AI Software Engineer

Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology, education services, and learning management solutions to education and faith-based organizations, serving more than 1,300 higher education institutions, 11,500 K-12 schools, 3,500 churches, and millions of individual students, families, and supporters across the globe. Our culture of service enables us to form long-lasting and trusted partnerships, while our focus on creativity and innovative solutions empowers our customer communities to thrive.

 

As a Nelnet company, the perks at NBS go beyond our benefits package. You’re part of a community, invested in you as an individual and united by our mission to create opportunities for people where they live, learn and work.

This position designs, creates, maintains, audits, and improves software applications by performing coding, debugging, testing, and troubleshooting throughout the application development process. They design solutions for complex projects and complete their work with no supervision. They mentor less experienced engineers and make recommendations for future development options. This person is an advocate for making improvements and working as a whole team to accomplish goals. Additionally, this role leads the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into technology, tools and standards to dramatically enhance software development velocity, drive innovation and transform the developer experience through AI-augmented workflows.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Research, design, implement, and manage software applications and tooling incorporating user requirements and efficient, testable coding.

• Leverage AI coding assistants to enhance productivity and drive best practices for AI-assisted development, including code quality, security, and responsible AI use.

• Analyze, maintain, and develop existing applications by identifying areas for improvement and modernization.

• Develop and integrate AI models and LLM-powered capabilities into software applications and tools to enhance functionality, performance, and user experience

• Act as an AI evangelist, collaborating cross-functionally to understand challenges and implement impactful AI-driven solutions and processes

• Research emerging AI technologies (e.g., agentic AI, generative models) and evaluate their potential and practical applications within the organization

• Promote consistent department-wide processes and standards for effective AI integration throughout the SDLC

• Optimize AI algorithms for performance and scalability, with applied expertise in techniques such as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)

• Drive measurable improvements in Developer Experience through AI innovation and adoption, promoting Development Excellence across teams.

• Work within an Agile environment, adapting to change and maintaining a positive, solution-oriented approach.

• Mentor peers on AI adoption, prompt engineering, and Agile adaptation, while maintaining a proactive, positive, and solution-oriented mindset.

EDUCATION:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field, or commensurate experience

EXPERIENCE:

• 5+ years of related software engineering experience, including back-end technologies such as .Net, Python.

• 5+ years’ experience or ability to show proficiency in modern front-end frameworks like Angular, React, etc.

• 5+ years’ experience or ability to show proficiency in SQL and No-SQL database frameworks

• 5+ years’ hands-on experience with cloud platforms like AWS and Azure, including serverless computing, cloud storage, and other infrastructure services.

• 3-5 years’ hands-on experience with AI frameworks, agents and solutions (e.g., LangChain, vector databases)

• 5+ years’ experience with automated testing frameworks and tools such as Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, JUnit, or Jest.

• Experience integrating AI models into applications and optimizing AI algorithms for performance

COMPETENCIES – SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITIES:

• Working knowledge of Enterprise Integration Patterns (e.g., message queues, service buses) and Cloud Design Patterns for scalable distributed systems.

• Advanced prompt engineering skills with demonstrated ability to effectively work with large language models

• Strong understanding of building and consuming RESTful APIs, with experience in designing scalable, secure API architectures.

• Familiarity with container technologies like Docker, and orchestration tools like Kubernetes, for deploying and scaling applications.

• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools for automating software deployment, including experience with CI/CD pipelines using tools like Github, Azure DevOps, or similar.

• Deep expertise using AI coding assistants in professional contexts (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf or similar)

• Understanding of data preprocessing, feature engineering, and model evaluation techniques

• Demonstrated ability to lead change initiatives and positively influence engineering practices

• Ability to communicate with clients, colleagues, and management to explain complex issues clearly and concisely

• Strive to have a logical, analytical, and creative approach to solving problems

• Ability to work both in a team and independently

• Ability to handle multiple priorities and work under pressure

• Good time management skills to plan and organize own work

• Experience mentoring others and/or leading a significant change within a team

• A love of learning and a thirst for knowledge, with a constant drive to expand understanding of the world

• A passion for all things at the intersection of developer experience and emerging AI technologies

• A vision for AI integration that uplifts the entire engineering organization.

• brings new, creative perspectives to solving problems and reshaping how developers interact with AI tools.

• All team members are expected to have a mindset of respect, collaboration, improvement and learning cycles, pride in ownership, focus on delivering value, and the ability to adapt to change.

Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: LINK.

Nelnet is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful workplace where all associates have the opportunity to succeed. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national origin, gender, sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. We value the unique contributions of every team member and believe that a positive work environment benefits everyone.  

Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may request such accommodations by contacting Corporate Recruiting at 402-486-5725 or corporaterecruiting@nelnet.net.

Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.