AI Automation Engineer

California

Illinois

Texas

Massachusetts

Colorado

Full time

R14484

About Us:

Proofpoint is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity. We protect how people, data, and AI agents connect across email, cloud, and collaboration tools. Over 80 of the Fortune 100, 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations trust Proofpoint to stop threats, prevent data loss, and build resilience across their people and AI workflows. Our mission is simple: safeguard the digital world and empower people to work securely and confidently. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

How We Work:

At Proofpoint you’ll be part of a global team that breaks barriers to redefine cybersecurity guided by our BRAVE core values:

Bold in how we dream and innovate

Responsive to feedback, challenges and opportunities

Accountable for results and best in class outcomes

Visionary in future focused problem-solving

Exceptional in execution and impact

The Role

We are looking for a high-performing AI Automation Engineer to join our CS Operations – GTM Automation & AI team. In this role, you will design, build, and continuously evolve the AI-driven applications and tools — chat assistants, workflow automations, and increasingly autonomous agents — that make our post-sales revenue-focused teams (Customer Success, Renewals, Technical Account Management, Managed Services) exponentially more effective and efficient.

You will partner closely with key stakeholders, end users, AI Integration, Data Engineering, and Enablement to turn ideas into high-impact AI capabilities.

This role is ideal for someone who is fiercely passionate about the pace of AI innovation, loves rolling up their sleeves, and is energized by rapidly evolving technologies and a fast-paced environment. You will be part of a fast-moving team that thrives on working with rapidly evolving technologies to deliver value to end-users and our customers.

This an individual contributor role reporting to the leader of the GTM Systems & Automation pillar, which in addition to AI is responsible for the full CS tech stack.

Your day to day

AI Chat Assistants & Conversational AI

• Evolve our role-based AI chat assistants — trained to answer questions and take actions tailored to specific personas (e.g., CSM, Renewals).

• Apply advanced prompt engineering techniques to construct the right level of context, ensuring accurate analysis and reliable output.

• Continuously test, monitor, and refine assistant performance based on usage data and user feedback.

AI-Driven Workflow Automation

• Design and build AI-driven workflow automations using enterprise-grade orchestration platforms (e.g., Amazon Quick Automate, UnifyApps).

• Use AI to process data, apply evaluation and decision logic, generate outputs, and trigger downstream actions.

• Deploy scheduled and trigger-based workflows, and design human-in-the-loop checkpoints where judgment or approval is required.

AI Architecture & Optimization

• Continuously optimize AI system performance — faster data retrieval and analysis, breaking workflows into modular AI agent building blocks, and determining what belongs in a natural-language prompt versus what should be engineered in code (e.g., Python).

• Assess which AI logic should live at which layer — what should be centralized versus decentralized across different vendors and clouds — and continuously evaluate the ensemble of AI tooling: LLMs (Anthropic, OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, etc.) and orchestration platforms (Amazon Quick Automate, UnifyApps, open source, and others).

• Stay ahead of the rapidly evolving AI landscape and proactively recommend where new models, frameworks, or techniques should be adopted.

AI Integration

• Partner closely with the AI Integration and Data teams to expand the AI “brain” — extending data access and connectivity via MCP (Model Context Protocol) and connecting to additional datasets in our data warehouse.

• Integrate and wire together our AI capabilities (chat, headless, workflow) with the broader CS tech stack, including Salesforce, Gainsight/Totango, Clari, Gong, Pendo, Snowflake/Redshift, AWS, and Power BI.

• Help determine what AI processing we build and own ourselves versus what we leverage from point-solution vendors (e.g., Salesforce, Gong, Totango).

Agentic AI Applications

• Build our first truly agentic CS applications — AI that completes work with minimal to no human intervention — starting with our long-tail and smaller customer segments.

• Define the human-in-the-loop guardrails, evaluation logic, and monitoring needed to operate agentic systems reliably and safely at scale.

• Continuously identify new opportunities across the long-tail customer base where agentic AI can replace manual, repetitive work.

What You Bring to the Team

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

• 8+ years of professional experience, with at least 2+ years focused on AI technologies

• Proven experience building AI applications with demonstrated results

• Experience in GTM, ideally within post-sales functions such as Customer Success

• Strong command of advanced prompt engineering; understands how to construct context that drives accurate, reliable model output.

