Director of Cloud FinOps

About Lumen

Lumen connects the world. We are igniting business growth by connecting people, data and applications – quickly, securely, and effortlessly. Together, we are building a culture and company from the people up – committed to teamwork, trust and transparency. People power progress.

We’re looking for top-tier talent and offer the flexibility you need to thrive and deliver lasting impact. Join us as we digitally connect the world and shape the future.

The Role

The Director Cloud FinOps will spearhead the enterprise-wide strategy and execution of cloud financial management and engineering standards. This role is crucial in setting up the FinOps organization from the ground up, optimizing cloud spend, driving financial accountability across engineering, product and business teams, and embedding FinOps principles into the organization’s cloud operating model. The ideal candidate brings a blend of financial acumen, cloud platform technical expertise, and cross-functional leadership to deliver measurable value from cloud investments. 

Location

This is a remote opportunity open to candidates located anywhere in the U.S.

The Main Responsibilities

• Build and lead a high-performing FinOps team, including analysts, engineers and architects
• Define and implement the FinOps strategy aligned with enterprise cloud transformation goals 
• Partner with Finance, Engineering, and Product teams to drive cost transparency, forecasting accuracy, and financial accountability and serve as the primary liaison between Finance, Cloud Engineering, Procurement, and Executive Leadership 
• Lead the development of cloud cost governance frameworks, tagging policies, and chargeback/showback models 
• Establish and champion cloud financial management policies, standards, and best practices across the enterprise
• Understanding of the FinOps market leading practices (e.g. FinOps Framework, FOCUS Specification, Scopes, etc.)
• Oversee cloud spend across AWS, Azure, and GCP, identifying opportunities for savings through rightsizing, reserved instances, and architectural improvements 
• Lead the development, maintenance, and enhancement of executive dashboards and KPIs to monitor cloud usage, cost trends, and optimization progress 
• Lead quarterly business reviews with stakeholders to align cloud spend with business value
• Establish robust reporting and unit economics capabilities to support data-driven decision-making across business, engineering, finance and product personas
• Guide the integration of FinOps tooling (e.g., Flexera, native CSP tools) into cloud operations 
• Support vendor negotiations and contract renewals to ensure cost-effective cloud services 
• Foster a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement in cloud financial management
• Expertise in designing and implementing scalable, secure, and cost-effective cloud architectures using platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud 
• Knowledge of cloud security best practices, including identity and access management, encryption, and compliance with industry standards 
• Experience in managing cloud costs, optimizing resource usage, and implementing cost-saving strategies 
• Proficiency in automating cloud operations and FinOps workflows using tools like Terraform, Python, or similar
• Knowledge of cloud networking concepts, including VPCs, subnets, load balancing, and VPNs 
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools for continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) in a cloud environment 
• Expertise in managing and analyzing data in the cloud, including data storage, databases, and big data technologies 

What We Look For in a Candidate

• 10+ years of overall experience and 3+ years of leadership experience in cloud financial operations, cost management, and cloud engineering/architecture
• 7+ years of leadership experience managing cross-functional teams
• Deep understanding of cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), cloud cost management solutions (e.g., Flexera, native CSP tools), and niche cloud optimization tools (e.g., ProsperOps, Zesty, Lucidity, Granica, Unravel, etc.)
• Strong analytical skills with experience in budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling 
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive enterprise-wide c