Cloud Cost Analyst

effectual Remote Full-time 2024-10-07

Position Summary

Effectual Cloud Cost Analysts are members of the Public Sector Program Management team responsible for ensuring that customer-facing projects are delivered with exceptional customer satisfaction and technical excellence. Effectual Cloud Cost Analysts are “Brand Ambassadors” and are expected to stay current on leading practices to deliver high-quality, well-conceived solutions to customers.

A Glimpse into the Daily Routine of a Cloud Cost Analyst

The Cloud Cost Analyst will play a pivotal role in supporting the cloud modernization initiatives, ensuring cost-efficient and effective migration of workloads to cloud environments. Focus on analyzing, forecasting, and optimizing cloud-related expenses, supporting both the migration of legacy systems and the adoption of modern cloud technologies. Managing cloud cost efficiency, develop financial reporting related to cloud usage, and ensuring cost-effective cloud resource allocation. Collaborate with IT, contracts, program, finance, security, and cloud operations teams to track cloud usage, predict future costs, and identify cost-saving opportunities while ensuring that all cloud resources are optimized for both cost and performance during and after migration projects. Stay updated on public sector regulations, compliance requirements, and industry trends as an ongoing practice.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Cloud Cost Monitoring, Management, & Reporting:
    • Monitor and analyze cloud spending across various stakeholders and groups, ensuring alignment with budgets and usage patterns
    • Monitor and analyze cloud costs related to modernization and migration initiatives across multiple cloud service providers (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
    • Use cloud cost management tools (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, Google Cloud Billing, CloudCheckr) to track cloud spending during migration phases and ongoing operations
    • Develop detailed financial reports and dashboards to provide transparent insight into cloud expenditures, cost trends, and potential areas for cost savings during modernization efforts
  • Cost Optimization Strategies:
    • Identify cost-saving opportunities during the modernization and migration phases by right-sizing resources, utilizing reserved instances, and optimizing storage and data transfer configurations
    • Provide recommendations for resource allocation strategies, including the use of auto-scaling, hybrid cloud setups, and serverless technologies, to minimize costs while maintaining performance
    • Implement cost optimization best practices such as workload scheduling, spot instances, and eliminating underutilized resources
  • Budgeting & Forecasting:
    • Assist in developing cloud modernization and migration budgets, ensuring that forecasts align with government financial policies and multi-year planning
    • Provide ongoing cost forecasting based on migration plans, future cloud workload growth, and anticipated resource usage post-migration
    • Work with contracts, program, and finance teams to incorporate cloud modernization costs into broader agency financial planning, ensuring the alignment of budget allocations with project timelines and goals
  • Cloud Vendor & Contract Analysis:
    • Analyze cloud vendor pricing and service contracts to ensure government agencies are receiving the best possible rates and terms for their cloud migration needs
    • Negotiate cost-efficient service agreements with cloud vendors that support the government’s long-term cloud modernization strategy
    • Track changes in cloud pricing models, evaluate cost implications of different pricing structures, and adjust migration strategies accordingly
  • Governance & Compliance:
    • Ensure all cloud-related financial transactions and resource allocations comply with procurement regulations and financial management policies
    • Develop and maintain cost allocation models for shared cloud resources to ensure departments are appropriately charged for their usage
    • Provide regular cost management reports to leadership, highlighting how cloud modernization efforts are aligning with cost reduction goals and financial accountability
  • Support for Modernization & Migration Projects:
    • Work closely with project management and cloud migration teams to provide cost analysis for the migration of legacy systems to cloud platforms
    • Evaluate the financial impact of moving specific workloads to the cloud, considering factors such as storage, compute, and data transfer costs
    • Provide detailed cost estimates and forecasts for each stage of the cloud migration process, comparing the financial impact of different cloud providers and service configurations
  • Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement:
    • Collaborate with cloud architects, engineers, and migration teams to understand cloud resource usage and provide guidance on cost-efficient cloud strategies
    • Act as a key liaison between IT, contracts, program, and finance departments, translating technical cloud usage metrics into financial terms for non-technical stakeholders
    • Provide presentations and reports on cloud costs, savings opportunities, and financial impacts of modernization efforts to leadership and decision makers
  • Continuous Monitoring & Improvement:
    • Monitor cloud cost trends and analyze how usage patterns evolve during and after the migration process, identifying opportunities for ongoing cost optimization.
    • Develop processes to continuously monitor cloud billing, identify cost anomalies, and alert teams to unexpected expenditures or inefficient resource usage.
    • Establish cloud cost governance policies to ensure financial efficiency across all cloud modernization projects and post-migration operations.

