Data Scientist – Cost Engineering (FinOps)

Spotify; City Of London; Remote; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading audio streaming service is seeking a Data Scientist in the Cost Engineering Product Area. In this role, you will optimize costs and reduce carbon impact, working closely with engineering teams to drive sustainability. The ideal candidate has a degree in a quantitative field, experience in delivering impactful insights, and skills in data analysis and visualization tools like Python and SQL. This position offers flexibility to work within the EMEA region, promoting inclusivity and collaboration in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

Flexible work location

Inclusivity in workplace

Support for accommodations during recruitment

Qualifications

• Proven experience delivering insights that influence business and technical strategy.
• Ability to thrive in high uncertainty environments using data to recommend clear paths.
• Hands-on experience with cloud cost optimization and emissions reporting methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Optimize costs and reduce carbon impact.
• Influence Procurement and Technology Infrastructure strategies.
• Take ownership of cloud carbon emissions reporting methodology.

Skills

Data visualization

Cloud cost optimization

Data analysis

Communication

Collaboration

Python

SQL

BigQuery

DBT

Tableau

Education

Degree in data science or related field

Tools

Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

Job description

At Spotify, we believe in the power of creativity to change the world. To make that possible, we need to build and scale our infrastructure in a way that’s both cost-efficient and climate-conscious. That’s where you come in.

We are looking for a Data Scientist to join the Cost Engineering Product Area, whose mission is to drive sustainability through cost and climate intelligence, amplifying Spotify's ability to deliver creativity to the world. Cost Engineering is responsible for optimizing the cost and carbon footprint of our infrastructure and software. Our team operates at the intersection of technology, product, procurement, and finance, making it one of the most dynamic and impactful places to work at Spotify.

As an Analytics Specialist in Cost Engineering, you’ll build decisions that drive Spotify’s technological and financial trajectory. By revealing impactful findings, you'll assist us in improving both expenses and environmental impact, allowing Spotify to expand sustainably while minimizing our climate influence.

What You'll Do

• Pinpoint the key opportunities for optimizing costs and reducing carbon impact, teaming up with Engineering to propel them forward.
• Provide insights that directly influence Procurement and Technology Infrastructure strategies, shaping how Spotify invests in and scales its infrastructure.
• Take ownership of our cloud carbon emissions reporting methodology and tooling, ensuring it continues to evolve in close collaboration with the Head of Climate and Sustainability.
• Work with Engineering to build new datasets that power the next generation of carbon and cost intelligence tools.
• Make a direct impact on Spotify’s sustainability journey, reducing both costs and carbon emissions at massive scale.
• Be part of a mission-driven team that combines deep technical expertise with tangible business impact.

Who You Are

• A data scientist with proven experience delivering insights that influence business and technical strategy.
• Hold a degree in data science, computer science, statistics, economics, mathematics, or another quantitative field.
• Thrive in environments with high uncertainty, using data to cut through ambiguity and recommend clear paths forward.
• An excellent communicator who can tell compelling stories with data, making sophisticated topics understandable and inspiring for varied audiences.
• Familiar with accounting and financial concepts and able to connect numbers to real-world impact.
• Collaborative by nature—valuing positive relationships with colleagues and cross‑functional partners.
• Hands‑on experience with cloud cost optimization (GCP preferred) and emissions reporting methodologies.
• Skilled in tools like Python, DBT, BigQuery, SQL, and Tableau to turn sophisticated data into actionable insights.

Where You'll Be

• We offer you the flexibility to work where you work best! For this role, you can be within the EMEA region as long as we have a work location (excluding France due to on‑call restrictions).
• This team operates within the Central European and GMT time zone for collaboration.

Spotify is an equal opportunity employer. You are welcome at Spotify for who you are, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or what’s playing in your headphones. Our platform is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all thrive, contribute, and be forward‑thinking! So bring us your personal experience, your perspectives, and your background. It’s in our differences that we will find the power to keep revolutionizing the way the world listens.

At Spotify, we are passionate about inclusivity and making sure our entire recruitment process is accessible to everyone. We have ways to request reasonable accommodations during the interview process and help assist in what you need. If you need accommodations at any stage of the application or interview process, please let us know – we’re here to support you in any way we can.

Spotify transformed music listening forever when we launched in 2008. Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art and billions of fans the chance to enjoy and be passionate about these creators. Everything we do is driven by our love for music and podcasting. Today, we are the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service.