IT Technical Analyst 2- Automation and AI

Job description

Technical Analyst II – Automation and AI Analyst Location: Naperville, IL (Hybrid) Position Summary TOPS Products is seeking a hands-on Automation and AI Analyst to evaluate business processes, identify opportunities for efficiency improvement, and deliver practical automation and AI-enabled solutions that improve how work gets done across the organization. This role is ideal for someone who understands business process, can translate operational challenges into clear solution options, and can balance technical effort, business value, cost, security, and adoption to determine the best overall approach. Key Responsibilities • Lead evaluations of current business processes to identify opportunities for automation, AI enablement, workflow improvement, and operational efficiency. • Work with business users to understand process pain points, clarify requirements, and define measurable outcomes for proposed solutions. • Assess solution options, including automation tools, AI capabilities, agents, scripting, integrations, reporting, and process redesign, to determine the best value for the effort required. • Estimate solution complexity, development effort, implementation timing, support needs, and expected business benefit. • Manage an overall automation and AI opportunity list, including intake, evaluation, status tracking, rollout planning, and follow-up. • Design, build, test, and support automation and AI-enabled solutions using appropriate tools, scripts, low-code platforms, agents, APIs, and enterprise systems. • Partner with IT, security, infrastructure, application, and business teams to review proposed solutions for cost, data protection, security, scalability, and long-term supportability. • Support deployment, training, documentation, change management, and adoption of new automation and AI solutions. • Monitor implemented solutions for effectiveness, reliability, and continued alignment with business needs. Required Qualifications • 2+ years of experience developing or implementing automation, AI, workflow, analytics, or process improvement solutions. • Experience working with AI-enabled tools, automation platforms, agents, scripts, APIs, low-code solutions, or related technologies. • Ability to understand business processes, identify inefficiencies, and translate user needs into practical technical solutions. • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to compare solution options and recommend the best balance of value, effort, cost, and risk. • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to work directly with business users, technical teams, and leadership stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications • Experience with Microsoft Power Platform, Copilot Studio, Azure AI services, Azure Logic Apps, Power Automate, or similar automation and AI tools. • Experience with enterprise systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, ERP platforms, reporting tools, or data integration processes. • Basic coding or scripting experience using tools such as Python, C#, JavaScript, SQL, REST APIs, or similar technologies. • Experience supporting project planning, solution rollout, user training, documentation, and post-implementation follow-up. • Manufacturing, distribution, or business operations experience. Technologies Power Platform • Power Automate • Copilot Studio • AI Agents • Azure AI • Azure Logic Apps • REST APIs • SQL • Python • C# • JavaScript • Dynamics 365 F&O • Reporting and Analytics Tools Ideal Candidate We're looking for a practical problem solver who can understand how the business works, identify where automation or AI can create meaningful efficiency, and help deliver secure, cost-effective solutions that users can successfully adopt. This is a hands-on process improvement, automation, and AI enablement role, not a traditional application developer role.