Excel Performance Optimization Specialist (Temporary 3 months)

We are seeking a highly hands-on Excel Performance Optimization Specialist to help stabilize and improve Microsoft Excel performance for our Finance teams. These users rely on extremely large, complex, and business-critical Excel workbooks that frequently freeze or hang due to volume, formulas, legacy links, and undocumented “tribal knowledge” logic.

The ideal candidate will rapidly diagnose, reproduce, and remediate Excel performance issues, determine whether problems stem from workbook design, data quality, formulas, add-ins, or hardware limitations, and deliver tangible improvements in stability and usability in a short period of time.

This role is critical to maintaining business continuity until legacy Excel models are replaced by industrialized planning applications.

Requirements:

      • Deep expertise in advanced Microsoft Excel, including:

            ○ Large datasets and complex financial models

            ○ Advanced formulas and calculation chains

            ○ Excel performance tuning and troubleshooting

      • Strong understanding of:

            ○ Power Query, Power Pivot, and data modeling concepts

            ○ Common causes of Excel performance degradation in finance environments

      • Proven experience supporting Finance with mission-critical workbooks

      • Ability to work with poorly documented, legacy Excel files and rapidly make sense of them

      • Hands-on, pragmatic problem solver who can deliver improvements quickly

      • Background in Desktop Engineering or End-User Computing

      • Experience assessing hardware vs. application performance constraints

      • Familiarity with enterprise-scale Excel governance or model-risk mitigation

      • Experience using AI tools to analyze or refactor Excel models

Responsibilities:

Excel Diagnostics & Performance Remediation

      • Analyze large, complex Excel workbooks used by FP&A and Finance teams

      • Identify root causes of Excel freezing, hanging, or crashing (e.g.:

            ○ Excessive or volatile formulas

            ○ Inefficient lookups or array formulas

            ○ Broken or legacy external links

            ○ Unused named ranges, hidden sheets, or circular references

            ○ File bloat, poor data structures, or manual workarounds)

      • Reproduce reported issues reliably and document findings clearly

Optimization & Cleanup

      • Simplify and refactor Excel formulas without changing outputs

      • Clean up obsolete logic, links, and unused objects

      • Optimize data models and calculation chains for performance

      • Recommend where Power Query, Power Pivot, or structured tables should replace legacy approaches

      • Improve workbook stability while preserving business intent and outcomes

Environment & Hardware Assessment

      • Determine whether issues are workbook-related or tied to:

            ○ Laptop hardware constraints (CPU, RAM, storage)

            ○ Excel version or add-ins

            ○ OS or desktop configuration

      • Partner with Desktop Engineering to validate hardware recommendations if needed

Knowledge Transfer & Documentation

      • Document changes made and performance gains achieved

      • Translate “tribal knowledge” logic into understandable documentation

      • Provide practical recommendations for:

            ○ Future Excel design standards

            ○ Reducing long-term risk until formal planning tools are implemented

AI & Automation (Nice to Have)

      • Leverage AI tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot, Claude, or similar) to:

            ○ Analyze formulas and dependencies

            ○ Suggest simplifications

            ○ Accelerate cleanup and refactoring where appropriate