Network Automation Engineer Lead

Title: Network Automation Engineer Lead(Onsite)

Location: Columbus OH, Alpharetta, GA, Marietta, GA, Kansas City, MO, Berkley Heights NJ, Omaha NE, Frisco/Dallas TX, Denver CO

Duration: 12 Months

Job Title

Lead Network Automation Engineer

What you will do:

• Identify and develop new ways to automate the management of device and network configurations, with a constant eye on decreasing operational issues and general maintenance times
• Design and clearly document efficient automation workflows for use by peers and partner teams
• Design, develop, and maintain automation solutions using Python and tools like Ansible and Terraform to manage and orchestrate network devices across multi-vendor environments (e.g., Cisco, Juniper, Arista).
• Further our efforts to establish and perform our CI/CD pipelining while embracing a continuous learning and experimentation mindset
• Facilitate and participate in infrastructure changes, including planning and deployment from an automation first mindset, to identify and resolve network roadblocks
• Continually educate and grow to foster a learning environment for aspiring NetDevOps Engineers through demonstrations, training, and partnered delivery
• Articulate and document process needs and changes, while guiding leadership towards standardization and adoption, to further enable automation
• Automate network operations including device provisioning, configuration management, security deployments, and network testing.
• Integrate with network APIs, CLI tools, and configuration management systems to enable automated provisioning, configuration, and validation workflows.
• Implement robust automation practices including error handling, logging, and testing to ensure reliability and maintainability across diverse platforms.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with network engineers, systems administrators, and platform teams to translate operational requirements into scalable, reusable automation solutions.
• Continuously evaluate and adopt new tools and libraries (e.g., Netmiko, NAPALM, RESTCONF, gNMI) to enhance automation capabilities and vendor interoperability.
• Monitor, debug, and troubleshoot automation systems to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
• Document automation scripts, processes, and procedures to support knowledge sharing and team training. What you will need to have:
• 7+ years of deep technical experience with Network Automation tools and technologies
• Recent experience in systems engineering applied to computing or network architectures (e.g., handling requirements gathering to structured implementations like SDLC)
• Proficiency in Python and experience with automation tools such as Ansible, Terraform, and optionally JScript.
• Familiarity with network automation libraries and protocols (e.g., Netmiko, NAPALM, RESTCONF, gNMI).
• Experience with Git and CI/CD pipelines in the context of network automation.
• Solid understanding of network fundamentals including routing, switching, and device configuration.
• Knowledge of DevOps principles and best practices for infrastructure automation.
• Lead coding and development of tools/reporting/processes for workflow enablement
• Strong knowledge of network protocols such as TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, and routing
• Strong understanding of network security and the ability to develop automation scripts using languages such as Python, Bash, and Powershell
• Extensive knowledge of Layer 4-7 technologies such as DNS, Firewalls, Proxy Services, Load Balancing, and Global Load Balancing
• Thorough understanding of various data structures (SQL, JSON, YAML, XML) and JINJA templates
• Knowledge of Django framework What would be great to have:
• Knowledge of Netbox/Nautobot and Bluecat Address Manager
• Strong customer service skills to deliver simple, easy to use solutions for internal users
• Strong communication skills across all levels of the organization, including the ability to mentor and lead junior engineers
• Experience with Agile processes, ceremonies, and toolsets (DevOps/JIRA/Gitlab)