The Cybersecurity AI Automation Engineer at Nelnet plays a critical role in advancing the organization's cybersecurity capabilities through intelligent automation and AI-driven solutions. This position partners closely with cybersecurity and internal teams to design, build, and deploy automated workflows that increase operational efficiency, reduce manual effort, and surface actionable insights.
This role requires strong technical acumen, practical problem-solving, and a collaborative mindset to deliver scalable solutions within Nelnet's AI infrastructure.
You will
- 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.
AI Automation & Solutions Engineering
- 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.
Innovation
- 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.
Agility
- 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.
Problem Solving
- 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.
Collaboration
- 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.
Communication Skills
- 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.
Strategic Focus
- Align automation efforts to Nelnet's broader cybersecurity strategy and AI infrastructure investments, ensuring solutions contribute to long-term program goals.