Senior Sourcing Lead – Cloud & AI Inference

Optiver; Illinois; On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) match up to 50%

Comprehensive health, mental, dental,視

25 paid vacation days

Office perks

Job summary

Optiver, a leading quantitative trading firm, seeks a Senior Sourcing Lead – Cloud & AI Inference to join our Global Procurement team. You will drive cloud and AI infrastructure sourcing strategies across the US and beyond, negotiating hyperscaler agreements and optimizing third-party cloud spend to enable scalable growth of our cloud and AI footprint.

As a senior leader, you will mentor sourcing managers, partner with platform engineering and finance, and shape cost transparency and measurable

Qualifications

• 10+ years of sourcing/procurement experience with depth in cloud or hyperscaler procurement.
• Proven track record leading large-scale cloud negotiations and delivering multimillion-dollar savings or cost avoidance.
• Experience building and executing cloud category strategies at an enterprise level.
• Proven ability to influence senior technology executives including Platform Engineering and CTO-level stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute the cloud and AI inference category strategy across the organization (trading infrastructure and enterprise-wide).
• Lead negotiations for hyperscaler agreements (EDP, Committed-Use Discounts, Private Pricing) with best-in-class terms.
• Drive cost optimization through FinOps, benchmarking, and consumption analytics.
• Influence executives to align on cloud sourcing strategies and business cases.

Skills

Cloud procurement

Sourcing leadership

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

FinOps / cost optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/ Supply Chain/ Finance/ CS

Job description

We are seeking a Senior Sourcing Lead – Cloud & AI Inference to join our Global Procurement team. This role will serve as a strategic leader in driving cloud and AI infrastructure sourcing initiatives both across the US and globally, with a primary focus on optimizing third-party cloud spend, structuring hyperscaler commercial agreements, and enabling scalable growth of our cloud and AI footprint. As a senior member of the team, you will not only lead complex sourcing strategies, but also provide oversight, coaching, and guidance to sourcing managers and buyers on the US team.

This role requires deep domain expertise in cloud commercial models, including hyperscaler enterprise agreements (AWS, GCP, Azure), committed-use and reserved capacity pricing, and AI inference procurement.

You will partner directly with senior stakeholders, technology leaders, platform engineering, and finance teams to ensure we are extracting maximum value from our cloud investments, building cost transparency, and driving measurable business impact in our fastest-growing technology spend category.

What you'll do

• Own and execute the cloud and AI inference category strategy across our organization (both within trading infrastructure and enterprise-wide).

• Lead negotiations for high-value and complex hyperscaler agreements (Enterprise Discount Programs, Committed-Use Discounts, Private Pricing Agreements), ensuring best-in-class commercial outcomes and risk mitigation.

• Drive measurable cost optimization initiatives across cloud and AI inference spend through FinOps discipline, multi-cloud benchmarking, and consumption analytics, while balancing speed, scalability, and innovation

• Influence senior stakeholders (up to executive leadership) to align on cloud sourcing strategies, architectural trade-offs, and commercial business cases

• Establish and strengthen key vendor relationships with hyperscalers and emerging AI infrastructure providers to maximize long‑term value and innovation

• Monitor cloud market trends, hyperscaler pricing benchmarks, and supplier performance to proactively identify opportunities for savings and improvement

• Represent Procurement as a trusted advisor to technology and business leadership on all cloud and AI inference investment decisions

What you'll get

You’ll join a culture of collaboration and excellence, surrounded by curious thinkers and creative problem‑solvers. Motivated by a passion for continuous improvement, you’ll thrive in a supportive, high‑performing environment alongside talented colleagues, collectively tackling some of the toughest challenges in the financial markets. In addition, you’ll receive:

• The opportunity to work alongside best‑in‑class professionals from over 40 different countries

• Highly competitive compensation package including performance‑based bonus structure

• 401(k) match up to 50%

• Comprehensive health, mental, dental, vision, disability, and life coverage

• 25 paid vacation days alongside market holidays

• Extensive office perks, including breakfast, lunch and snacks, regular social events, clubs, sporting leagues and more

Who you are

• 10+ years of sourcing/procurement experience, with significant depth in cloud or hyperscaler procurement

• Demonstrated success leading large‑scale cloud negotiations and delivering multimillion‑dollar savings or cost avoidance

• Experience building and executing cloud category strategies at an enterprise level

• Proven ability to influence and collaborate with senior technology executives, including Platform Engineering and CTO‑level stakeholders

• Excellent negotiation, analytical, and financial acumen, with deep understanding of cloud pricing mechanics

• Strong leadership presence with ability to communicate complex cloud sourcing strategies clearly to stakeholders at all levels

• Strategic thinker with demonstrated ability to balance cost optimization, innovation, and architectural flexibility

• Expertise in leveraging cloud consumption data and cost models to drive sourcing strategy creation

• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, high‑impact environment with competing priorities

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, Computer Science, or related field

• Experience within financial services, trading, or other complex tech‑focused industries

Who we are

At Optiver, our mission is to improve the market by injecting liquidity, providing accurate pricing, increasing transparency and stabilizing the market no matter the conditions. With a focus on continuous improvement, we prioritize safeguarding the health and efficiency of the markets for all participants. As one of the largest market making institutions, we are a respected partner on 100+ exchanges across the globe.

Our differences are our edge. Optiver does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, or other legally protected characteristics.

Base Salary Range

$180,000-$250,000 USD