Network Automation Engineer

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking a Network Automation Engineer to support a long-term DOD program focused on enterprise network automation, management, and reliability. This position is 100% onsite with opportunities in Norfolk, VA; Jacksonville, FL; or Pearl Harbor, HI. The Network Automation Engineer will support a large-scale, multivendor enterprise network by combining network engineering expertise with automation, Network Management Systems (NMS), and Linux infrastructure administration. This role will focus on automating network configuration and provisioning, administering enterprise NMS platforms, optimizing network infrastructure, and improving operational reliability across a distributed environment.

Responsibilities of the Network Automation Engineer include:

• Support and administer large-scale, multivendor enterprise network environments spanning Cisco, Arista, Brocade, Juniper, McAfee, and other network technologies
• Support the lifecycle management, configuration, provisioning, maintenance, and troubleshooting of enterprise network devices
• Analyze and troubleshoot complex routing, switching, network connectivity, and infrastructure issues across distributed environments
• Support enterprise firewalls, Access Control Lists (ACLs), and network security controls
• Develop and implement automated network configuration and provisioning workflows
• Develop, test, and deploy Ansible playbooks for network automation and infrastructure management
• Use Python, PowerShell, and YAML to automate network operations, configuration management, and repetitive engineering tasks
• Develop automated policy enforcement mechanisms across enterprise network infrastructure
• Automate network node provisioning, configuration deployment, validation, and lifecycle management
• Implement configuration management processes designed to improve consistency, compliance, and operational reliability
• Support configuration backups, configuration validation, drift detection, remediation, and mass configuration changes
• Administer and support enterprise Network Management Systems (NMS) including Cisco Catalyst Center, OpenText Network Automation, OpenText NNMi, and Arista CloudVision
• Deploy, configure, upgrade, troubleshoot, and optimize NMS applications and supporting infrastructure
• Support integration between NMS platforms, network devices, CMDBs, and ITSM platforms such as ServiceNow
• Configure and troubleshoot network monitoring and telemetry using SNMP, Syslog, NetFlow, IPFIX, ICMP, SSH, and related protocols
• Develop and maintain NMS polling, alerting, threshold, fault-management, and network performance monitoring capabilities
• Analyze network telemetry and monitoring data to identify performance issues, configuration problems, outages, and other infrastructure anomalies
• Perform root-cause analysis and fault isolation across complex network and NMS environments
• Support network performance optimization through proactive monitoring, analysis, and tuning
• Administer RHEL 8 systems supporting enterprise NMS applications and network management infrastructure
• Provision, configure, patch, secure, and troubleshoot RHEL 8 servers across physical, virtual, and air-gapped environments
• Perform Linux kernel, memory, storage, and filesystem tuning to support high-volume network telemetry and NMS workloads
• Manage Linux storage using LVM and support capacity planning for NMS databases, logs, and telemetry data
• Utilize Red Hat Satellite and/or enterprise repositories to manage operating system patches and security updates
• Support Linux security hardening and DISA STIG compliance across NMS infrastructure
• Support modern NMS deployments utilizing Kubernetes and containerized infrastructure
• Develop and maintain technical documentation, automation procedures, configuration standards, and operational runbooks
• Translate complex technical findings into concise summaries and recommendations for technical and executive stakeholders
• Collaborate with distributed network engineering, cybersecurity, systems, and operations teams across multiple geographic locations

Qualifications of the Network Automation Engineer include:

• 7+ years of experience in network engineering, network automation, network management, systems engineering, or related infrastructure disciplines
• 3-5+ years of experience supporting enterprise network environments and Network Management Systems
• Active Secret clearance
• Strong understanding of multivendor network environments including Cisco, Arista, Brocade, Juniper, and/or McAfee
• Experience supporting enterprise routing and switching environments
• Experience with enterprise firewalls, ACLs, and network security controls
• Hands-on experience with network configuration management and automated provisioning
• Strong experience developing and deploying Ansible playbooks
• Proficiency with Python, PowerShell, and/or YAML for network automation
• Experience implementing automated configuration, provisioning, and policy-management workflows
• Hands-on experience administering enterprise NMS platforms such as Cisco Catalyst Center, OpenText Network Automation, OpenText NNMi, and Arista CloudVision
• Hands-on experience administering RHEL 8
• Experience with Linux system administration, troubleshooting, performance tuning, and storage management
• Experience with Kubernetes and/or containerized infrastructure
• Strong understanding of SNMP, Syslog, SSH, ICMP, NetFlow, IPFIX, TACACS+, and RADIUS
• Experience with network monitoring, telemetry, fault isolation, performance management, and root-cause analysis
• Experience integrating NMS platforms with enterprise systems such as ServiceNow, CMDB, or ITSM platforms
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to troubleshoot complex and ambiguous technical issues
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical information to senior and executive stakeholders
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering, or a related technical discipline; equivalent experience may be considered

