NDS AI Integration Product Owner

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.

This is a technical product role at the intersection of software development and AI. The AI Integration Product Owner (AI PO) works with stakeholders and delivery teams to define, prioritize, and deliver AI-enabled capabilities (including agentic AI and automation) focused on the software delivery lifecycle (SDLC). Candidates should bring hands-on knowledge of how AI systems are built and integrated into software delivery, not just how they are used. The AI PO turns opportunities into clear backlog items, drives delivery readiness and transparency, and helps ensure solutions are measurable, effective, and responsibly deployed through collaboration across business, IT, data science, and leadership.
Nelnet believes in a hybrid work environment that accommodates both in-office and remote work. This model promotes a positive work-life balance and culture, enabling in-person collaboration when possible while also providing benefits associated with remote work. The standard hybrid work schedule includes 24 hours of in-office work each week, for associates that reside within 30 miles of an office. This is subject to change, based on manager discretion.

Key Responsibilities

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Engage stakeholders to understand needs and prioritize AI/automation features by value, risk, and feasibility.

• Communicate requirements, progress, value, and AI assumptions/limitations at the right level of detail.

• Partner with users and SMEs to define actionable requirements and testable acceptance criteria, including quality, safety, and compliance expectations.

• Report status, blockers, and risks (data, model, compliance) to the Product Manager and escalate as needed.

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Partner with the Product Manager to maintain product vision and strategy for AI-enabled capabilities (agentic AI, workflow automation, decision support).

• Support roadmap planning aligned to strategy, release plans, and measurable outcomes (time saved, quality, cost, compliance).

• Promote transparent delivery and decision-making, including how AI performance is evaluated and monitored.

• Build domain and solution context (data sources, constraints, dependencies, risks, goals) to ensure deliverables meet user needs.

Backlog & Delivery Management

• Own and prioritize the backlog; break AI work into clear epics/stories, including data readiness, evaluation, and rollout.

• Maintain backlog visibility and clarity with a definition of done that includes testing, metrics, and required documentation (e.g., model/release notes).

• Track development progress and readiness; coordinate demos, acceptance, releases, and post-release AI monitoring.

Team Leadership & Change Management

• Strong stakeholder influence skills, ability to influence adoption without direct authority

• Lead or participate in agile ceremonies and help balance discovery, experimentation, and delivery.

• Clarify priorities, outcomes, and tradeoffs; coordinate with delivery teams, data science, security, and operations.

• Drive adoption of AI-enabled practices across delivery teams through communication, training coordination, and feedback loops, in addition to feature delivery.

Financial Awareness
Help monitor investment and ROI; support cost/benefit analysis for AI and automation (tools, licensing, infrastructure, operations).

Qualifications

• Experience: Product Owner/Manager (or similar) experience in agile; delivery of technology products with cross-functional teams.

• Skills: Strong communication, leadership, and stakeholder management; strong analytical/problem-solving; able to explain AI tradeoffs and limitations to technical and non-technical audiences.

• SDLC Expertise: Working knowledge of modern software delivery practices (branching strategies, CI/CD, code review, sprint cadences, and delivery metrics) and the ability to apply them to drive consistent, measurable delivery outcomes across development teams.

• AI & Automation Acumen: Familiarity with agentic AI patterns (multi-step reasoning, tool-calling, orchestration) and the risk controls needed to govern autonomous actions in development workflows. Hands-on experience with AI-assisted development tools (Copilot, Cursor, AI-driven testing, or prompt-based automation) and the ability to write testable acceptance criteria for AI features, including non-deterministic behavior, guardrails, and fallback conditions.

• Education: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.

Starting pay range for this role is $100,000 - $120,000 based on experience.

This position requires work in support of the Company’s contract with the United States Department of Education (“ED”). As such, the United States Government requires that any applicant for this position must complete United States Government security clearance. Effective June 1, 2018, ED has informed Nelnet that security clearance applications for foreign nationals are not being accepted or processed. In light of this direction from ED, Nelnet will be unable to hire applicants without United States citizenship for such positions.

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 [email protected].

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