Technical Spend Optimizer

Technical Spend Optimizer

Location: On-site Charleston

Our Insurance Software and Business Process Solutions (ISB) organization partners with insurers worldwide to transform and manage core insurance operations. By combining deep insurance expertise, market-leading software platforms, and AI-powered solutions, we help clients modernize policy administration, claims, billing, underwriting, and digital engagement across Life & Annuity, Property & Casualty, and Specialty Insurance.

Position Summary

The Technical Spend Optimizer / Manager, Software Engineering is a strategic technology leadership role reporting directly to the CTO. This leader is responsible for driving enterprise-wide technology rationalization, vendor optimization, software asset governance, and engineering cost efficiency across the organization.

The role works closely with Solutioning, Engineering, Product Management, Delivery, Cloud Operations, Procurement (SCM), Finance, and vendor organizations to analyze technology usage, identify standardization opportunities, quantify switching costs and technical debt, negotiate improved commercial arrangements, and develop migration strategies that reduce overall technology spend while improving platform consistency and operational efficiency.

This position combines technical architecture expertise, financial acumen, vendor management, and engineering leadership to ensure technology investments deliver maximum business value.

Key Responsibilities

Technology Portfolio Analysis
Develop and maintain a comprehensive inventory of enterprise technologies, platforms, tools, frameworks, cloud services, and third-party software.
Analyze technology utilization patterns across engineering, delivery, and solutioning organizations.
Identify duplicate capabilities, redundant products, overlapping vendor relationships, and underutilized assets.
Create executive reporting that provides visibility into organization-wide technology spend and adoption.
Technology Standardization & Rationalization

Define enterprise technology standards in partnership with architecture, engineering, security, and operational leaders.
Recommend consolidation opportunities that reduce complexity and improve operational efficiency.
Lead technology rationalization initiatives designed to reduce platform sprawl.
Develop multi-year roadmaps for technology standardization and optimization.
Establish governance processes for evaluating new technology purchases and renewals.
Vendor & Commercial Optimization

Partner with Supply Chain Management (SCM), Procurement, Legal, and Finance teams to manage strategic vendor relationships.
Analyze enterprise purchasing volumes and identify opportunities for improved pricing agreements.
Lead commercial reviews of software licenses, subscriptions, support contracts, and cloud consumption agreements.
Develop business cases supporting vendor consolidation and strategic sourcing initiatives.
Monitor vendor performance, contractual obligations, and licensing compliance.
Switching Cost & Business Case Development

Quantify technical, operational, financial, and organizational switching costs associated with technology changes.
Build comprehensive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Return on Investment (ROI) models.
Evaluate technology replacement options, including migration costs, implementation effort, retraining requirements, and operational impacts.
Present recommendations and supporting business cases to executive leadership.
Engineering & Migration Leadership

Work directly with engineering teams to develop migration plans from legacy or non-standard technologies.
Coordinate technology transition initiatives across multiple product and delivery organizations.
Establish migration frameworks, implementation roadmaps, risk mitigation plans, and success metrics.
Monitor execution progress and ensure realization of projected savings and benefits.
Provide technical leadership and oversight for major transformation initiatives.
Financial Management & Reporting

Develop annual technology optimization targets and savings objectives.
Track realization of savings resulting from consolidation and standardization efforts.
Create executive dashboards and financial reporting for senior leadership.
Support annual planning, budget development, and investment prioritization processes.
CTO Strategic Support

Serve as a trusted advisor to the CTO on technology investment decisions.
Support mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic transformation initiatives through technology cost analysis.
Assist with enterprise architecture reviews and technology strategy development.
Provide recommendations on emerging technologies and associated financial implications.
Leadership Responsibilities

Lead a small team of analysts, architects, and optimization specialists as the function grows.
Establish repeatable processes and governance frameworks.
Mentor engineering and architecture teams on technology lifecycle management.
Drive organizational alignment around technology standards and optimization objectives.
Influence senior leaders without direct authority across multiple organizations.
Required Qualifications

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, Finance, or a related field.
MBA or Master's degree preferred.
Experience

10+ years of experience in software engineering, technology architecture, cloud platforms, IT operations, or technical consulting.
5+ years in leadership, architecture, governance, procurement, FinOps, or technology strategy roles.
Experience managing enterprise software portfolios and vendor ecosystems.
Demonstrated success delivering cost optimization and technology transformation initiatives.
Technical Expertise

Strong understanding of:

Enterprise software development lifecycle
Cloud computing platforms (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud)
Software licensing models and commercial structures
SaaS, PaaS, and infrastructure technologies
Application architecture and modernization practices
DevOps, Platform Engineering, and Software Engineering disciplines
Data-driven decision making and financial modeling
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis
Vendor management and contract negotiations
Preferred Qualifications

Experience within insurance, financial services, or large enterprise software organizations.
Experience with FinOps frameworks and cloud cost optimization.
Knowledge of software asset management and technology governance programs.
Experience leading enterprise-wide standardization initiatives.
Familiarity with procurement and strategic sourcing practices.
Key Performance Indicators

Annual technology cost savings achieved.
Reduction in technology portfolio complexity.
Percentage of strategic technology standards adopted.
Improvement in vendor pricing and contract efficiency.
Reduction in redundant technologies and platforms.
Migration completion rates against approved roadmaps.
Executive satisfaction with optimization recommendations.
Leadership Competencies

Strategic Thinking
Executive Communication
Financial Acumen
Technology Architecture Expertise
Negotiation & Influencing Skills
Data-Driven Decision Making
Cross-Functional Leadership
Change Management
Vendor Relationship Management
Results Orientation