CyberSecurity AI Automation Engineer

Nelnet is a diversified and innovative company committed to enriching lives through the power of service as a student loan servicer and professional services provider. The CyberSecurity AI Automation Engineer plays a critical role in advancing the organization's cybersecurity capabilities through intelligent automation and AI-driven solutions, partnering closely with teams to design, build, and deploy automated workflows that enhance operational efficiency.

Responsibilities:

• Design and deploy AI-powered automation pipelines that support operational workflows
• Integrate automation solutions within Nelnet's existing AI infrastructure — LLM APIs, orchestration platforms, and workflow tooling
• Consult with internal teams to eliminate manual, repetitive processes across cybersecurity operations through scalable AI solutions
• Apply DevSecOps principles throughout the software delivery lifecycle
• Collaborate with stakeholders to translate business and compliance requirements into well-scoped automation solutions
• Continuously evaluate emerging AI and automation capabilities for opportunities across cybersecurity team workflows
• Design, develop, and deploy AI-powered automation pipelines and tools that support cybersecurity and partner teams, with an emphasis on operational workflows and business processes
• Build and integrate automation solutions within Nelnet's existing AI infrastructure, including LLM APIs, orchestration platforms, and workflow tooling, to ensure consistency, reuse, and long-term maintainability
• Consult with internal teams to eliminate manual, repetitive processes by engineering scalable AI solutions that drive measurable workflow efficiencies
• Apply DevSecOps principles throughout the software delivery lifecycle, embedding security, testing, and quality practices into every phase of solution development and deployment
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate business and compliance requirements into well-scoped automation solutions, ensuring delivered tools align with risk program objectives and audit expectations
• Continuously evaluate emerging AI and automation capabilities to identify opportunities for improvement across cybersecurity team workflows and tooling
• Bring a solutions-engineering mindset to cybersecurity challenges, exploring practical and creative applications of AI beyond conventional approaches
• Prototype and iterate on automation concepts quickly, validating feasibility in Nelnet's environment before scaling to production-ready solutions
• Stay current on developments in AI, LLM tooling, and automation frameworks, proactively introducing relevant advancements that could benefit cybersecurity operations
• Operate effectively in a fast-moving environment, adapting solutions as team needs, infrastructure capabilities, and security priorities evolve
• Manage multiple concurrent automation initiatives, balancing stakeholder urgency with the rigor required for reliable, production-grade delivery
• Work across domains with strong engineering fundamentals, quickly building context in cybersecurity and business processes
• Analyze complex, manual cybersecurity workflows to identify root inefficiencies and design automation solutions that address them at the process level, not just the task level
• Troubleshoot issues across the full automation stack, from data ingestion and model integration to pipeline execution and output delivery and resolve them efficiently
• Approach ambiguous or novel use cases with structured thinking, breaking down large problems into actionable engineering work with clear outcomes
• Partner closely with cybersecurity and stakeholder teams to understand workflow pain points and define automation requirements
• Work alongside platform, infrastructure, and AI teams to ensure solutions are aligned with architectural standards and leverage shared capabilities
• Act as a bridge between technical implementation and business stakeholders, translating engineering decisions into clear, accessible language
• Mentor peers on AI automation capabilities and emerging tooling relevant to cybersecurity operations
• Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences, adapting depth and framing to suit the audience
• Document automation solutions thoroughly, including design decisions, integration dependencies, and operational runbooks to ensure maintainability
• Present work in progress and completed solutions clearly, incorporating feedback and demonstrating responsiveness
• Align automation efforts to Nelnet's broader cybersecurity strategy and AI infrastructure investments, ensuring solutions contribute to long-term program goals
• Prioritize high-impact opportunities that reduce risk, improve consistency, and free up capacity for higher-value work
• Design solutions with scalability and reuse, enabling adoption across teams and use cases
• Serve as a trusted advisor on AI automation and help shape how cybersecurity teams adopt and benefit from these capabilities

Requirements:

• 2–4 years of experience in AI/ML engineering, automation development, solutions engineering, or DevOps/DevSecOps
• Hands-on experience building and integrating with LLMs or AI APIs (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, or open-source models)
• Proven experience developing automated workflows, data pipelines, or AI-driven solutions in production environments
• Experience with AI orchestration frameworks (e.g., LangChain, LlamaIndex, n8n, or similar) and prompt engineering practices
• Proficiency in Python or a comparable language for building AI and automation solutions
• Experience integrating LLMs and AI APIs into enterprise workflows and tooling
• Experience building and maintaining automated pipelines, including data ingestion, transformation, and output delivery
• Familiarity with DevSecOps principles and secure software development practices
• Working knowledge of AI orchestration tools and the ability to evaluate and adopt new technologies as the landscape evolves
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate business needs into technical solutions
• Ability to work within existing AI infrastructure to identify inefficiencies and deliver scalable improvements
• Excellent organizational, presentation, verbal, and written communication skills
• Ability to assess and clearly communicate complexity, trade-offs, and technical decisions to both engineering and management stakeholders
• Demonstrated ability to stay current with emerging technologies and adapt to evolving business and technical environments
• Experience with GRC platforms such as ServiceNow, Archer, or similar
• Familiarity with cybersecurity domains (e.g., vulnerability management, compliance) or exposure to operational security workflows
• Cloud infrastructure experience (AWS, Azure, or GCP), particularly in deploying or managing AI/ML services
• Experience with compliance or business process automation use cases
• Knowledge of cyber defense operations or security tooling ecosystems
• Experience with GRC or risk/compliance process automation is a plus
• Security certifications (Sec+, CISSP, etc.) not required but is a plus