Preferred Qualifications of the Network Automation Engineer include:

• RHCSA or RHCE certification
• CCNA, CCNP Enterprise, or CCIE certification
• Advanced experience with Cisco Catalyst Center/DNA Center
• Experience with OpenText NNMi and OpenText Network Automation
• Experience with Arista CloudVision
• Experience with Cisco, Arista, Juniper, Brocade, and other multivendor enterprise network platforms
• Experience with network configuration drift detection and automated remediation
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and automated network lifecycle management
• Experience with REST APIs, network programmability, and API-driven automation
• Experience with Git, GitLab, Jenkins, or CI/CD pipelines
• Experience with Kubernetes, Docker, or containerized NMS environments
• Experience integrating network monitoring with Splunk/SIEM and ServiceNow
• Experience with network telemetry, NetFlow/IPFIX, streaming telemetry, and performance analytics
• Experience developing automated network migration, deployment, and upgrade procedures
• Familiarity with DevOps, DevSecOps, SRE, Agile, or ITIL methodologies
• Experience working with geographically distributed and cross-functional engineering teams

Compensation for the Network Automation Engineer includes:

• Salary: $95,000-$100,000 depending on experience
• Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k Plan, Holidays, PTO, sick leave as required by law

Keywords: Network Automation Engineer, Network Automation, Network Automation & NMS Engineer, NMS Engineer, NMS, Network Management Systems, Network Management Engineer, Network Systems Engineer, Network Infrastructure Engineer, Network Engineering, Network Infrastructure, NetDevOps, NetDevOps Engineer, Network SRE, Network Reliability Engineer, Network Operations, Network Operations Engineer, enterprise networking, multivendor networking, Cisco, Cisco networking, Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Catalyst Center, Cisco DNA Center, DNAC, Arista, Arista CloudVision, Juniper, Brocade, McAfee, enterprise firewalls, network firewall, ACL, Access Control Lists, network security, network configuration management, network provisioning, network lifecycle management, configuration automation, configuration drift, configuration compliance, automated remediation, automated provisioning, network orchestration, network programmability, Infrastructure as Code, IaC, Ansible, Ansible Playbooks, Python, PowerShell, YAML, Jinja2, scripting, automation, REST API, APIs, network APIs, API automation, OpenText NNMi, OpenText Network Node Manager, OpenText Network Automation, Network Automation NA, Cisco Catalyst Center, Aruba AirWave, NMS administration, NMS deployment, NMS configuration, NMS troubleshooting, RHEL 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Linux Systems Engineer, Linux administration, Red Hat Satellite, RHCSA, RHCE, Kubernetes, Docker, containers, containerized infrastructure, systemd, rsyslog, journald, LVM, Linux troubleshooting, kernel tuning, performance optimization, SNMP, SNMPv3, SNMP MIB, SNMP traps, Syslog, NetFlow, IPFIX, ICMP, SSH, SCP, TACACS+, RADIUS, network telemetry, network monitoring, network observability, network assurance, network performance management, fault management, fault isolation, root cause analysis, RCA, network analytics, traffic analytics, network health, network alerting, network polling, topology mapping, configuration backup, configuration validation, mass configuration, policy enforcement, automated policy management, ServiceNow, CMDB, ITSM, Splunk, SIEM, network performance optimization, network troubleshooting, routing, switching, Layer 2, Layer 3, L2, L3, LAN, WAN, WLAN, VLAN, STP, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, VRF, MPLS, VPN, multicast, SD-WAN, SD-Access, VXLAN, TrustSec, DoD, DOD, Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, Navy, NMCI, NGEN, government networking, federal networking, Secret clearance, Active Secret, Norfolk VA, Jacksonville FL, Pearl Harbor HI

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