• Experience architecting multi-agent systems optimized for performance, reliability, and scale.

• Working knowledge of Python, with the ability to use AI to write code and to determine which components belong in a prompt versus in code.

• Hands-on experience with enterprise orchestration platforms (e.g., Amazon Quick Automate, UnifyApps, or similar), LLM platforms (Anthropic, OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock), and tools such as OpenAI Codex, Claude CoWork, etc.

• Familiarity with the broader CS tech stack — Salesforce, Gainsight/Totango, Clari, Gong, Pendo, Snowflake/Redshift, AWS, Power BI.

• Very comfortable operating with a high degree of ambiguity — moving fast, pivoting as needed, and working in a highly iterative motion.

• Genuine passion for AI innovation and a track record of staying current with new models, frameworks, and tools.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate technical AI concepts for non-technical business stakeholders.

Why Proofpoint?

At Proofpoint, we believe that an exceptional career experience includes a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Here are just a few reasons you’ll love working with us:

• Competitive compensation

• Comprehensive benefits

• Career success on your terms

• Flexible work environment

• Annual wellness and community outreach days

• Always on recognition for your contributions

• Global collaboration and networking opportunities

Our Culture:

Our culture is rooted in values that inspire belonging, empower purpose and drive success-every day, for everyone.

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. If you need accommodation during the application or interview process, please reach out to View email address on click.appcast.io .

How to Apply

Interested? Submit your application along with any supporting information- we can’t wait to hear from you!

Consistent with Proofpoint values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several U.S. geographic markets, and we pay differently based on those defined markets as set out below. Pay within these ranges varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. The range provided may represent a candidate range and may not reflect the full range for an individual tenured employee. This role may be eligible for variable compensation and/or equity. We offer a competitive benefits package, including flexible time off, a comprehensive well-being program with two paid Wellbeing Days and two paid Volunteer Days per year, plus a three-week Work from Anywhere option.

Base Pay Ranges:

SF Bay Area, New York City Metro Area:

Base Pay Range: 123,200.00 - 193,600.00 USD

California (excludes SF Bay Area), Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Washington DC Metro, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Alaska:

Base Pay Range: 102,300.00 - 160,820.00 USD

All other cities and states excluding those listed above:

Base Pay Range: 92,100.00 - 144,705.00 USD

Proofpoint has been honored with six Best Places to Work Awards in 2024 by workplace culture leader Comparably, including Best Company Career Growth, Best Company Outlook, Best Global Culture, Best Engineering Teams, Best Sales Teams, and Best HR Teams.

We are the leader in human-centric cybersecurity. Half a million customers, including 87 of the Fortune 100, rely on Proofpoint to protect their organizations. We’re driven by a mission to stay ahead of bad actors and safeguard the digital world. Join us in our pursuit to defend data and protect people.

Our BRAVE Values:

At Proofpoint, we are BRAVE in everything we do, and our values aren’t just words—they shape how we work, collaborate, and grow.

We seek people who are bold enough to challenge the status quo, responsive in the face of ever-evolving threats, and accountable for delivering real impact.

We value those with a visionary mindset who anticipate what’s next and push cybersecurity forward, and we celebrate exceptional execution that ensures we continue to defend data and protect people.

Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Find your network, your allies, and your biggest fans. We know that work is simply better when you’re surrounded by people who inspire you—who share ideas, cheer you on, and genuinely want to see you succeed. That’s why we offer social circles, sponsored networks, and connection points across teams and time zones—to help you find your people, build your community, and thrive together.

This isn’t just a job—it’s a mission to protect people and defend data in a world that never slows down. We’re building the future of human-centric cybersecurity, and that future belongs to all of us. We take ownership, move fast, and hold ourselves accountable—because that’s what it takes to stay ahead. And we do it together, winning as one.

Be empowered to reach your full potential through meaningful challenges and personalized support—designed around you and your goals. Whether you're growing as a leader or leveling up from great to exceptional as an individual contributor, we’re here to help you get there.

Proofpoint is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.