Automation Designer Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Job Summary:
D.A. Davidson Companies is an independent, employee-owned company with a rich history spanning 90 years. We are seeking a Mid-Level AI and Automation Engineer to develop next-generation AI capabilities within our Microsoft-based environment, focusing on building intelligent assistants and automated workflows.
Responsibilities:
• Design and Develop AI-Powered Workflows: Use Microsoft Copilot Studio and Power Platform (Power Automate, Power Apps) to design, build, and optimize AI assistants and automated workflows that enhance employee productivity and decision-making.
• Integrate Enterprise Data and Systems: Connect AI copilots to enterprise data sources and APIs, enabling context-rich automation (e.g. integrating Azure AI services or databases with Copilot agents for real-time information retrieval).
• Apply AI Best Practices: Implement prompt engineering techniques and fine-tune AI models or prompts to improve the relevance and accuracy of Copilot responses. Utilize Azure OpenAI or similar services to incorporate advanced language AI capabilities when needed.
• Ensure Compliance and Security: Build solutions with robust security, privacy, and compliance controls in mind, aligning with corporate policies and industry regulations (financial data protection, responsible AI use, audit logging). Work closely with governance teams to enforce security standards for AI integrations.
• DevOps and Monitoring: Develop CI/CD pipelines for deploying and updating AI agents or automation workflows, ensuring smooth rollouts and version control. Set up monitoring and telemetry dashboards to track performance, usage, and quickly address any issues.
• Collaboration and Iteration: Work in an Agile team alongside product managers, business analysts, and designers to refine requirements and user stories. Iterate on solutions based on user feedback and analytics, continuously improving the AI assistants’ effectiveness.
• Documentation and Training: Document solution designs, workflows, and configurations. Help create user guides or demo sessions to drive adoption of the new AI-powered tools among employees and stakeholders.
Qualifications:
Required:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in software development, automation engineering, or similar roles.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Power Automate and related Power Platform tools for workflow automation.
• Familiarity with M365 Copilot features or similar AI bot/agent development tools (e.g. Azure AI services, cognitive services).
• Proficiency in at least one programming or scripting language (such as Python, C#, or JavaScript) to extend and customize solutions.
• Experience building or consuming RESTful APIs and working with data integration.
• Working knowledge of Azure cloud services and AI/ML frameworks.
• Ability to deploy applications or automations in a cloud environment and integrate AI APIs (Azure OpenAI, Azure Cognitive Services, etc.).
• Experience with version control (git and Bitbucket) and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for software projects.
• Comfortable using tools like Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions to automate build-test-deploy processes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a track record of delivering solutions that meet business needs.
• Excellent communication skills to work effectively with both technical and non-technical team members.
• Align efforts with other lines-of-business and functional areas, such as our partners in Operations, Finance, Wealth Management, and more.
• Commitment to maintain client confidentiality and data security.
• Communicate in a clear and service-oriented manner; use appropriate, professional language and grammar to effectively exchange ideas and information.
• Ability to proactively work with both external and internal clients; relate with others in a professional manner to accomplish work responsibilities and objectives.
• Ability to maintain regular, predictable attendance.
Preferred:
• Experience with Microsoft 365 Copilot Studio – for example, having built or managed AI copilots/agents in a production setting.
• Knowledge of designing conversation flows, topics, tools, and using Copilot’s advanced features (custom actions, agent-to-agent workflows).
• Familiarity with large language models beyond basic API usage – e.g., experience with prompt tuning, deploying LLMs, or implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines with vector databases for domain-specific Q&A.
• Experience with Azure AI Foundry and Azure AI capabilities like document intelligence, computer vision, speech, and more.
• Background in financial services or wealth management technology projects.
• Understanding of industry regulatory requirements (e.g. data privacy, audit, model risk management) and how to design AI solutions that comply with them.
• Hands-on experience implementing security, compliance, and responsible AI practices in software.
• Familiarity with Microsoft’s Responsible AI guidelines, Azure Purview for data governance, or similar tools to control AI use.
• Demonstrated initiative in previous roles – maybe you introduced a new automation tool, led a pilot of an AI solution, or actively contributed to AI/automation communities.
• Microsoft certifications in Azure AI, Power Platform, or related areas would be an advantage, reflecting your commitment to staying current.
• Lots of experience working in highly-iterative development processes.
• Prepared to deal with the boring and the tough.
Company:
D.A. Founded in 2002, the company is headquartered in New York, USA, with a team of 1001-5000 employees. The company is currently Late Stage.