FinOps Architect (68021)

Function: Cloud & Data Engineering

At Hitachi Digital Services we are a global digital solutions and transformation business, committed to future‑proofing urban spaces, conserving natural resources, protecting rainforests, and saving lives.

This role involves leading the Fin Ops strategy across our on‑premises estate.

Job Description

Mandatory Skills

Certified from Fin Ops. org, Fin Ops for DC knowledge, DCIM, CMDB / asset DB, hypervisor metrics, power monitoring, contracts & licenses management.

• Role Description
• Own the end‑to‑end Fin Ops strategy and architecture for the organisation’s on‑premises estate, following the Fin Ops Foundation (Fin Ops. org) framework across the Inform, Optimise, and Operate lifecycle phases.
• Define the cost visibility strategy, establish the data model and governance framework, lead maturity assessments, and architect the reporting and dashboard ecosystem.
• Serve as the primary Fin Ops authority, engaging all Fin Ops personas – from executives and finance through engineering and operations – to build a culture of cost accountability and data‑driven infrastructure economics.
• Bridge the gap between financial management and engineering, translating on‑premises infrastructure complexity into clear cost models, unit economics, and actionable savings roadmaps.
• Fin Ops Scope of Work
• Cost Visibility – Gain full visibility of on‑premises infrastructure, licensing, and operational costs by establishing comprehensive data collection and integration from identified sources.
• Data Source Identification & Setup – Identify, agree upon, and integrate all relevant cost data sources including CMDB, asset management, licensing portals, procurement systems, and infrastructure monitoring tools.
• Fin Ops Maturity Baselining – Assess current Fin Ops maturity against the Fin Ops. org maturity model (Crawl → Walk → Run), identifying gaps and opportunities across tagging, savings, and cost governance.
• Tagging & Allocation Gaps – Identify and remediate gaps in cost allocation, tagging, and labelling across on‑premises assets to enable accurate chargeback, showback, and cost attribution.
• Savings Identification – Discover potential savings opportunities through licence optimisation, hardware rightsizing, capacity rebalancing, decommissioning, and vendor renegotiation.
• Cost Governance Gaps – Assess and strengthen cost governance processes including approval workflows, budget controls, anomaly detection, and policy enforcement.
• Data Normalisation – Normalise cost data from disparate sources into a unified cost model, enabling consistent reporting across business units, environments, and service categories.
• Usage, Pattern & Licence Analysis – Analyse infrastructure utilisation patterns, workload distribution, peak/off‑peak trends, and software licence usage to identify waste and optimisation opportunities.
• Cost Modelling & Economics – Define unit economics, cost‑per‑service models, TCO calculations, and amortisation schedules for on‑premises infrastructure to enable informed decision‑making.
• Implementation Roadmap – Develop a prioritised roadmap of quick‑wins (0–3 months), mid‑term initiatives (3–6 months), and long‑term transformations (6–12 months) based on value and feasibility.
• Reporting & Dashboards – Design and recommend live/near‑real‑time cost dashboards with drill‑down capabilities, trend analysis, anomaly alerts, and executive reporting views.
• Persona Collaboration
• Executives (CTO, CFO, CIO) – Present cost visibility dashboards, business cases for optimisation, and Fin Ops maturity roadmaps to drive strategic investment decisions.
• Finance / Procurement – Collaborate on cost allocation models, chargeback/showback mechanisms, budgeting, forecasting, and vendor contract analysis for on‑premises licensing.
• Engineering / Dev Ops Teams – Partner on tagging strategies, resource utilisation analysis, rightsizing recommendations, and embedding cost‑awareness into engineering culture.
• Product Owners / Business Units – Provide unit economics and cost‑per‑service metrics to inform product decisions, capacity planning, and build‑vs‑buy analysis.
• IT Operations / Infrastructure – Work on data source integration, asset management, capacity utilisation, and hardware lifecycle cost modelling.
• Architecture & Governance – Align Fin Ops governance policies, cost guardrails, and architectural decisions with total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis.
• Security & Compliance – Ensure cost data handling meets compliance requirements and that Fin Ops tooling adheres to organisational security policies.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and own the on‑premises Fin Ops strategy, architecture, and maturity roadmap aligned to the Fin Ops. org Inform → Optimise → Operate lifecycle.
• Lead the Fin Ops maturity assessment (Crawl/Walk/Run) across tagging, savings identification, and cost governance – produce a baseline scorecard with prioritised improvement actions.
• Architect the cost data model: identify and integrate all data sources (CMDB, asset management, procurement, licensing, monitoring), define normalisation rules, and establish the single source of truth for on‑premises cost data.
• Design cost allocation frameworks: define chargeback/showback models, tagging taxonomies, and cost attribution rules that enable accurate cost‑per‑business‑unit, cost‑per‑service, and cost‑per‑environment reporting.
• Develop unit economics and cost modelling: build TCO models, amortisation schedules, build‑vs‑buy comparisons, and cost‑per‑transaction metrics for on‑premises infrastructure.
• Lead savings discovery workshops across all Fin Ops personas: licence optimisation (true‑ups, shelfware, harvesting), hardware rightsizing, capacity rebalancing, and decommissioning opportunities.
• Architect the Fin Ops reporting and dashboard ecosystem: define requirements for live/near‑real‑time dashboards with executive views, drill‑down capabilities, trend analysis, anomaly detection, and budget variance alerts.
• Establish Fin Ops governance framework: cost approval policies, budget guardrails, anomaly response procedures, and regular cost review cadences with all persona groups.
• Create the prioritised Fin Ops implementation roadmap: quick‑wins (0–3 months), mid‑term initiatives (3–6 months), and long‑term transformation (6–12 months) based on value, feasibility, and stakeholder alignment.
• Mentor and lead the Fin Ops engineering team (1 onshore + 1 offshore), establish engineering standards, and drive a culture of cost transparency and accountability across the organisation.
• Present Fin Ops insights, savings opportunities, and governance reports to executive stakeholders (CTO, CFO, CIO) and lead regular Fin Ops review forums.
• Stay current with Fin Ops. org framework evolution, contribute to the Fin Ops community of practice, and continuously refine methodologies for on‑premises environments.
• Technical Skills & Expertise
• Deep expertise in on‑premises infrastructure economics: server, storage, network, licensing (Microsoft EA, Oracle, VMware, Red Hat), data‑centre costs (power, cooling, space), and depreciation/amortisation models.
• Strong understanding of the Fin Ops. org framework: Inform, Optimise, Operate lifecycle; Fin Ops Domains (Cost Allocation, Anomaly Management, Rate Optimisation, Usage Optimisation, etc.); Fin Ops maturity model (Crawl/Walk/Run).
• Experience with cost data integration from: CMDB (Service Now), asset management tools, procurement platforms, licence management tools (Snow, Flexera), and infrastructure monitoring (Datadog, Dynatrace, Solar Winds).
• Data modelling and analytics: SQL, Python/Pandas for cost data analysis; experience building normalisation pipelines and cost allocation engines.
• Dashboard and reporting tools: Power BI, Tableau, Grafana, or custom BI solutions for real‑time cost visibility and executive dashboards.
• Understanding of ITIL asset and configuration management, hardware lifecycle management, and capacity planning methodologies.
• Familiarity with Fin Ops tooling: Apptio, Cloud Health/VMware Aria, Flexera One, Service Now ITOM/ITFM, or custom‑built cost management platforms.
• Knowledge of hybrid/multi‑cloud cost management to bridge on‑premises Fin Ops with cloud Fin Ops practices where applicable.
• Soft Skills & Competencies
• Exceptional stakeholder management – able to influence executives, finance, engineering, and operations teams with equal credibility.
• Strategic thinker who translates complex cost data into clear business narratives and actionable recommendations.
• Strong leadership and mentoring ability – coaches and develops Fin Ops engineers and builds a cost‑aware engineering culture.
• Excellent presentation and communication skills – comfortable presenting to C‑level audiences and leading governance forums.
• Commercial acumen – understands P&L, depreciation, amortisation, Op Ex/Cap Ex distinctions, and vendor contract structures.
• Data‑driven decision maker with strong analytical rigour and attention to detail.

