Sr. Technology Vendor Manager

Philo

4d•$135,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Philo is hiring its first dedicated Senior Technology Vendor Manager to own how the company chooses, contracts with, and gets value from the technology vendors and partners that power its product and platform. Vendor relationships are currently spread across teams; this role will bring them under one clear owner, with a focus on managing costs and recommending the tools and partners that best fit Philo’s needs and budget. Technology is Philo’s largest and most complex area of spend, so the role will focus primarily on cloud and infrastructure vendors, including AWS, video transcoding, CDN, billing, and business intelligence. The manager will work with infrastructure engineers on AWS billing, Savings Plans, and usage data, and turn analysis into practical cost recommendations. They will also partner with Engineering and Data teams to evaluate tools and guide promising products through proofs of concept before purchase. The role calls for an organized, proactive, research-driven professional who understands the vendor landscape, makes analysis-backed recommendations, and applies sound judgment about what is realistic for a company of Philo’s size and budget. The position is full-time and may be based in San Francisco, Brooklyn, Cambridge, or fully remote within the U.S. The projected start date is ASAP.

Requirements

8–10+ years of experience in vendor management, technology procurement, or a closely related role, with most of that time spent on technology and cloud vendors.
Hands-on experience managing a relationship with a major cloud provider such as AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure, including reading usage and billing data and recommending commitment or pricing changes.
Strong knowledge of technology products and categories sufficient to compare vendors and make confident recommendations.
A track record of negotiating pricing, terms, and SLAs that produced measurable savings or better terms.
Experience managing contracts through legal review, including NDAs, MSAs, and SOWs.
Financial fluency, including ownership or management of vendor budgets, cost modeling, and judgment about realistic spending.
Strong research and analysis skills and the judgment to turn findings into clear recommendations.
Highly organized and proactive, able to plan ahead, keep multiple workstreams moving, and identify problems before they become urgent.
Clear communication and ability to work with engineers, Finance, Legal, and non-technical teams, both in person and remotely.
Comfort working independently in a lean, fast-moving team.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a streaming or media company, or familiarity with video technology such as transcoding, stream acquisition, and CDNs.
An engineering or technical background that helps identify creative ways to lower AWS and CDN costs.
Familiarity with FinOps practices and cloud cost tools, such as AWS Cost Explorer.
Experience with billing, payments, or BI and analytics platforms.
Experience establishing a vendor management or procurement function from scratch.

Responsibilities

Own vendor management for Philo’s Engineering and Data teams, prioritizing cloud and infrastructure costs.
Partner with infrastructure engineers to understand AWS usage, billing, and commitments, and model savings from Savings Plans, Reserved Instances, and other commercial options.
Manage and optimize AWS, CDN, and video-transcoding spend to lower unit costs and improve return on investment.
Track vendor usage against commitments and flag risks or opportunities before they appear on invoices.
Help Engineering and Data teams find, evaluate, and contract for the tools, platforms, and services they need.
Create an intake process for new vendor requests and explain what happens next.
Partner with IT and Legal on vendor security and risk reviews before new tools are onboarded.
Set and share vendor management best practices for engineers.
Research vendor options for new projects and recommend those that best fit product needs, quality standards, and budget.
Own evaluation and selection criteria for new vendors and conduct structured comparisons.
Support build-versus-buy decisions by outlining costs, effort, and tradeoffs.
Run proofs of concept with Engineering and Data teams before committing to new products.
Lead negotiations on pricing, business terms, and service-level agreements for new agreements and renewals.
Manage the full contracting lifecycle with Legal, including NDAs, MSAs, SOWs, and purchase orders, through renewal or termination.
Maintain a central record of technology vendors, owners, contract terms, costs, and renewal dates; begin renewal discussions early enough to negotiate.
Work with Finance to model vendor contract costs and forecast committed spend.
Give leadership visibility into vendor spending, overlapping tools, and savings opportunities.
Identify tools to consolidate or retire as company needs change.
Serve as the main point of contact for key vendors and escalate issues internally when needed.
Run quarterly business reviews with strategic vendors and measure performance against SLAs.
Coordinate vendor meetings at CES and other industry events.

Benefits

Full health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families.
401(k) plan with employer contributions: 100% match on deferrals up to 3% of pay and 50% match on the next 2% of pay.
Flexible working hours.
Up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave.
Unlimited paid time off for vacation and sick leave.
$2,000 annual vacation bonus for taking a two-week vacation.
$5,250 annually for professional development and educational assistance.
$1,250 annual home office and TV stipend during the first year, and $250 annually thereafter.
$500 per month bonus for employees who commit to working at least three days per week in the offices.
Commuter benefits of $315 per month toward transit, rideshare, bike rental, or parking at the San Francisco headquarters.
Free Gympass subscription for access to gyms, studios, classes, training, and wellness apps.
Dog-friendly office.
Company stock options.