Technology Finance Manager, AI Cost Planning

Charles Schwab Corporation; Westlake (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Charles Schwab Corporation's Schwab Technology Services (STS) Finance team seeks a Finance Manager to own AI cost forecasting, budgeting, and FP&A for one of the fastest-growing technology spend areas. You will partner with Technology and Procurement, build driver-based models, run scenarios, track cost efficiency, and provide clear ranges and recommendations to senior leaders in a fast-paced environment.

This role offers an opportunity to influence GenAI cost strategy, establish showback

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting; MBA is a plus.
• 5+ years FP&A, corporate finance or infra/cloud finance.
• Strong financial modeling, driver-based forecasting and scenario analysis.
• Experience forecasting usage-based cloud costs (AWS/Azure/GCP) and AI APIs.
• Hands-on with AI-assisted FP&A workflows and measurable results.
• Advanced Excel and SQL skills for usage/billing data.
• Ability to partner with technology teams and influence decisions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with senior leaders.
• FinOps experience or certification is a plus.
• Knowledge of AI pricing mechanics is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual budget and rolling forecast for AI costs.
• Build driver-based financial models: usage vs unit price.
• Develop scenario analyses for AI spend drivers.
• Track AI efficiency metrics and translate to ROI views.
• Lead FP&A processes: close, variance, risk, reporting, planning.
• Source usage data with Technology and Product teams.
• Establish showback/chargeback reporting for AI spend.
• Support Procurement on AI vendor negotiations and usage tracking.
• Champion GenAI capabilities across STS FP&A with AI-assisted workflows.
• Maintain sound risk management and control environment.

Skills

Financial modeling

Forecasting

Budgeting

Excel

SQL

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

GenAI capabilities

FinOps

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Economics/Accounting

MBA (preferred)

Tools

IBM Planning Analytics

PeopleSoft Financials

Job description

Your Opportunity

This position provides the right candidate with a unique opportunity to join the Schwab Technology Services (STS) Finance team. The teamserves as a strategic business partner, providing financial insights, planning, and analysis to support decision-making and drive operational excellence. This role will lead performance analysis for key technology functions, ensuring alignment with corporate financial goals.

The Finance Manager will own the forecasting and budgeting for Schwab's AI costs, one of the fastest-growing and least predictable areas of technology spend, including model API usage, GPU and cloud compute, and AI software licenses. Partnering closely with Technology and Procurement leaders, they will also champion GenAI capabilities that modernize STS FP&A processes.

What You Will Do

• Lead the annual budget and rolling forecast for AI costs, including model API usage, GPU and cloud compute, and AI software licenses
• Build driver-based financial models that separate usage volume (users, requests, tokens) from unit price (model mix, per-token rates, caching and batch discounts)
• Develop scenario analyses for the key drivers of AI spend, including adoption growth, new model releases, price changes, and model migrations
• Track AI efficiency metrics such as cost per output and cost per user, and translate AI costs into unit economics and ROI views for senior leaders
• Lead FP&A processes (monthly close, variance analysis, risk and opportunities, reporting, forecasting and annual planning) for AI investments
• Partner with Technology and Product teams to source usage data and identify cost-saving levers such as model routing, caching, and batching
• Establish showback or chargeback reporting so business and technology teams see and own their AI spend
• Support Procurement on AI vendor negotiations, committed-spend sizing, and tracking usage against contract tiers
• Champion GenAI capabilities across the STS FP&A team, building AI-assisted workflows with clear review controls and measurable results
• Maintain sound risk management and control environment for work product

What you have

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, or related field; MBA is a plus
• 5+ years of experience in FP&A, corporate finance, or infrastructure/cloud finance
• Exceptional financial modeling skills, including driver-based forecasting, scenario analysis, and sensitivity analysis
• Experience forecasting usage-based costs such as cloud hosting (AWS, Azure, GCP), AI model APIs, or consumption-priced vendor contracts
• Hands-on experience building AI-assisted workflows (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) to improve FP&A processes, with specific examples of results achieved
• Strong data skills, including advanced Excel and SQL for working with usage and billing data
• Proven ability to partner with technology teams and influence decisions without direct authority
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to present uncertain forecasts to senior leaders as clear ranges, risks, and recommendations
• Proactive, self-starter, able to manage and deliver multiple projects and succeed in a time-sensitive, fast-paced environment with minimal direction
• FinOps experience (cloud cost allocation, showback/chargeback, commitment-based savings) or a FinOps Certified Practitioner credential is a plus
• Working knowledge of AI pricing mechanics (input and output tokens, caching, batch pricing, provisioned throughput) is a plus
• Knowledge of financial systems such as IBM Planning Analytics and PeopleSoft Financials is a plus