R&D Finance & AI-Driven Operations Leader

Okta; Bellevue (IL); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Okta seeks a seasoned operations leader to own the financial and workforce operating engine for the company’s Product & Technology organization, a 2,000+ person R&D function spanning ORD and Auth0. You will drive budget governance, headcount strategy and vendor operations in close partnership with Recruiting and FP&A.

The role reports to the Head of Strategy & Operations for R&D and requires hub-based presence in SF, Seattle, or Chicago with frequent office work.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of work experience with 6+ years in operations, FP&A, or engineering operations in tech.
• Proven ownership of a large engineering or R&D budget, annual planning, governance and exec reviews.
• Experience in workforce planning and headcount governance with Recruiting and Finance.
• Vendor portfolio management including contract negotiation, renewals and capacity planning.
• Hands-on Capitalized Software accounting and R&D tax credit programs (US/Canada).
• Strong understanding of B2B SaaS cost structures and operating models.
• Experience building and leading high-performing ops teams, incl. Directors.
• Ability to navigate complex data sets and make data-driven decisions with ambiguity.
• Proven use of AI to enhance finance/ops, reporting, and automation.

Responsibilities

• Own budget and workforce strategy for ORD and Auth0 in the R&D Operating Plan.
• Govern R&D budget, oversee program spend, variance reporting, and executive reviews.
• Own P&L framework for R&D lines of business and portfolio decisions.
• Model and optimize AI token spend; establish baselines and ROIs.
• Lead engineering cost modeling and partner on margin analysis for deals.
• Ensure R&D financial compliance, Capitalized Software entries, and tax credits.
• Build and own the Snowflake-based cost distribution data platform for engineering leaders.
• Lead workforce strategy with Recruiting, including headcount governance and location strategy.
• Oversee contingent workers program and vendor operations for R&D.
• Refine financial/operating processes for scalable growth.
• Collaborate with Product/Engineering to set OKRs and month/quarter cadences.
• Apply AI fluently to analytics, dashboards, and workflows; mentor the team.

Skills

Budget ownership

Workforce planning

Vendor management

Capitalized Software accounting

AI in operations

B2B SaaS finance

Education

MBA or Finance/Economics/Engineering undergrad

Tools

Snowflake

Self-service reporting

Job description

Okta seeks a seasoned operations leader to own the financial and workforce operating engine for the company’s Product & Technology organization, a 2,000+ person R&D function spanning ORD and Auth0. You will drive budget governance, headcount strategy and vendor operations in close partnership with Recruiting and FP&A.

The role reports to the Head of Strategy & Operations for R&D and requires hub-based presence in SF, Seattle, or Chicago with frequent office work.