Technical Program Manager, Cloud Cost Management (Elastic Search Technology)

N-iXis a global software development service company that helps businesses across the globe create next-generation software products. Founded in 2002 we unite 2400 tech-savvy professionals across 40 countries working on impactful projects for industry leaders and Fortune 500 companies. Our expertise spans cloud data AI/ML embedded softwareIoT and more driving digital transformation across finance manufacturing telecom healthcare and other industries. JoinN-iX and become part of a team where your ideas make a real impact.

Client Overview:
The client is a leading company in digital transaction management and e-signature solutions helping organizations streamline agreements and accelerate business processes through secure scalable and user-friendly platforms.

Currently we are looking forTechnical Program Manager Cloud Cost Management (Elastic Search Technology) to join the team and beable to work within PST (Pacific Standard Time) or 14:00 - 22:00 / 15:00 - 23:00 CET

Project Overview:
The project focuses on optimizing cloud infrastructure costs and improving financial efficiency across Engineering Business Services. The role involves leading cloud migration initiatives implementing cost-management frameworks and optimizing Elastic Search clusters and other workloads in Azure. The goal is to drive operational excellence enforce governance and automation and ensure cost-effective reliable and scalable cloud solutions while supporting strategic organizational priorities.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Financial Planning & Budgeting:

• Develop and manage the annual operating budget and multi-year financial plans for Engineering Business Services driving down total spend
• Align divisional budgets to organizational priorities and strategic goals
• Provide detailed variance analysis trend reporting risk identification and actionable insights.

2. Cloud Migration & Optimization Strategy:

• Support strategic initiatives including the transition from on-premises data centers to Azure Cloud
• Design and implement cost-optimization frameworks for cloud workloads including Elastic Search clusters
• Establish and standardize processes for evaluating investment requests ROI assessments and ongoing governance.

3. Azure Cost Management & Engineering Excellence:

• Rightsize & Clean Up: continuously downsize underutilized VMs/VMSS; remove unattached disks NICs IPs snapshots; schedule non-prod shutdowns
• Commitments & Pricing: manage Azure Reservations vs. Savings Plans track coverage/utilization enable Azure Hybrid Benefit and leverage Spot VMs
• AKS/Containers: tune requests/limits enable HPA/KEDA use spot node pools right-size node types cache images optimize registry egress
• PaaS/Serverless Shift: migrate suitable workloads to App Service Functions or Container Apps; adopt burstable SKUs and ephemeral OS disks
• Storage & Database: apply lifecycle rules (HotCoolArchive) reduce Premium tiers prune snapshots enable compression; implement SQL serverless/elastic pools and Cosmos autoscale TTL
• Network & Egress: co-locate services configure Private Endpoints minimize cross-region traffic; optimize NAT gateways load balancers and CDN usage.

4. Elastic Search Cost Management:

• Analyze Elastic Search cluster usage and costs; right-size data and master nodes
• Implement index lifecycle management (ILM) to tier data (hot warm cold frozen)
• Automate snapshots and retention policies; leverage managed offerings or serverless search where suitable
• Monitor query and indexing performance to balance TCO and SLAs.

5. Automation & Guardrails:

• Define policy-as-code (Terraform/Bicep) to enforce tagging naming and cost controls
• Build KQL detectors for idle CPU/RAM/IOPS or under-utilized RI/SP coverage and implement auto-remediation (shutdowns tag fixes snapshot expiry)
• Integrate Azure Advisor recommendations into the backlog and enable automated enforcement.

6. Licensing & Marketplace Spend:Map workloads to Azure Hybrid Benefit or BYOL; identify and prune unnecessary third-party marketplace licenses.

7. Reliability vs. Cost:Ensure backup/replication strategies align to actual RPO/RTO and compliance requirements without overspending.

8. Collaboration & Mentorship:

• Partner with engineering finance product and strategic sourcing teams (23 analysts) to negotiate contract extensions and drive down operating costs
• Mentor and coach junior team members on cost management best practices and financial discipline.

9. Analysis & Reporting:

• Summarize complex findings into executive-level presentations dashboards and project plans
• Conduct industry benchmark research to inform competitive advantage
• Track and report regular progress against big bets strategic initiatives and organizational goals.

Deliverables will include validated financial models cost-optimization playbooks operational dashboards Elastic Search cluster cost reports and senior leadership briefings.

Requirements:

• Proven experience as a Technical Program Manager in cloud cost management or a related field
• Hands-on experience with Azure Cloud AKS PaaS serverless and storage/database optimization
• Expertise in Elastic Search cluster management and cost optimization
• Strong knowledge of cloud financial planning budgeting and cost governance
• Experience with automation tools such as Terraform/Bicep and KQL monitoring
• Familiarity with Azure Advisor Reservations Savings Plans Spot VMs and Azure Hybrid Benefit
• Excellent analytical problem-solving and presentation skills
• Strong collaboration and mentorship abilities; experience working with cross-functional teams
• Ability to translate complex technical and financial data into actionable insights.