AI FinOps & Token Economics Lead

Overview

About the Team

Global Vendor Delivery & Solutions (GVDS), within Microsoft Business Operations, develops and manages Microsoft's global vendor delivery ecosystem. Our purpose is to build and run an AI-enabled vendor ecosystem that delivers better business outcomes, greater agility and structurally lower cost. As AI becomes core to how that work is delivered, the team is building the disciplines to manage AI consumption with the same rigour as any other investment.

Role Purpose

The AI FinOps & Token Economics Lead will lead MBOs end-to-end approach to vendor AI consumption, ensuring that token investment is governed, forecast, allocated and optimised against measurable business outcomes. The role will establish the operating model that connects vendor AI demand, consumption, commercial accountability and value realisation, so that MBO invests in the right AI capability at the right level and increased AI consumption translates into reduced cost, increased capacity, improved quality or better business outcomes.

Responsibilities

Demand & Investment Governance

• Own the MBO framework for vendor token demand and consumption, including intake, demand forecasting and role- or workload-level requirements.

• Define approval thresholds and the exceptions process, budget and funding accountability, and portfolio prioritisation across vendor AI use cases.

• Operationalise the per vendor per month threshold, with exceptions requiring justification against contracted outcomes and measurable business value.

AI FinOps & Consumption Management

• Create a single view of vendor AI consumption and run a regular operating rhythm covering actual versus approved consumption, forecast and run rate, variance and outliers, optimisation opportunities and consumption controls.

• Align with the emerging internal AI FinOps model, which focuses on visibility, allocation, optimisation and business outcomes rather than cost control alone.

• Own FinOps and tokenomics for Copilot, Cowork, including usage visibility, allocation and optimisation.

Value Realisation

Link token investment to measurable outcomes through a clear value chain:

Token investment AI capability Productivity / capacity Business KPI Financial value

Vendor Commercial Governance

• Connect token investment to the broader vendor commercial model, determining where Microsoft versus the supplier should bear AI consumption cost.

• Ensure AI productivity is reflected in supplier capacity and commercials, so token investment does not become incremental vendor cost.

• Incorporate token economics into SOWs, renewals and vendor transformation conversations.

• Apply the existing framework that distinguishes a Microsoft-directed requirement, a supplier productivity choice and a joint transformation investment.

Optimisation & Controls

• Drive continuous optimisation of how vendors consume AI: using the lowest-cost capable tool or model, setting appropriate limits, identifying abnormal consumption and eliminating unnecessary usage.

• Move workloads towards more efficient models and configurations, with specific focus on long-running agents, recurring automations, parallel sessions, large contexts and unnecessarily expensive models.

• Recommend increased investment where the economics justify it.

Token Strategy & Operating Model

• Evolve MBO towards treating AI as a form of capacity investment alongside vendor headcount, embedding token economics in planning, prioritisation and vendor strategy.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelors degree in Finance, Business, Economics, Engineering or a related field AND 4+ years of experience in FinOps, cloud or technology cost management, FP&A, or vendor/commercial management, OR equivalent experience.

Preferred

• 6+ years of experience in FinOps, technology cost management, FP&A or commercial management.

• Hands-on cloud or AI consumption FinOps experience (e.g. Azure cost management, token- or usage-based pricing).

• Understanding of large language models (LLMs), AI agents and token economics.

• Experience with vendor or outsourcing commercial models, SOWs and renewals.

• Deep forecasting and variance reporting skills using tools such as Power BI and Excel.

• FinOps Certified Practitioner or similar certification; excellent executive communication and influencing skills.

Key Competencies & Behaviours

The role calls for strong commercial acumen and data-driven decision making, together with the ability to influence without authority and to manage stakeholders and vendors with confidence. We are looking for structured problem solving, a growth mindset and a customer-obsessed focus on business outcomes, working as One Microsoft across organisational boundaries.

Success Measures (First 6-12 Months)

• Token governance framework and per vendor per month threshold and exception process live.

• A single view of vendor AI consumption in place, with a monthly operating rhythm running.

• Forecast accuracy improving, with variance and outliers actively managed.

• Documented optimisation savings from model, configuration and usage changes.

• Token economics embedded in SOWs and renewals.

• Value realisation reporting in place, linking token spend to business KPIs.

Business Program Management IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $97,600 - $188,400 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $125,000 - $206,400 per year.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:

https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.