Senior Engineering Financial Operations Manager, Instructure
$150-175k
Dynamic learning management platform
Open for applications
Dynamic learning management platform
1001+ employees
Open for applications
$150-175k
1001+ employees
Company mission
To elevate student success, amplify the power of teaching, and inspire everyone to learn together.
Role
Who you are
- 4+ years experience managing technology expenditure (Technology Business Management, Finance/FP&A or related function)
- 4+ years experience in the software/technology industries
- Strong analytical and problem solving skills
- Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
- Advanced Excel/Google Sheet skills
- Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills
- Experience working with AWS (or similar) – use of administrative and cost reporting tooling as well as strong understanding of various public and private programs for cost and risk management (contractual, incentive, Marketplace) a big plus
- Minimum education BA/BS. Advanced degree (MBA, JD) a plus
What the job involves
- The Engineering Financial Operations Senior Manager is responsible for all aspects of Engineering organization expenditure
- By bringing your expertise in financial operations, your knowledge of the software industry, and your attention to detail you will be instrumental in the success of Canvas and Instructure's growing suite of other educational products
- Partner with Engineering/Product leadership and Finance to develop annual operating plans and track to and update budgets in-year (including cyclical activities - monthly actuals reporting) across multiple areas of expenditure including – headcount (internal and contractor), cloud infrastructure (e.g. AWS), and a variety of 3P software/SaaS contracts/services
- Monitor variable cost SaaS - both licensed-based and consumable (e.g. logging/telemetry) services against contractual commitments. Develop/maintain processes for reporting, anomaly detection
- Manage a detailed cloud/hosting reporting/modeling process allocating expense to various products, teams, cost centers contributing to key company metrics (COGS)
- Utilize available inputs (monthly active users, requests, seasonality) to adjust model/forecast assumptions. Collaborate with Engineering, Product and other departments to adjust assumptions as products change over time
- Cross-departmental collaboration on outputs from monitoring/reporting including Accounting, Strategic Planning
- Support tracking of key internal metrics on cost-saving / tech-modernization initiatives
- Support inter-departmental processes (cost capitalization) efforts including audit responses
- Develop and maintain relationships and management oversight of key 3P vendors used by Engineering
- Develop deep understanding of vendor software cost models/options, contractual commitments, and SLAs
- Use insights from relationship management to support strategic planning and risk mitigation. E.g. adjustable spend commitments, capacity rollover, termination for convenience, cost caps, Identify opportunities (incentive programs, migration funding, professional services)
- Collaborate with Engineering as well as Procurement, Legal, Governance/Risk/Compliance teams on contract activities – negotiations, renewals, amendments (expansions/contractions/replacements)
- Identify and maintain flexibility of financial commitments e.g. utilizing 3P Marketplace purchases (AWS/GCP/Snowflake) to hedge against consumption changes
Our take
Instructure is an education technology company, creator of the Canvas Learning Management Platform that allows schools to build the digital learning environment that meets the unique challenges faced by their institution. The platform simplifies teaching, elevates learning, and eliminates the headaches of supporting and growing traditional learning technologies.
The Canvas platform has grown to become a key part of a large number of educational institutions, from pre-school to higher education and beyond. Much of Instructure's workforce is dedicated to R&D, which is unusual for a company of their size, and shows their focus on innovating.
Founded back in 2008, the company has claimed numerous successes, including going international and hitting the $1 billion market cap. It has made a number of acquisitions, most recently of Concentric Sky and LearnPlatform. The former saw Instructure incorporate Sky's "Badgr" into its ecosystem as "Canvas Badges", whereas the latter adds evidence-based insights to the platform - both cementing its commitment to building the education industry's most integrated teaching and learning platform to support lifelong learning.
Instructure was itself acquired in 2024 by KKR, which will support a broad-based equity ownership program for Instructure employees. This strategy is based on a strategy of employee ownership as a cause of stronger companies. The move is a promising one considering KKRs track record of acquired companies, but time will tell how Intructure fares.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
3% employee growth in 12 months
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Jun 2016
$4m
SERIES A
Aug 2015
$1.5m
CONVERTIBLE
Total funding: $5.5m
Company benefits
- Equity and 401k
- Medical, dental, disability, and life insurance
- HSA program, vision, voluntary life, and AD&D
- Tuition reimbursement
- Work-from-home flexibility and flex time off
- Gym club reimbursements and rewards-based fitness tracking
- Professional learning and career development opportunities, including Basecamp Employee Development Week!
- An innovative community of passionate educators and learners
Company HQ
Cottonwood Heights, UT
Leadership
Steve Daly
(CEO, not founder)They have a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA in Strategy and Finance with more than 20 years experience in hardware and software industries.
Share this job