The latest articles on DEV Community by Vicki Garret (@vicki_garret_). https://dev.to/vicki_garret_ https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4184489%2F959c1a91-afdb-4d64-a28d-f52525686856.png https://dev.to/vicki_garret_ en Vicki Garret Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:22:36 +0000 https://dev.to/vicki_garret_/work-in-finops-where-engineering-meets-the-cloud-bill-5agc https://dev.to/vicki_garret_/work-in-finops-where-engineering-meets-the-cloud-bill-5agc <p>Hey everyone! </p> <p>I'm a FinOps Engineer working in Big Tech, with 5 years of experience in the field.</p> <p>My job sits somewhere between cloud infrastructure, data, automation, and engineering teams. In other words, I spend my time thinking about cloud costs-so hopefully, fewer people have to panic when the bill arrives. 😅</p> <p>I'm particularly interested in four things:</p> <p><strong>Cloud cost optimization:</strong> getting more value out of the infrastructure we already have.</p> <p><strong>FinOps automation:</strong> because if a human has to repeat the same task every month, there's probably an opportunity to automate it.</p> <p><strong>Data and cost allocation:</strong> making cloud spending visible, understandable, and attributable to the teams and services behind it.</p> <p><strong>Working with engineering teams:</strong> turning cost awareness into better technical decisions.</p> <p>I work in a multi-cloud environment, which keeps things interesting. Different platforms, different billing models, different quirks and plenty of opportunities to learn that the phrase "it's just a small change" can have a surprisingly interesting financial interpretation.</p> <p><strong>What do I believe about FinOps?</strong></p> <p>I don't think FinOps is about cutting costs at all costs.</p> <p>It's about understanding what we're paying for, why we're paying for it, and whether we're getting the value we expected.</p> <p>Sometimes the answer is optimization. Sometimes it's better visibility. Sometimes it's helping a team understand the trade-offs behind an architectural decision.</p> <p>And sometimes, the best optimization is realizing that the expensive thing is actually worth it.</p> <p><strong>Why am I here?</strong></p> <p>I want to learn from people who are solving similar problems in different environments.</p> <p>And remember: the goal isn't to make the cloud cheap.</p> <p>It's to make the cloud worth what it costs. 🚀</p> <h1> FinOps #CloudComputing #DevOps #CloudCostOptimization </h1> automation cloud devops infrastructure