Start with visibility: you cannot optimise what you cannot see. Tag everything, set up cost dashboards, and review monthly with the team.
Look for: regular cost reviews, rightsizing instances, reserved/spot instance strategies, auto-scaling based on actual demand, eliminating unused resources, tagging for cost allocation, and setting budgets/alerts. Best candidates discuss the trade-off between cost and reliability, and when spending more is the right answer.
Increasingly important skill. Tests financial awareness and operational efficiency. Red flag: candidates who only focus on cutting costs without considering reliability impact. Good sign: systematic approach with clear trade-off thinking.