Why I Am Building "The FinOps Engineer"
Cloud bills are no longer just a finance problem; they are an architectural bug.
As a Senior Software Engineer, I have watched the gap between infrastructure code (Terraform/Kubernetes) and invoice data (CUR/Billing Console) grow wider. Engineers provision resources with a keystroke, while finance teams struggle to map those resources to business value months later.
The industry standard answer has been "better tagging." But tagging is manual, error-prone, and often ignored.
I am launching The FinOps Engineer to explore a better way: Engineering-led Cost Optimization.
The Mission: FOCUS First
This site will serve as a public technical lab. My primary focus for 2026 is the FinOps Open Cost & Usage Specification (FOCUS) 1.0.
The FOCUS project (backed by the FinOps Foundation) is attempting to normalize the chaotic billing schemas of AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud into a single, queryable standard. If we can treat billing data like a standard SQL schema, we can build automated, proactive cost controls—not just reactive dashboards.
What to Expect
Over the coming months, I will be documenting my journey toward the FinOps Certified Practitioner (FOCP) exam and publishing deep technical dives, including:
- Schema Mapping: Translating raw AWS Cost & Usage Reports (CUR) to FOCUS 1.0.
- The Kubernetes Lab: Running local cost allocation scenarios using Minikube and OpenCost.
- Automated Governance: Building guardrails that prevent waste before it deploys.
This is not a blog about "saving money." It is a documentation log about efficient engineering.
Hello, World.