Sr. Business Planning Manager - Cloud FinOps

Visa•Austin, TX

5d•$127,300 - $204,100•Hybrid

About The Position

Visa is seeking a Senior Business Planning Manager in its Demand Management group to lead Cloud FinOps and manage cloud costs and consumption across 10 entities, including Visa, as well as future M&A entities. The role identifies and implements cloud cost optimization opportunities, tracks resource utilization, and supports Visa Cloud’s multi-year technology strategy and budget. It partners with engineering, architecture, finance, and product teams across Visa and its M&A entities, and aligns executives on cloud and AI strategy and governance. The role applies knowledge of major cloud platforms, including AWS, GCP, Azure, and Databricks, as well as AI tools and large language model providers. It helps define AI governance, usage and cost tracking, efficiency analysis, and daily and monthly reporting. The position also establishes metrics and consumption optimization initiatives for IT financial efficiency and cost transparency, while providing broad exposure to teams, systems, tools, and data sources. Visa requires at least three days in the office; the specific days will be confirmed by the Hiring Manager. Work hours vary with department needs, and the position requires 5–10% travel. Work is performed in an office setting and involves sitting and standing at a desk, communicating in person and by telephone, and frequently using standard office equipment such as telephones and computers.

Requirements

At least 8 years of relevant work experience with a bachelor’s degree, 5 years with an advanced degree, or 2 years with a PhD.
Experience in financial analysis, preferably in technology or cloud computing.
Proven experience in cloud cost management and optimization.
Strong understanding of cloud pricing, cost structures, and billing models.
Proficiency with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.
Proficiency in data analysis tools and software.
Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office applications.
Proficiency with SQL queries, data analysis, and visualization tools.
Experience in infrastructure cost optimization techniques.
Technical background sufficient to understand infrastructure products and the core concepts behind running IT like a business.
Experience creating cost transparency and cost clarity programs for a CIO or CTO office.
Ability to research market size and trends and conduct competitive analysis.
Ability to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to think strategically.
Strong written, oral, and presentation communication skills, including business and technical writing and executive-level presentations.
Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, influence stakeholders, and work with various levels of senior leadership.

Nice To Haves

At least 9 years of relevant work experience with a bachelor’s degree, 7 years with an advanced degree, or 3 years with a PhD.
Concentration in Management Information Systems, Technology Management, Computer Science, Finance, Business Analytics, or a related technical discipline, and/or an MS/MBA.
Certification in Cloud FinOps or a related field.
Experience with cloud cost management tools.
In-depth understanding of business, technology infrastructure, IT financial management frameworks, and key vendor licensing methodologies.
Extensive experience in data analysis and modeling to provide business intelligence support for Technology leadership.
Understanding of public cloud deployments and IT frameworks.

Responsibilities

Lead the public cloud technology lane portfolio end-to-end from a Cloud FinOps demand management perspective.
Develop cloud consumption views and growth forecasts, and drive IT financial efficiency across public cloud providers, including managed services.
Analyze cloud usage and cost trends, identify cost drivers, and recommend cost optimizations.
Develop and implement strategies to optimize cloud resources, including right-sizing compute, storage, database, and other services and using cost-effective services.
Break down global public cloud expenses by service to identify infrastructure cost-reduction opportunities and improvements to tools and processes.
Write business justifications for technology purchases and execute purchases according to Visa procurement principles.
Provide IT decision support and use business intelligence and data analytics to inform technology decisions, covering strategy, financials, and KPIs.
Work with project teams to establish and manage cloud budgets aligned with organizational OKRs, develop financial models for cloud cost allocation, and set and track budgets by business unit, account, project, and cost center.
Forecast cloud and AI usage and costs for existing workloads and new projects or applications moving from on-premises data centers to the cloud.
Engage cloud service providers to negotiate pricing and contractual terms.
Establish and enforce cloud and AI cost management policies, guidelines, and best practices.
Monitor cloud and AI costs in real time and proactively address anomalies and budget deviations.
Generate regular reports and dashboards communicating cost insights, trends, and recommendations to management and stakeholders.
Run SQL scripts to extract utilization data and perform analytics for infrastructure cost optimization.
Assist product owners with executing technology strategy while assessing the operating expense impact of key decisions.
Partner with product owners to identify expense-reduction opportunities and create execution plans and tracking.
Review new purchase demand with product owners, validate its alignment with technology strategy, and present analytics comparing Visa’s usage of similar products within the category.
Keep up to date with industry trends, new cloud services, and pricing models.