Senior IT AI Automation Engineer

Covetrus•Chicago, IL

2d•Remote

About The Position

Covetrus is a global animal‑health technology and services leader dedicated to advancing the world of veterinary care. Our technology platforms, distribution capabilities, and clinical insights help veterinary practices operate more efficiently and deliver better outcomes for their patients and clients. Within IT Operations & Engineering, our mission is to modernize how IT services are delivered—reducing friction, accelerating resolution, and empowering employees through automation, self‑service, and intelligent systems. We are actively evolving from traditional infrastructure and scripting models to AI‑driven, agentic, and event‑based operations. We are seeking a Senior IT AI / Automation Engineer to design, build, and operationalize intelligent automation and AI‑powered capabilities across Covetrus’ IT ecosystem. This role goes well beyond scripting and task automation. You will bridge real operational IT needs—identity, infrastructure, service management, onboarding, incident response—with modern AI patterns, including Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG), agentic workflows, and self‑service automation. You will work closely with IT Operations, Security, Identity, Service Management, HR, Legal, and Engineering teams to improve service delivery times, reduce manual effort, and elevate the employee experience. You will also play a leadership role in mentoring engineers and system administrators as we build durable AI and automation capabilities across the organization.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in IT infrastructure, operations, or engineering roles.
3+ years of hands‑on experience with AI/ML platforms, intelligent automation, RPA, or advanced workflow automation.
Strong proficiency in Python for automation and service development.
Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs.
Hands‑on experience with Microsoft Power Automate (and related Power Platform components).
Experience working in cloud environments (AWS and/or Azure).
Practical experience integrating and operating LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft) in enterprise scenarios.
Familiarity with modern LLM frameworks and orchestration patterns.
Strong systems thinking with the ability to connect business outcomes to technical solutions.
Excellent communication skills—able to explain complex AI and automation concepts to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
A builder’s mindset with a focus on reliability, security, and operational excellence.
Comfortable operating in an evolving environment where standards and patterns are actively being defined.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing agent‑based architectures for operational automation.
Hands‑on experience with knowledge retrieval systems, vector databases, or enterprise search.
Background in ITSM automation, incident management, or SRE‑adjacent practices.
Experience improving employee experience (EX) through IT self‑service platforms.
Familiarity with governance, risk, and compliance considerations for enterprise AI.
Prior experience mentoring teams through technical transformation initiatives.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and maintain RAG (Retrieval‑Augmented Generation) pipelines using enterprise data sources such as documentation, knowledge bases, tickets, and logs.
Build and orchestrate agentic AI workflows for IT operations use cases, including: Automated incident triage and response Root cause analysis assistance Guided remediation and runbook execution
Integrate LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft) into secure, production‑grade automation solutions using industry‑standard frameworks.
Develop internal tools and services that augment IT teams, not replace them—focusing on reliability, observability, and trust.
Automate employee onboarding and offboarding workflows across identity, access, collaboration, and endpoint systems.
Create self‑service capabilities that allow employees to request access, resolve common issues, and obtain answers without opening tickets.
Improve IT service delivery speed, consistency, and quality through intelligent automation and event‑driven design.
Build and maintain automation using Python, REST APIs, and cloud‑native services.
Design solutions using Microsoft Power Automate and related Power Platform components where appropriate.
Integrate with enterprise systems such as: Identity and Access Management platforms ITSM tools Cloud infrastructure (AWS and Azure) SaaS enterprise applications
Ensure solutions are secure, scalable, observable, and maintainable.
Mentor system administrators and engineers in AI‑assisted operations, automation design, and best practices.
Establish standards for: AI Ops Security and data protection Responsible AI usage Operational resilience
Partner with IT leadership to identify high‑value automation opportunities and prioritize initiatives that deliver measurable outcomes.