Director of Cloud Cost Optimization

Director Of Cloud Cost OptimizationLucidLink is hiring a Director of Cloud Cost Optimization to build our cost optimization capability and deliver significant gross margin improvement.In simple terms: the mission of this role is to transform cloud costs from a reactive expense into a strategic lever for profitable growth.As a storage-centric SaaS company, our infrastructure costs are a major component of COGS. You'll own the strategy and execution of cost optimization across our cloud infrastructure--from establishing visibility and forecasting, to driving optimization initiatives with engineering, to leading vendor negotiations.This role sits within Engineering but works across the entire organization. You'll need to speak the language of engineers, finance, and executives alike. You'll influence priorities without direct authority and success will be measured by real, long-lasting improvements to our margins.This role is remote and can be performed from anywhere in the United States. Note: We're a global team with colleagues in Europe, which may occasionally require flexibility for meetings outside standard US hours. Occasional international travel (1x per quarter) will be required.A human will review all applications so please use this time to read the job description in full and craft a thoughtful application. Incomplete submissions or those from popular auto-applier services will be rejected.Contacting LucidLink employees or recruiters directly will not improve your odds of being selected for interview. Please help us focus our attention on reviewing resumes and responding to applicants in a timely manner.As LucidLink scales, our infrastructure costs are becoming an increasingly strategic lever for the business. We've grown rapidly, and now it's time to build a dedicated capability to optimize our cost structure and improve gross margins.This is our first Cloud Cost Optimization role so you'll be building the function from scratch. You'll work directly with me (VP of Engineering), our DevOps team, Finance, and Product to drive meaningful improvements to our cost margins while maintaining the performance and reliability our customers depend on.If you're someone who gets excited about turning data into action, influencing cross-functional teams, and negotiating with vendors to get the best deals, I'd love to talk.Key Outcomes For SuccessDeep understanding of our cost structure and trendsCOGS visibility dashboard operational and trustedFirst optimization opportunities identified and prioritizedKey stakeholder relationships establishedMeaningful margin improvement delivered and sustainedVendor negotiations completed with documented savingsMonthly COGS operating rhythm establishedCost awareness embedded in engineering decisionsGross margin improvement (target: significant multi-point improvement)Cost savings realized and sustainedUnit cost efficiency (cost per TiB, cost per customer)Forecast accuracyRequired Competencies For The Role5+ years of experience in cloud cost optimization, FinOps, infrastructure economics, or related fieldDemonstrated history of delivering material cost savings or margin improvement ($1M+ or 3+ margin points)Vendor negotiation: Experience leading (not just supporting) negotiations with cloud or infrastructure vendorsStorage knowledge: Understanding of object storage economics (egress, API costs, tiering) - not just computeTechnical credibility: Ability to engage credibly with engineering teams on infrastructure decisionsData fluency: Comfortable with SQL, spreadsheets, and building dashboards from complex billing dataWhy You Should ApplyHigh impact: You'll directly influence company profitability and be measured on outcomes that matterBuild from scratch: Shape the function, tools, and processes your wayCross-functional influence: Work with Engineering, Finance, Product, and executivesExecutive visibility: Regular interaction with CFO, CEO, and board-level reportingGrowth stage: Join a company with a strong product-market fit that's scaling rapidlyWhy You Might Not ApplyIf you prefer established processes over building from scratchIf you're uncomfortable influencing without direct authorityIf you want to focus purely on analysis without driving executionIf vendor negotiations make you uncomfortableIf you're looking for a purely technical role without business interaction