FinOps & Cloud Cost Optimization Lead, Digital & Technology Services

About the role

Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) is seeking a FinOps leader to bridge finance, engineering, and operations, aligning cloud investments with maximum business value. This role is both strategic—defining cloud financial management roadmaps—and hands-on tactical, designing and implementing cost avoidance and cost reduction measures within our Corporate Performance Improvement practice.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive FinOps strategies aligned with business and mission goals, detailing frameworks, processes, and governance.
• Create and maintain FinOps roadmaps embedding cost-conscious practices into engineering and architecture lifecycles.
• Design KPI frameworks with clear targets and accountability mechanisms to monitor FinOps delivery.
• Establish governance frameworks for tagging, budgeting, and resource accountability, including guardrails to prevent unnecessary resource allocation.
• Drive automation and transparency in cost reporting, anomaly detection, and forecasting, providing real-time visibility into cloud spend across mission partners.
• Build ROI models and cost reduction business cases that quantify optimization impact for executive audiences.
• Integrate findings into A&M's broader engagement scope and deliverables.
• Support practice development through internal training, content creation, and people development.

Requirements

• Cloud cost modeling, optimization, and benchmarking (government and/or commercial comparables), including AI workloads.
• FinOps framework implementation: governance, tagging taxonomy, chargeback/show-back models, KPI frameworks.
• FinOps Open Cost and Usage Specification (FOCUS).
• Workload rightsizing, auto-scaling, and commitment-based discount strategy (reserved instances, savings plans, committed-use agreements).
• Orphaned/unused resource identification and remediation: VM rightsizing, guardrails, tagging automation.
• Native cloud cost management tools (AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, GCP Billing) and third-party FinOps platforms (Apptio, Flexera, Cloud Health).
• Enterprise software licensing consolidation and optimization.
• AI-assisted cost anomaly detection, forecasting, and optimization recommendation engines; active use of AI tools in delivery is required.

Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of professional experience in cloud cost management and FinOps practice development.
• FinOps Practitioner or FinOps Engineer certification strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated 15–30% cloud cost savings delivery on prior engagements.
• Strong data analytics and visualization skills—experience with SQL, PowerBI, or equivalent.
• Federal FinOps experience helpful but not required; demonstrated cost optimization at scale in any large enterprise is the primary qualifier.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Finance, Computer Science, or MIS preferred.
• Comfortable with travel up to 80%.
• Full-time, contract, and project-based engagements available.

What distinguishes a great candidate

• Has built FinOps practices from scratch in large enterprises—not just reported on costs.
• Can execute rate negotiation strategy.
• Understands both the financial and engineering levers of cloud cost optimization.
• Brings AI-powered cost analytics and forecasting as standard practice, not as an add-on.

About Alvarez & Marsal

Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) is a global consulting firm with over 10,000 entrepreneurial, action- and results-oriented professionals in over 40 countries. We take a hands-on approach to solving our clients' problems and assisting them in reaching their potential. Our culture celebrates independent thinkers and doers who positively impact our clients and shape our industry. The collaborative environment and engaging work—guided by A&M's core values of Integrity, Quality, Objectivity, Fun, Personal Reward, and Inclusive Diversity—are why our people love working at A&M.

Your journey at A&M

We recognize that our people are the driving force behind our success, which is why we prioritize an employee experience fostering unique professional and personal development. Our robust performance development process promotes continuous learning, rewards contributions, and cultivates a culture of meritocracy. With top-notch training and on-the-job learning opportunities, you can acquire new skills and advance your career. We prioritize your well-being, providing benefits and resources to support you on your personal journey.

Benefits

• Healthcare plans, flexible spending and savings accounts, life, AD&D, and disability coverages.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan with annual discretionary contribution from Alvarez & Marsal (eligibility requirements apply).
• Paid time off including vacation, personal days, 72 hours of sick time (prorated for part-time employees), ten federal holidays, one floating holiday, and parental leave (amount varies based on tenure and role type).

Pay

The salary range for Manager is $135,000 - $160,000 annually and Director is $150,000 - $210,000 annually, dependent on several variables including but not limited to education, experience, skills, and geography. In addition, A&M offers a discretionary bonus program based on individual and firm performance.