Role overview

Lightspeed is seeking a Senior Staff Technical Program Manager to lead financial operations (FinOps) across the organization, owning strategy and execution for cloud, vendor, and AI cost management. This is a senior individual contributor role that combines deep technical capability with strategic influence, requiring someone who can define FinOps strategy rather than simply execute an existing program.

Key responsibilities

Define and continuously evolve the FinOps strategy across cloud, vendor, and AI spending, reassessing priorities based on where spend and risk are concentrated.
Build the framework for managing AI costs, an area without established industry standards, while scaling and automating existing cloud and vendor cost management practices.
Analyze cloud usage, vendor contracts, and AI spend to identify inefficiencies, and develop technical optimizations including dashboards, automations, and monitoring systems at a depth equivalent to a senior engineer.
Oversee multiple cost-optimization initiatives simultaneously, owning cost attribution, reporting structures, and monitoring to provide leadership with clear, trustworthy spend visibility.
Partner with FP&A to define key cost metrics and reporting frameworks that give leadership a sharper financial lens on cost efficiency.
Manage cross-functional dependencies across SRE, Engineering, Data, FP&A, and Procurement teams, influencing executive stakeholders on feasibility, timelines, risk, and cost trade-offs.
Mentor other Technical Program Managers, raising the technical and strategic bar across the TPM function.

Requirements

Experience owning both strategy and execution for a cloud, vendor, or AI cost optimization program, not just executing someone else’s design.
Deep knowledge of the AI vendor landscape, including pricing models, contract structures, and optimization levers that differ from traditional cloud cost management.
Technical depth in cloud architecture and cost management sufficient to build or directly evaluate dashboards and automations yourself.
Experience navigating uncharted territory by building frameworks as you go rather than applying established models.
Track record running large cross-organizational programs spanning multiple business units.
Strong executive communication skills capable of translating complex technical and cost trade-offs into actionable decisions.
Demonstrated ability to influence senior stakeholders and drive organizational change without formal authority.

What makes this role worth considering

This position offers the opportunity to shape an entirely new discipline within the organization—particularly in AI cost management where no industry playbook yet exists. You’ll work with a lean, impact-driven team at a company big enough for genuine career growth, with access to continuous learning, global mobility, and competitive benefits including equity options, flexible work arrangements, and enhanced parental leave.