Software Portfolio Strategist

Apple•Published 1 days ago•First seen 1 days ago

Summary

Business Operations, Employee Engagement, and Strategy is part of IS&T and shapes the strategy, operations, and culture of IS&T. The team oversees business planning, IS&T's partnership strategy across Apple, and the technology tools that support the organization's day-to-day operations. This team also leads IS&T's enterprise generative AI strategy and manages compliance across systems. Through its communications and employee programs, it champions the growth, inclusion, and development of everyone in IS&T and drives the standard for IS&T brand and product communications across Apple.

Apple's IS&T Software Asset Management team, within the Office of the CIO, governs a $450M+ software portfolio spanning 1300+ products and 250+ vendors. Our mandate is to enable and create value for Apple's business — ensuring every software investment delivers measurable impact through total cost of ownership (TCO) optimization, strategic lifecycle management, and cross-functional partnership.

We are hiring a Software Portfolio Strategist who thinks like a strategist, moves like an operator, and influences like a consultant — someone who sees a renewal as an inflection point, not a transaction, and who treats data as a language for driving enterprise decisions.
This role is for someone who is restlessly curious about where software spend is headed, why it is growing, and what levers actually exist to shape it.

Description

You will not inherit a playbook — you will write one. This role sits at the intersection of technology strategy, financial planning, and cross-functional influence within the Office of the CIO. You will own a portfolio of enterprise software investments end-to-end: setting lifecycle direction, building the analytical case for action, and driving decisions through rooms where you do not have positional authority but earn credibility through rigor and clarity.

The OCIO exists to enable Apple's business and create value — and this role is a direct expression of that mission. You will quantify and optimize total cost of ownership across your portfolio, ensuring Apple gets maximum strategic and operational value from every software dollar spent. That means going beyond sticker price to evaluate implementation costs, operational overhead, integration complexity, and long-term vendor trajectory.
Our operating model is shifting from manual processing to automation-enabled strategic work. That means less time chasing renewals and more time answering harder questions: Should we build or buy? Where is AI-driven cost growth outpacing value? Which vendors are strategic partners vs. commodity suppliers? What does a 5-year TCO view of this portfolio actually look like?

You will work directly with IS&T leadership, product teams, Finance, and Procurement — not as a support function, but as a decision-shaping partner who connects software investment strategy to business value.

Responsibilities

Own full lifecycle for assigned software portfolios — renewals, true-ups, terminations, migrations — with a strategic lens on every decision
Develop and maintain directional lifecycle strategies grounded in spend, criticality, utilization, and market trajectory
Lead software rationalization efforts: classify, prioritize, and drive action on portfolio optimization to reduce TCO and increase value delivery
Establish and run portfolio steering reviews with cross-functional stakeholders
Own multi-million-dollar budget forecasts and 5-year directional plans for your portfolios
Build and present build-vs-buy evaluations, TCO models, cost optimization analyses, and scenario planning
Identify spend trends proactively — particularly AI-driven consumption growth — and frame them for leadership action
Translate complex licensing structures into clear financial narratives that connect software costs to business value for non-technical audiences
Lead large-scale programs (migrations, platform transitions, rationalization initiatives) independently
Host and drive meetings with product owners, IMT leaders, and executive stakeholders — you set the agenda, not just attend
Deliver executive presentations, deal summaries, and strategic recommendations that land with senior leadership
Build relationships that make you the person people call when a software decision needs to be made well
Establish governance frameworks and policies that scale across IS&T's software estate
Lead audit strategy and coordinate responses with Legal, Finance, and Procurement
Drive proactive risk identification — licensing exposure, contractual risks, vendor lock-in — before they become escalations

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree and 7+ years in software asset management, IT vendor management, technology finance, or strategic portfolio roles
5+ years leading complex cross-functional programs or investment portfolios
Strong command of enterprise licensing models (ELAs, subscriptions, perpetual, consumption/token-based, hybrid)
Demonstrated ownership of multi-million-dollar software budgets and forecasts
Track record of presenting strategic recommendations to senior leadership and influencing outcomes
Hands-on analytical capability — you build the analysis, not just review it

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with software rationalization, optimization, or portfolio governance at enterprise scale
Familiarity with complex license metrics (Oracle Processors, IBM PVUs, vCPUs, points/credits)
Ability to read and interpret enterprise software contracts, audit clauses, and compliance frameworks
Background in IT finance (capex vs. opex, prepaid structures, contractual uplifts, NTE pricing)
Experience creating or re-engineering processes and tools that improve operational efficiency
Comfort navigating ambiguity and making independent judgment calls with enterprise-level impact
Consulting, strategy, or finance background (in addition to or in lieu of traditional SAM experience) is a plus