show back and chargeback across complex cloud environments. Your work will directly influence how business leaders understand, govern, and optimize cloud spend. This is the most business-logic-intensive engineering role on the team, ideal for someone who thrives on translating financial concepts into scalable, auditable data models.

Requirements

5–7 years of hands-on data engineering experience
Proven experience building chargeback and/or showback systems
Strong exposure to cloud cost allocation in enterprise environments
Expert-level SQL (complex joins, window functions, performance tuning)
Strong dimensional data modeling skills (facts, dimensions, slowly changing dimensions)
Experience with modern data modeling tools such as: dbt LookML or equivalent frameworks
Deep understanding of FinOps cost allocation methodologies
Solid grasp of financial accounting concepts, including: Amortization Accruals Budgeting and variance analysis

Nice To Haves

Prior work supporting FinOps, Finance, or Cost Management teams is highly preferred
You think in business rules, not just pipelines
You can explain financial models clearly to both engineers and finance stakeholders
You build data models that are: Auditable Explainable Scalable
You’ve worked in environments where cost transparency directly impacts executive decisions

Responsibilities

Design and implement a cost allocation rule engine supporting: Tag-based attribution Account/subscription-based mappings Custom business-defined allocation rules
Build amortization models for upfront cloud commitments: 1-year and 3-year reservations Prepaid and committed-use discounts
Implement shared cost distribution models, including: Proportional allocation Even split Fixed-coefficient weighting
Create attribution logic for untagged costs, leveraging: Account ownership Usage heuristics Business metadata
Develop budget vs. actual variance models to support cost governance
Design forecasting input models using historical trends and seasonality
Ensure all models align with accounting principles, including: Period alignment Matching principle Accrual and amortization logic