Job Description

As a Senior Engineer 2 on our AI Enablement team, you will be a lead technical contributor responsible for designing and delivering complex AI platform capabilities. You will ensure that all designs are clear and complete for successful execution while making technical decisions that balance short and long-term business objectives.

This is an opportunity to drive the technical strategy of AI enablement at Nordstrom, acting as a subject matter expert and making transformative impact on how thousands of engineers leverage AI technology. A key dimension of this role is ownership of security and identity for AI systems – including how we authenticate, authorize, and protect AI services and the sensitive data they process. You will be expected to champion security-first engineering practices across the team and the broader organization.

A day in the life...
 

Technical LeadershipDesign enterprise-scale systems requiring collaboration among multiple engineersMake technical decisions and influence priorities and trade-offs that enable solutions to achieve short and long-term business objectivesTake ownership of systems and designs that span multiple engineers’ work, breaking complex problems into smaller tasks for team membersChampion new techniques and best practices across the organization, particularly around secure AI system designAct as a subject matter expert in one or more technical areas (e.g. AI security, identity and access management)
 Security & Identity EngineeringArchitect and implement identity and access management solutions for AI services, including authentication flows and fine-grained authorizationDesign service-to-service authentication patterns in cloud-native and AI service contextsDesign and enforce security controls that protect AI systems against threats such as prompt injection, model inversion, and data exfiltrationDefine and implement compliance guardrails to meet regulatory and internal security standards (e.g. data residency requirements)Partner with security and compliance teams to perform threat modeling, security reviews, and penetration testing for AI platform componentsEstablish security observability: audit logging, anomaly detection, and alerting for identity and authorization events
 Platform Development & OperationsDesign and implement complete AI platform solutions that integrate effectively with developer tools, cloud services, LLM providers, and observability systemsDesign deployment processes to minimize downtime with comprehensive alertingUnderstand trade-offs in different engineering processes and adjust team practices to meet project needsLead resolution of difficult and complex operational incidents
 Team Leadership & MentorshipMentor and coach junior engineers, providing guidance on technical approaches, security best practices, and career developmentLead design reviews and provide actionable feedback to maintain a high bar for quality and securityTake responsibility for challenging work that needs support, ensuring team successWork closely with product managers, data scientists, and cross-functional teams to align on requirements and strategyFacilitate cross-functional troubleshooting, root cause analysis, and vendor engagement when needed
 Quality & ExcellenceLead the team in keeping code and systems well-designed, well-documented, and optimizedOwn team-level metrics, events, and documentation ensuring comprehensive observabilityDrive accountability for team-level application performanceEnsure the team follows engineering and security standards; contribute to improving those standardsChallenge the team to implement solutions that are robust, stable, scalable, and cost-effective

You own this if you have...

7+ years of professional software engineering experienceBachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent industry experienceExpert programming skills in Python with the ability to architect and deliver maintainable systemsHands-on experience with IAM concepts, authentication protocols, and service authentication patternsHands-on experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration and production operationsExperience designing and deploying production systems on major cloud platforms, including infrastructure as code and reliability engineeringProven ability to design large-scale systems requiring coordination across a full engineering teamExperience optimizing systems for performance, reliability, and cost-effectivenessStrong analytical and debugging skills with ability to solve technical and business problemsUnderstanding of AI-specific security risks including prompt injection, model misuse, and data privacy, along with practical mitigation strategiesFamiliarity with AI/ML concepts and technologies, including LLM orchestration frameworks, vector databases, or agentic platforms
Preferred:CISSP, or equivalent security certification2+ years of hands-on experience with security and identity solutions in production environmentsExperience with secrets management platforms, key rotation strategies, and compliance frameworks

#LI-Hybrid

We’ve got you covered…

Our employees are our most important asset and that’s reflected in our benefits. Nordstrom is proud to offer a variety of benefits to support employees and their families, including:

Medical/Vision, Dental, Retirement and Paid Time Away

Life Insurance and Disability

Merchandise Discount and EAP Resources

A few more important points...

The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive. There may be additional duties, responsibilities and qualifications for this job.

For Los Angeles or San Francisco applicants: Nordstrom is required to inform you that we conduct background checks after conditional offer and consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with legal requirements per Los Angeles, Cal. Muni. Code 189.04 and the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For additional state and location specific notices, please refer to the Legal Notices document within the FAQ section of the Nordstrom Careers site.

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Pay Range Details

The pay range(s) below has been provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different for other locations. 
Pay offers are dependent on the location, as well as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

$166,000.00 - $258,000.00 Annual

This position may be eligible for performance-based incentives/bonuses. Benefits include 401k, medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance options, PTO accruals, Holidays, and more. Eligibility requirements may apply based on location, job level, classification, and length of employment. Learn more in the Nordstrom Benefits Overview by copying and pasting the following URL into your browser: https://careers.nordstrom.com/pdfs/Ben_Overview_17-19.pdf