# Software Engineer, Cost Optimization

**Company:** [Kustomer](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/kustomer)
**Location:** New York, NY
**Role:** DevOps / SRE
**Salary:** $130k – $215k/yr
**Experience:** 4+ years
**Skills:** AWS, amazon ec2, Terraform, finops, aws cost explorer, aws cost and usage reports, aws trusted advisor, Kubernetes, Go, Python, JavaScript, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, kinesis
**Posted:** 2026-08-06

> Own end-to-end cost optimization across AWS infrastructure and AI/LLM usage, building tooling, dashboards, and guardrails while balancing cost, performance, and reliability. Requires 4+ years of AWS infrastructure experience, cost-management expertise, and proficiency with Terraform and a programming language.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities

### Infrastructure & Cloud Cost Optimization
- Own AWS cost optimization end to end, including EC2 right-sizing, Reserved Instances and Savings Plans, spot usage, storage tiering, and unused-resource cleanup.
- Build dashboards and reporting to track infrastructure spend by team and service, and flag anomalies before they become expensive.
- Partner with engineering teams to identify and eliminate waste, including idle resources, over-provisioned instances, and redundant environments.
- Drive architectural decisions that balance cost, performance, and reliability.
- Use Terraform to codify and enforce cost-conscious infrastructure standards.

### AI Token Spend Optimization
- Analyze and reduce AI/LLM token spend through model right-sizing, prompt efficiency, caching, and routing strategies.
- Build developer tooling, guardrails, and observability around token usage.
- Evaluate deterministic versus generative tool-selection tradeoffs from a cost perspective and recommend lower-cost approaches where appropriate.
- Support AI capabilities by keeping them performant and cost-efficient.

### Cross-Team Collaboration
- Report cost trends and savings opportunities to engineering leadership.
- Identify systemic inefficiencies and build tooling to prevent them from recurring.
- Collaborate with FinOps and finance stakeholders to forecast and track spend against budget.
- Drive alignment across engineering teams while maintaining development speed and momentum.

## Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, a relevant technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
- 4+ years of experience with AWS infrastructure at scale, with a strong track record of reducing cloud costs.
- Hands-on experience with AWS cost tools, including Cost Explorer, Cost and Usage Reports, and Trusted Advisor.
- Experience with EC2 right-sizing and reservation strategies.
- Proficiency with Terraform or other infrastructure-as-code tools.
- Proficiency in a high-level programming language such as Go, Python, or JavaScript.
- A cost-focused mindset, with an emphasis on measurable savings.

## Nice to Have
- Familiarity with LLM and AI infrastructure cost drivers, including token usage, model pricing, and caching strategies.

## Technology Stack
- AWS Cloud, including EC2 and AWS cost and billing tools
- Terraform
- MongoDB
- Redis
- Elasticsearch
- ClickHouse
- Kafka
- Kinesis
- Go
- Python
- JavaScript
- React
- Node.js

## Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive salary and stock options.
- In the U.S.: 100% healthcare coverage, 401(k), WiFi and mobile reimbursement, and generous vacation policy.

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