Staff Technical Program Manager, Plaid

• 6–10+ years of relevant experience working at the intersection of engineering, infrastructure, data, or finance in a cloud-native or SaaS environment
• Proven experience partnering closely with engineering teams to influence decisions involving cloud infrastructure, data platforms, AI/ML workloads, or SaaS spend
• Working understanding of modern cloud-native architectures, including core components such as compute, storage, networking, data pipelines, and managed services—enough to engage credibly with engineers on design, tradeoffs, and cost drivers
• Strong foundation in cost analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and variance management, with the ability to translate data into clear, actionable insights
• Comfort working directly with data, including writing SQL (or effectively using AI-assisted tools to do so) to explore datasets, validate assumptions, and answer ad hoc questions
• Experience building clear, high-quality dashboards and BI artifacts that are not only accurate, but intuitive and delightful for engineers and leaders to use
• Demonstrated success driving adoption and behavior change—embedding cost awareness into day-to-day engineering workflows, not just producing reports
• Experience owning and delivering cross-functional programs end-to-end, often without direct authority or a dedicated team
• Familiarity with FinOps principles and practices (e.g., shared ownership, showback/chargeback, unit economics, optimization strategies)
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to tailor complex technical and financial concepts for engineering, finance, and executive audiences
• We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid!

Desirable

• The FinOps function is responsible for financial accountability, visibility, and optimization across all engineering-related spend at Plaid
• This includes cloud infrastructure, AI/ML and data workloads, third-party SaaS tools, and other technical investments that support Plaid’s products and internal platforms
• The team operates at the intersection of Engineering, Product, and Finance, ensuring that spending decisions are transparent, intentional, and aligned with product strategy and business priorities
• Rather than functioning as a cost-control or approval layer, FinOps enables teams to understand, own, and optimize their spend while maintaining engineering velocity
• Monitors and analyzes engineering spend across cloud, AI/ML, data platforms, and SaaS, identifying trends, anomalies, and optimization opportunities
• Builds and maintains forecasts for engineering spend, partnering with Finance and engineering leaders to understand drivers, assumptions, and risks
• Partners with engineering, product, and TPMs to incorporate cost considerations into roadmaps, architectural decisions, and execution plans
• Leads cost optimization initiatives, such as rightsizing, commitment strategies, and workload efficiency improvements, in collaboration with engineering owners
• Creates and maintains dashboards and reporting that make spend understandable and actionable for both engineers and executives
• Implements FinOps practices and processes, including showback/chargeback models, unit economics, and cost ownership frameworks
• Partners on tooling and automation, working with data and engineering teams to improve cost visibility, forecasting accuracy, and operational efficiency
• Drives alignment and behavior change, helping teams balance cost, performance, reliability, and velocity through data-driven decision making