Technology Finance Manager, AI Cost Planning

Your Opportunity

This position provides the right candidate with a unique opportunity to join the Schwab Technology Services (STS) Finance team. The team serves as a strategic business partner, providing financial insights, planning, and analysis to support decision-making and drive operational excellence. This role will lead performance analysis for key technology functions, ensuring alignment with corporate financial goals.

 

The Finance Manager will own the forecasting and budgeting for Schwab's AI costs, one of the fastest-growing and least predictable areas of technology spend, including model API usage, GPU and cloud compute, and AI software licenses. Partnering closely with Technology and Procurement leaders, they will also champion GenAI capabilities that modernize STS FP&A processes.

 

What You Will Do

• Lead the annual budget and rolling forecast for AI costs, including model API usage, GPU and cloud compute, and AI software licenses
• Build driver-based financial models that separate usage volume (users, requests, tokens) from unit price (model mix, per-token rates, caching and batch discounts)
• Develop scenario analyses for the key drivers of AI spend, including adoption growth, new model releases, price changes, and model migrations
• Track AI efficiency metrics such as cost per output and cost per user, and translate AI costs into unit economics and ROI views for senior leaders
• Lead FP&A processes (monthly close, variance analysis, risk and opportunities, reporting, forecasting and annual planning) for AI investments
• Partner with Technology and Product teams to source usage data and identify cost-saving levers such as model routing, caching, and batching
• Establish showback or chargeback reporting so business and technology teams see and own their AI spend
• Support Procurement on AI vendor negotiations, committed-spend sizing, and tracking usage against contract tiers
• Champion GenAI capabilities across the STS FP&A team, building AI-assisted workflows with clear review controls and measurable results
• Maintain sound risk management and control environment for work product

What you have

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or related field; MBA is a plus
• 5+ years of experience in FP&A, corporate finance, or infrastructure/cloud finance
• Exceptional financial modeling skills, including driver-based forecasting, scenario analysis, and sensitivity analysis
• Experience forecasting usage-based costs such as cloud hosting (AWS, Azure, GCP), AI model APIs, or consumption-priced vendor contracts
• Hands-on experience building AI-assisted workflows (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) to improve FP&A processes, with specific examples of results achieved
• Strong data skills, including advanced Excel and SQL for working with usage and billing data
• Proven ability to partner with technology teams and influence decisions without direct authority
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to present uncertain forecasts to senior leaders as clear ranges, risks, and recommendations
• Proactive, self-starter, able to manage and deliver multiple projects and succeed in a time-sensitive, fast-paced environment with minimal direction
• FinOps experience (cloud cost allocation, showback/chargeback, commitment-based savings) or a FinOps Certified Practitioner credential is a plus
• Working knowledge of AI pricing mechanics (input and output tokens, caching, batch pricing, provisioned throughput) is a plus
• Knowledge of financial systems such as IBM Planning Analytics and PeopleSoft Financials is a plus