Qualifications

  • Minimum Education: Bachelor’s degree in related discipline AND
  • Minimum Experience: 4 years on the job experience
  • Certifications: At least AWS Cloud Practitioner OR
  • Substitution/Alternative to Minimum Education and Experience: Must have at least 6 years of on-the-job experience OR at least 1 Professional Level Certification
  • Be able to work remotely but, be able to go on-site as requested and/or occasionally with potentially some form of post-pandemic cadence, on-site in Washington DC
  • Must be a US Citizen
  • Experience in financial analysis or cost management, ideally within government or public sector
  • Experience working with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), with a focus on cost management and cloud migration projects
  • Experience with modernization and migration of legacy systems to cloud infrastructure
  • Expertise in cloud cost management tools (e.g., AWS Cost Explorer, Azure Cost Management, Google Cloud Billing, CloudCheckr)
  • Proficiency with financial modeling tools such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or similar platforms for creating cost forecasts and optimizing financial strategies
  • Familiarity with cloud architecture principles, migration strategies, and resource management, particularly in public and hybrid cloud environments
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a keen eye for identifying cost-saving opportunities in complex cloud environments
  • Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to explain technical cloud cost management concepts to non-technical stakeholders
  • Collaborative mindset with a focus on teamwork and cross-departmental communication, particularly between IT, contracts, program, finance, security and procurement
  • Strong understanding of federal cybersecurity requirements and frameworks (FISMA, NIST RMF, FedRAMP, FIPS)
  • Attention to detail and strong organizational skills, especially when creating cost artifacts
  • Continuous learning mindset, keeping up to date with industry trends and best practices in security
  • Ability to work with multiple clients, in parallel
  • Ability to work Eastern Standard Time Zone schedule

Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience

  • Active Clearance or Public Trust (DOJ Preferred)
  • Additional AWS Certifications (e.g., AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, AWS Certified Solutions Architect)
  • Familiarity with hybrid cloud environments and multi-cloud cost management
  • Experience negotiating cloud service agreements with vendors for cost optimization
  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or other financial analysis tools for building complex cost models
  • Understanding of cloud pricing models (e.g., on-demand, reserved instances, spot instances) and how they impact overall cloud cost strategy
  • Data Governance and Privacy Regulations
  • Business Process Reengineering

Company Offered Benefits

Full-time employees are eligible to participate in our employee benefit programs:

  • Medical, dental, and vision health insurances,
  • Short term disability, long term disability and life insurances,
  • 401k with Company match
  • Paid time off (PTO) (120 hours PTO that accrue over one year)
  • Paid time off for major holidays (14 days per year)
  • These and any other employee benefit offerings are subject to management’s discretion and may change at any time.

 

Salary Range for this position: $105,000-$133,000

CA ID: EN04100131

“Salary ranges provided are for informational purposes only and may vary depending on factors such as experience, qualifications, and geographic location. The final salary offer will be determined based on your skills and alignment with the role requirements.”

This job description may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, responsibilities, or aspects of the job described, and may be amended anytime at the sole discretion of the Employer. Duties and responsibilities are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this job successfully, the incumbents will possess the skills, aptitudes, and abilities to perform each duty proficiently. This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an “at will” relationship. Effectual Inc. is an EEO employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected classification in its hiring, promoting, or any other job-related opportunity.