Nelnet is a diversified and innovative company committed to enriching lives through the power of service as a student loan servicer, professional services company, consumer loan originator and servicer, payments processor, renewable energy solutions, and K-12 and higher education expert. For over 40 years, Nelnet has been serving its customers, associates, and communities.
The perks of working at Nelnet go beyond our benefits package. When you join the Nelnet team, you're part of a community invested in the success of each individual. That support comes through in our work, as we are united by our mission of creating opportunities for people where they live, learn, and work.
About Nelnet, Inc. Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) is a publicly traded financial services and technology company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. Founded with roots in education finance, Nelnet has grown into a diversified holding company with primary businesses spanning consumer lending, loan servicing, payments, and technology.
About the Role Nelnet is seeking an AI SecOps Engineer to own the security and compliance posture of our Enterprise AI program. Reporting to the IT Director of AI Delivery, this role is the technical bridge between AI governance policy and platform implementation
— embedded in Shared Services and partnered closely with our Cyber Security Group
(CSG).
This is not a policy role. You will be hands on keyboard, building and developing solutions directly — defining architecture standards, translating compliance requirements into engineering guardrails, and making sure secure, responsible AI is baked in from the start — not bolted on at the end. You will start with Claude and scale to the full EA portfolio and custom Agent builds as the enterprise grows.
Wh at You Wi ll Own
C SG Partn ership: O wn the wor king r elationship with CSG on d ata residency, PII hand ling, access gover nance, and m od el secur ity controls Translate p olicy into gu ard rails the d elivery team and citizen d evelop ers can act on
Secu rity Tooling & Au tomat ion B uild and m aintain secur ity tooling, gu ard rail enfor cem ent, and p olicy-as-code integrations acr oss Enterpr ise AI p latform s R ed uce m anu al review throu gh au tom ation where p ossib le
Ref erence I mp lement ati ons D evelop reu sab le secur ity comp onents and p atter ns that d elivery teams and citizen d evelop ers can dr op into Agent b uilds — m aking the secu re p ath the easy p ath
Secu rity Ob servabi lit y Instru ment AI p latforms to d etect anom alous b ehavior, access p atter ns, and p olicy violations B uild the d etection layer, not ju st consume it
You Wi ll Thri ve Here If
You see secur ity as an engineer ing d iscip line, not a comp liance checkb ox
You are energized by b uild ing systems that m ake comp liance easier to do r ight than to skip
You d efau lt to "here's how we do this safely" rather than ju st "no"
You can hold a technical conver sation with a d evelop er and a r isk conver sation with a comp liance stakehold er in the same d ay
Wh at You Bri ng
R eq uir ed:
1–2 years hands -on exp erience app lying secu rity and comp liance contr ols to AI or
ML systems
Fam iliar ity with LL M-sp ecific r isks p rompt injection, d ata leakage, m od el access contr ol, ou tp ut fi lter ing
Exp er ience d efi ning architectu re stand ards or technical gu ard rails
Fam iliar ity with d ata resid ency req uirements, PII hand ling, and access gover nance in enterpr ise environm ents
Ab ility to translate secur ity req uirem ents into d evelop er-facing guid ance
D em onstrated ab ility to b uild and imp lem ent solu tions d irectly, not ju st d ocum ent or ad vise
Preferred:
2–4 years of ind ustry exp er ience
Fam iliar ity with Anthrop ic's enterp rise secur ity m od el and d ata residency op tions
Cloud secur ity b ackgrou nd ( AWSAzu re) app lied to AI wor kloads
Exp er ience with SOC III, FedR AM P, ISO 4200142005, or N IST AI RMF
Exp er ience working in SIEM or log aggregation p latforms ( eg, Sentinel, Sp lu nk, G oogle SecOp s) to investigate AI-related signals and anom alies
R elevant cer tific ations CISSP, CCSP, or AI-sp ecif ic secur ity cred entials
**Pay range for this role is- $100,000 - $150,000 depending on experience
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 orcorporaterecruiting@nelnet.net
Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.
Nelnet is a leading student loan servicer – but we’re even more than that.
We provide payment technology for over 1,300 higher education institutions and 11,500 K-12 schools. We deliver world-class fiber internet, TV, and phone services to residents of Nebraska and Colorado. We help borrowers achieve their educational goals with private student loan and refinance solutions. And we help businesses boost their performance with our cutting-edge technology and trusted expertise.
Each day, over 7,000 Nelnet associates in more than 30 communities across the country work to serve our customers and make their dreams possible. And we’re on the lookout for new people to help us go even further.
