Junior AI & Automation Engineer

About K Group Companies

K Group Companies is a locally owned and operated master integrator headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a proud history dating back to 1980. We support customers across the United States by delivering innovative, high-quality technology solutions across managed IT, physical security, and integrated services.

As a third-generation, family-owned business, we've built our reputation on long-term relationships, trusted expertise, and a commitment to doing things the right way for our customers and for each other.

We believe great work happens when people feel connected to their purpose, their team, and their growth.

Why K Group Companies?

At K Group Companies, culture is built on long-standing relationships, both with our customers and with each other.

Our team is made up of people who take pride in solving problems, supporting one another, and delivering work that reflects the standards we've built our reputation on. Whether it's designing secure environments for customers, supporting critical IT infrastructure, or collaborating across teams, we operate as one organization working toward shared success.

We also believe work should be fulfilling and enjoyable. From friendly gaming competitions in our Team Zone arcade to grabbing lunch together in the community, we value connection and teamwork just as much as technical excellence.

What you can expect here:

• A family-owned company with deep roots in West Michigan
• A trusted advisor culture built over 40+ years of relationships
• The opportunity to work across diverse, real-world technology environments
• A team-oriented culture grounded in accountability, collaboration, and pride in workmanship
• A workplace where people genuinely know and support each other

We believe we are better together, and that belief shows up in everything we do.

Work Authorization Requirement: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application. This position does not offer employment visa sponsorship now or in the future. This role is 100% onsite in Grand Rapids, Michigan. No third-party recruiters, agencies, or C2C arrangements.

Role Overview

The Junior AI & Automation Engineer is a hands-on builder role within K Group's AI and Automation practice. This role focuses on the design, construction, and iteration of automation workflows, AI-assisted integrations, and internal tooling that the practice delivers to clients and deploys internally.

This is not a help-desk role. It's not a ticket queue. It's a make-things-work role for someone who gets excited about connecting systems that weren't designed to talk to each other - and figures out what's possible when they do. The ideal candidate thrives on turning ambiguous problems into working, practical systems and takes ownership of what they build.

Core Responsibilities

Automation & Workflow Engineering

• Design, build, and maintain automation workflows using n8n, APIs, and webhook-based integrations across business platforms.
• Develop AI-assisted pipelines including document processing, classification, notification routing, and data transformation workflows.
• Connect disparate systems - CRMs, ticketing platforms, ERPs, communication tools - that weren't designed to work together.
• Build and iterate on internal tools that reduce manual effort and create measurable operational efficiencies for K Group and its clients.

Client Delivery Support

• Assist with delivery execution on AI/automation client engagements under the direction of practice leadership.
• Participate in client discovery sessions as a technical contributor, supporting needs assessment and solution scoping.
• Translate defined business requirements into working systems and document outcomes clearly for client and internal stakeholders.
• Contribute to reusable delivery frameworks, templates, and runbooks that allow the practice to scale across multiple client engagements.

Internal Enablement

• Build lightweight dashboards and front-end tools that surface automation outputs to non-technical users.
• Document what you build - workflows, integration maps, configuration notes - so solutions are maintainable and transferable.
• Support internal AI adoption by contributing to training materials and usage playbooks as the practice grows.

What Success Looks Like - Year One

To be defined collaboratively with leadership. Initial indicators may include:

• Production-grade automation workflows deployed for internal K Group operations.
• At least two client delivery engagements contributed to or completed on time and within scope.
• Reusable workflow templates or delivery components documented and handed off to the practice library.
• Clear growth path identified toward a senior engineering role within the AI & Automation practice.

Experience & Qualifications

• Has built something for the joy of building it - a homelab, a personal automation, a self-hosted stack, a side project. Show us something.
• Comfortable working with APIs, webhooks, and JSON without needing a tutorial for every call.
• Familiar with Linux environments and capable of reading documentation when there's no walkthrough available.
• Communicates clearly - can explain what something does and why it was built that way.
• Doesn't need a strict playbook. Figures things out.

Bonus qualifications:

• Hands-on experience with n8n, Make (Integromat), Zapier, or similar automation platforms.
• Familiarity with AI/LLM tooling - OpenAI API, Ollama, Anthropic, LangChain, or similar.
• Python or JavaScript scripting at a working level (not a developer, but comfortable in code).
• Background in IT, MSP, sysadmin, or network environments.
• Docker or self-hosted deployment experience.

Reporting & Structure

Reports to: Director of Engineering

Team: AI Enablement Team

Location: Grand Rapids, MI