Senior Systems Engineer - FinOps
About The Position
The Senior Systems Engineer – FinOps is a senior technical specialist responsible for cloud cost optimization, financial accountability, and engineering-led efficiency across large-scale data platforms. The role focuses on FinOps optimization for Snowflake, AWS EMR, and AWS services including EC2, S3, Lambda, Redshift, Glue, DynamoDB, and EKS. The engineer designs and implements automation for tagging compliance, budget guardrails, workload efficiency, and anomaly detection to support cost-effective, scalable data solutions. Working with Cloud Platform, Data Engineering, DevOps, Security, and Finance teams, the role enables cost transparency, enforces governance through policy-as-code, and reduces spending while protecting performance and reliability. Using FinOps practices, cost observability, and automated controls, the engineer supports efficient Snowflake, EMR, and AWS data pipelines and shapes scalable optimization strategies across a multi-cloud environment.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, or equivalent experience.
- 7 or more years of IT experience.
- 5 or more years of experience with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Ali Cloud.
- 3 or more years of Snowflake cost optimization experience.
- 3 or more years of AWS EMR optimization experience, including Spark tuning, cluster right-sizing, and Spot strategies.
- Strong scripting and automation experience with Python, Bash, or similar.
- Experience with cloud cost management tools such as CloudHealth, Cloudability, AWS Cost Explorer, or Snowflake tools.
- Experience implementing FinOps strategies across AWS services.
- Proven experience managing large-scale cloud budgets and driving cost savings.
- Deep understanding of cloud pricing models, cost drivers, and optimization techniques.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration abilities.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform, CloudFormation, or Ansible.
- Hands-on experience with containers and orchestration, including Docker, Kubernetes, ECS, or EKS.
- Experience with distributed data platforms such as Spark, Presto, Iceberg, or Snowflake.
- Knowledge of emerging cloud capabilities such as EMR Serverless and Snowflake Iceberg tables.
- Familiarity with Linux or Windows operating systems and database platforms.
- Understanding of cloud security, compliance, and data protection practices.
- Experience in large-scale enterprise environments.
Responsibilities
- Analyze and optimize cost, usage, and performance across Snowflake, AWS EMR, and AWS data services, including EC2, EKS, S3, Redshift, Glue, DynamoDB, and Lambda.
- Design and implement cost-governance automation, including anomaly detection, budget controls, tagging compliance, reservation planning, and unified cost dashboards.
- Partner with Finance on cost transparency, forecasting, budgeting, chargeback or showback models, and actionable cost insights for leadership.
- Provide technical leadership and architectural guidance for cost-efficient cloud solutions, platform optimization, standardization, and best practices.
- Build, deliver, and maintain scalable cloud data platforms with high availability, performance, observability, monitoring, and alerting.
- Establish operational standards, automation frameworks, and continuous-improvement processes to improve reliability, efficiency, and engineering productivity.
- Ensure compliance with IT governance and security standards.
- Manage vendor relationships, monitor SLAs and KPIs, and drive continuous service improvement.
Benefits
- 401(k) plan
- Stock purchase plan
- Discounts at Marriott properties
- Commuter benefits
- Employee assistance plan
- Childcare discounts
- Medical coverage for full-time positions
- Dental coverage for full-time positions
- Vision coverage for full-time positions
- Health care flexible spending account for full-time positions
- Dependent care flexible spending account for full-time positions
- Life insurance for full-time positions
- Disability insurance for full-time positions
- Accident insurance for full-time positions
- Adoption expense reimbursements for full-time positions
- Paid parental leave for full-time positions
- Educational assistance for full-time positions
- Washington employees accrue paid sick leave and 0.077 PTO balance for every hour worked, and are eligible for a minimum of 9 holidays annually.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
