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Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Hybrid
Role Summary
Reporting to the VP, Business Systems, the AI & Automation Engineer is the primary technical person for applying AI and automation to processes performed across Business Systems which includes Business Applications, Data & Analytics, and IT. The role works with the leaders of each team and independently to identify high-volume, repetitive, and manual work within these teams, then builds, tests, and deploys automations and AI-enabled workflows that reduce manual effort and return capacity to higher-value work.
Working across enterprise platforms, workflow automation tools, and AI services, the AI & Automation Engineer translates business processes into reliable, observable, and well-governed solutions, including clear ownership, error handling, human-in-the-loop escalation, and measurable outcomes.
• Work with the leaders of Business Applications, Data & Analytics, and IT to identify high-volume, repetitive, and manual processes that are strong candidates for automation or AI enablement.
• Document current-state workflows, including inputs, decision points, exceptions, systems involved, effort consumed, and risks.
• Assess each opportunity for feasibility, complexity, expected benefit, and risk, and recommend whether to proceed, defer, or solve through process change instead of automation.
• Recommend the appropriate approach for each use case, including workflow automation, integration, AI-enabled reasoning, or a combination, based on complexity, maintainability, security, and supportability.
• Design, develop, configure, and integrate automation solutions across enterprise platforms, workflow automation tools, APIs, and AI services.
• Develop and execute test plans covering functional accuracy, exception handling, failure modes, and edge cases prior to deployment.
• Deploy solutions into production following established change management, approval, and release practices and validate against the intended outcome before transitioning to the process owner(s).
• Produce complete handoff documentation, including process maps, solution design, configuration details, dependencies, failure modes, troubleshooting steps, and support requirements.
• Deliver knowledge transfer and training to the owning team so they can operate, support, monitor, and maintain the solution independently.
• Report progress, results, and benefits to the VP, Business Systems and the three team leaders.
• Stay current on AI and automation capabilities and recommend where new tools or approaches could be applied.
• Other duties as required.
AI Capability
• Practical experience applying AI to real business workflows, including handling unstructured inputs, classification, summarization, extraction, or drafting.
• Hands-on experience with AI development tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or similar platforms
• Hands-on experience with AI Enterprise Platforms such as Claude, Copilot, Gemini or similar platforms
• Ability to evaluate where AI genuinely adds value versus where conventional automation or process change is the better answer.
• Awareness of AI risks and limitations, including accuracy, data handling, access boundaries, and appropriate use.
Education and Work Experience
• Bachelor's degree or diploma in information technology, computer science, engineering, data, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 4+ years of experience designing, building, and deploying automation or integration solutions in a business or enterprise environment.
• Demonstrated experience delivering solutions that measurably reduced manual effort, cycle time, or request volume.
• Experience working across multiple business functions or technical teams, rather than within a single system or platform.
• Hands-on experience with workflow automation platforms such as Microsoft Power Automate, Zapier, Workato, or comparable tools.
• Experience integrating systems using APIs, MCPs, webhooks, and structured data exchange.
• Working proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language commonly used for automation, such as Python, PowerShell, JavaScript/TypeScript, C#, or Bash, along with working knowledge of SQL and structured data formats such as JSON and YAML.
• Familiarity with enterprise business platforms, service management tools, and data platform such as Jira Service Management, Salesforce, NetSuite, Microsoft 365.
• Experience reviewing business or operational processes and identifying opportunities for automation, simplification, or standardization.
• Experience developing and executing test plans covering functional accuracy, exceptions, and failure modes.
• Experience with change management, approval, and release practices in an enterprise environment.
• Ability to manage a pipeline of work independently, prioritize competing requests, and move work forward with limited day-to-day direction.
• Proven ability to produce clear technical and process documentation, including workflow diagrams, solution designs, test plans, and support materials.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain automation and AI concepts in plain language to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and troubleshooting skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with process owners, technical teams, and leaders, and to incorporate feedback without losing sight of the objective.
Working Conditions
• General office environment or work-from-home office environment.
• May be required to work outside standard business hours during implementation, testing, deployment, transitioning activities or troubleshooting incidents or issues.
• May be required to travel occasionally to meet the responsibilities of the position.