Qualifications & Experience

• 10+ years in IT infrastructure, finance operations, or cost management with 5+ years focused on Fin Ops, ITFM, or TBM.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings (15%+) through infrastructure optimisation and licence management in on‑premises environments.
• Fin Ops Certified Practitioner (Fin Ops. org) – required or willingness to certify within 3 months.
• Experience leading Fin Ops maturity assessments and building Fin Ops practices from the ground up.
• Strong background in enterprise licensing (Microsoft, Oracle, VMware, SAP) including true‑up processes, compliance, and optimisation.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Finance, Engineering, or related field; MBA or finance qualification desirable.
• Desired / Nice to Have
• Fin Ops Certified Professional or Fin Ops Certified Service Provider (Fin Ops. org).
• ITIL4 certification or TBM (Technology Business Management) Council certification.
• Experience with Apptio, Service Now ITFM, or Flexera for on‑premises cost management.
• Background in data centre operations, power/cooling economics, or facilities cost modelling.
• Experience extending Fin Ops practices from cloud to on‑premises (hybrid Fin Ops).

Benefits

We help take care of your today and tomorrow with industry‑leading benefits, support, and services that look after your holistic health and wellbeing.

We’re champions of work‑life balance and offer flexible arrangements that work for you (role and location dependent).

Our benefits include comprehensive health plans, flexible working hours, career development opportunities, and a culture that values diversity and inclusion.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Hitachi is a global company operating across a wide range of industries and regions.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture based on mutual respect and merit‑based systems.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer and welcome all applicants for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, age, disability status or any other protected characteristic.

Should you need reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know so that we can set you up for success.

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