Automation Engineer

Optimum; Bethpage (NY); Hybrid; USD 84,000 - 137,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimum is seeking an Automation Engineer to join our AI engineering team in the New York area. You will work across AI initiatives, moving projects from prototype to production with a focus on scalable systems.

The role emphasizes streaming pipelines with Confluent Kafka, BigQuery, and Google Cloud, collaborating with data scientists, ML engineers, and product managers to deliver reliable AI solutions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field.
• 2-3 years of professional software development experience.
• Exposure to Confluent Kafka or another event streaming platform with depth in Confluent tooling.
• Working knowledge of SQL and exposure to a cloud data warehouse, BigQuery preferred.
• Exposure to Google Cloud with interest in productionizing services on Google Cloud.
• Foundational understanding of AI/ML concepts including LLMs and retrieval-augmented generation.
• Strong team player with ability to manage multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to AI-driven systems across multiple initiatives under senior guidance.
• Implement, test, and maintain well-scoped components and pipelines.
• Build and maintain streaming and batch data pipelines using Confluent Kafka and tools like Flink.
• Write queries and datasets in BigQuery to support AI workloads.
• Develop APIs and microservices to support AI workloads.
• Support integration with internal systems for grounded AI responses.
• Assist with modeling and simulation work, including digital twins for infrastructure decisions.
• Participate in code reviews, tests, and CI/CD automation.
• Support deployment and monitoring of AI services on Google Cloud.
• Follow ethical AI practices and document systems for maintainability.

Skills

Confluent Kafka

Google Cloud

BigQuery

SQL

Docker

CI/CD

AI/ML concepts

Team player

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS or related

Tools

Flink

Kafka Streams

Schema Registry

Kafka Connect

ksqlDB

Job description

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Automation Engineer

Location: Bethpage, NY, US, 11714

Brand: Optimum

Requisition #: 12541

Are you looking to Optimize your life? Start your exciting path to a rewarding career today!

We are Optimum, a leader in the fast-paced world of connectivity, and we're seeking driven and enthusiastic professionals to join our team, empower lives, fuel businesses, and drive innovation. Connectivity is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. A career at Optimum means you'll be enabling progress and enhancing lives by providing reliable, high-speed connectivity solutions that keep the world connected. Our successes, now and in the future, are powered by our amazing product, a commitment to our people and culture, and the connections we make in our communities.

If you are resourceful, collaborative, and passionate about delivering consistent excellence, Optimum is for you!

Job Summary

We're looking for a motivated Software Development Engineer I with an interest in AI and machine learning to join our growing AI engineering team. In this role, you will work across a portfolio of AI initiatives, helping take them from prototype and proof of concept to production systems the business can rely on. The work spans applied LLM and agent systems, intelligent automation of engineering workflows, and modeling and simulation of complex systems, and the mix shifts as new opportunities come in.

This is a role for someone who is comfortable with variety, picks up unfamiliar domains quickly, and wants to build depth in production AI systems. Familiarity with Confluent Kafka, Google Cloud, and BigQuery is important to this role, and you'll be supported in growing that expertise.

You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams, including developers, data scientists, ML engineers, product managers, and infrastructure teams to bring cutting-edge innovations to production at scale.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and productionalization of AI-driven systems and services across multiple initiatives, under the guidance of senior engineers.
• Implement, test, and maintain well-scoped components of AI applications and the pipelines that feed them.
• Help build and maintain streaming and batch data pipelines using Confluent Kafka and stream processing tooling such as Flink and Kafka Streams.
• Write and maintain queries and datasets in BigQuery that support AI workloads and reporting.
• Build and maintain APIs and microservices that support AI workloads.
• Support agent, tool-calling, and retrieval integrations so AI systems can query authoritative internal systems and return grounded, verifiable answers.
• Assist with modeling and simulation work, including digital twin approaches to complex infrastructure, where it accelerates engineering decision-making.
• Participate in code reviews, write unit and integration tests, and contribute to CI/CD automation.
• Support deployment, monitoring, and troubleshooting of AI services on Google Cloud.
• Follow AI best practices related to ethical AI, responsible data handling, and evaluation of AI output quality.
• Document the systems you work on so they are supportable by the wider team.
• Continuously build your skills in AI/ML and modern data engineering practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field required
• 2-3 years of professional software development experience
• Strong communication skills, intellectual curiosity, and a willingness to give and receive feedback
• Exposure to Confluent Kafka or another event streaming platform, with interest in developing depth in Confluent tooling such as Flink, Kafka Streams, Schema Registry, Kafka Connect, or ksqlDB
• Working knowledge of SQL and exposure to a cloud data warehouse; experience with BigQuery preferred
• Exposure to Google Cloud or another major cloud provider, with interest in building and productionalizing services on Google Cloud
• Foundational understanding of AI/ML concepts, including large language models, retrieval-augmented generation, and tool or function calling
• Interest in working across several projects at once and adapting to shifting priorities
• Familiarity with containers (Docker) and CI/CD pipelines
• Exposure to prompt engineering is an added advantage
• Foundational understanding of networking concepts (TCP/IP, routing, ACLs, and firewall policy)
• Exposure to modeling, simulation, or network configuration analysis tooling such as Batfish is a nice to have
• The person should be a strong team player
• The person should be in the New York area and ready for the hybrid work culture (3 days in the office)
• Familiarity with AI Tools and AI First mindset

At Optimum, every action and interaction we take part in, is driven by our three Guiding Principles: Do What’s Right, Drive One Optimum, and Make It Happen. These aren’t just words, they help us build trust, create real community, and embrace new ways of thinking. Our employees are empowered to do the right thing for our customers and co-workers and to recognize and reward these behaviors when we see them. It’s all part of the bigger picture of “Be The Difference” where each employee knows they have the power to enact real change, share new ideas, and understand that learning never stop.

If you have the drive to succeed and are ready to embark on a thrilling career, seize this opportunity today, and join our winning team. Together, we'll shape the future of connectivity.

All job descriptions and required skills, qualifications and responsibilities for a particular position are subject to modification by the Company from time to time, in the Company’s discretion based on business necessity.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting, hiring and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds regardless of gender, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law.

The Company collects personal information about its applicants for employment that may include personal identifiers, professional or employment related information, photos, education information and/or protected classifications under federal and state law. This information is collected for employment purposes, including identification, work authorization, FCRA-compliant background screening, human resource administration and compliance with federal, state and local law.

Applicants for employment with The Company will never be asked to provide money (even if reimbursable) as part of the job application or hiring process. Please review our Fraud FAQ for further details.

Pay is competitive and based on a number of job-related factors, including skills and experience. The starting pay rate/range at time of hire for this position in the posted location is $83,538.00 - $137,241.00 / year. The rate/range provided herein is the anticipated pay at the time of hire and does not reflect future job opportunity. We appreciate your interest in this opportunity. Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. Please note that at this time, we do not provide visa sponsorship for employment.

Nearest Major Market: Long Island
Nearest Secondary Market: New York CIty