Senior DevOps Engineer

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.

We are looking for a DevSecOps Engineer that is responsible for provisioning, configuring, and monitoring the infrastructure resources for systems hosted in our Azure cloud environment. We strongly believe in the value of GitOps, DevOps, and DevSecOps. We are building a Cloud Application Platform team to accelerate our migration out of the datacenter and fuel our modernization. Our team believes the full lifecycle of cloud systems (deployment, maintenance, retirement) should be managed via code. Our team is challenged to maintain NIST security standards and understands GitOps processes are the key to meeting this challenge. As we continue our move into the cloud, we plan to support a wide range of development teams who are looking to modernize their applications via a container-first strategy.

Reporting to the Senior DevOps Manager, the Senior DevOps Engineer would join a team of experts focusing on Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Development, Automation, Innovations using DevOps practices, processes and frameworks.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:

An ideal team member will be a DevSecOps engineer that has solid experience with many of these technologies, however select specialization in just a few will also be considered with great interest.

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Development & Management:
  • Design, develop, and maintain reusable Terraform modules for provisioning and configuring cloud resources across Azure environment
  • Implement and manage IaC pipelines for automated infrastructure deployment, updates, and decommissioning
  • Ensure IaC practices adhere to security policies, compliance requirements, and industry best practices
• Automation & CI/CD:
  • Develop and enhance CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions for both infrastructure and application deployments, integrating security best practices
  • Automate routine operational tasks, security checks, and compliance reporting
  • Integrate and administer Test automation and Application Security tools for continuous code quality checks
• GitHub Expertise:
  • Administer and optimize GitHub Organization and Project settings, including team and repo management.
  • Set up, monitor, and troubleshoot GitHub Actions CI/CD workflows.
  • Develop and maintain automation scripts to streamline DevOps operations and infrastructure workflows.
• Collaborate with development and QA teams to support secure, scalable, and reliable build/release pipelines.
• Document processes and mentor team members on tooling best practices.
• Participate actively in agile planning and work tracking through tools such as Jira
• Research and implement new tools for automating various tasks that adds value in terms of cost, time and effort at DevOps, development/QA communities.
• Involve and establish monitoring solution to check health and performance of Development, QA and Performance environments and execute relevant maintenance tasks or fixes.
• Enforce and maintain Environment and Application Security based on established policies and procedures.

Compensation Range for this Role: $110,000-$135,000 CAD (based on experience)

This role has a hybrid work requirement of 2 days minimum in office per week.

Additionally, this position requires the successful completion of a Government of Canada Reliability Clearance (PERC) as a condition of employment. Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the required clearance throughout their employment.

EXPERIENCE: 

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering or a related field and 6+ years of experience in software development, DevOps frameworks and methodology
• Minimum 4+ years of practical experience in Automation Build and Delivery Operations.
• Strong understanding of Microsoft's Azure, Azure ARM Templating, Azure DevOps Pipeline implementation of “infrastructure as code” deliveries, and templating/delivery of Firewalls, Azure ExpressRoute & IPSec Tunnels, Azure Virtual WAN, WAF and other network and security components of Azure
• Solid experience managing GitHub Orgs and Projects, including access control, repo management, and configuration.
• Understand technology concepts - virtualization, operating systems (Linux, Windows), cloud (Azure), networking (IP, routing, firewall), source code management platforms (GitLab, GitHub), container systems (Docker, Kubernetes), scripting (Python, Bash, PowerShell)
• Extensive experience with scripting languages, PowerShell, Batch, Shell
• Experience supporting both Windows and Linux environments.
• Understanding of fundamental technologies like DNS, Load Balancing, SSL, TCP/IP, networking, and security.
• Experience with Cloud Delivery Methodologies using Microsoft Azure Products and Technologies.
• Experience in providing support for Production Releases and Environments.
• Experience in automating build and release of changes for InRule Rules Engine, Microsoft CRM Dynamics and Microsoft Power BI is a plus.
• Experience with Agile development methodologies.

COMPETENCIES – SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITIES:

• Contributes to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Educates teams on adoption and support of DevSecOps practices and tooling
• Takes individual initiative to follow industry thought leaders, maintain professional qualifications, and participate in company as well as global communities of interest
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; with the ability to communicate technical concepts and strategies at all levels of the organization
• Must be detail oriented, critical thinker, possess excellent problem-solving skills
• Ability to coach, mentor, and teach team members
• Ability to handle a dynamic work environment
• Effective organization and time management skills
• Ability to obtain a security clearance
• Knowledge in the area of Federal Government NIST compliance preferred

This position is for an existing vacancy within our organization.

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: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc.

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 Talent Acquisition at 402-486-5725 or TalentAcquisition@nelnet.net.

Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Hiring

We may use automated or artificial intelligence enabled tools to assist with the initial review of applications, such as identifying relevant skills or experience. These tools are used to support human review and do not make hiring decisions. A recruiter reviews applications and determines which candidates move forward in the hiring process. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Pre-Use Notice: Automated Tools in Hiring