Senior Network Automation Engineer

Position: Senior Network Automation Engineer

Location: Bay Area or PST, CA(occasional onsite)

Hiring Mode: 6 Months Contract To Hire

Job Description:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Senior Network Automation Engineer with expertise in SALT Stack, Python, Ansible, CI/CD pipelines, GIT, and Jenkins to join our dynamic team. This role will focus on developing and maintaining network automation solutions to enhance the efficiency, scalability, and reliability of our network infrastructure. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in automating complex network configurations, troubleshooting issues, and working with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless network operations.

Key Responsibilities:

• Network Automation: Develop, implement, and maintain automation frameworks and scripts to streamline network configuration, monitoring, and management processes.
• SALT Stack Management: Utilize SALT Stack for configuration management, orchestration, and automation of network devices and infrastructure components.
• Python Development: Write custom Python scripts to automate network provisioning, management tasks, and integrations with other systems.
• Ansible Playbooks: Design, implement, and maintain Ansible playbooks to automate network configuration tasks and ensure consistency across environments.
• CI/CD Pipeline Development: Build, manage, and optimize Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines for network automation tools and infrastructure deployments.
• Version Control: Use Git to manage source code, collaborate on code changes, and ensure proper versioning for network automation tools and configurations.
• Jenkins Integration: Develop and maintain Jenkins pipelines to automate testing, validation, and deployment processes for network configurations and automation scripts.
• Collaboration: Work closely with network engineers, developers, and other stakeholders to identify automation opportunities, enhance processes, and implement best practices in network automation.
• Troubleshooting & Optimization: Provide troubleshooting expertise and optimize automation workflows for improved performance, reliability, and scalability.
• Documentation: Create detailed technical documentation for automation processes, scripts, and network configurations to support ongoing maintenance and knowledge transfer.
• Mentorship: Provide guidance and mentorship to junior engineers and team members on best practices for automation and network engineering.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Networking, or related field (or equivalent work experience).
• 5 years of experience in network engineering or network automation.
• Expert-level proficiency in SALT Stack for automation, configuration management, and orchestration of network infrastructure.
• Strong Python programming skills for network automation and tool development.
• Hands-on experience with Ansible for automating network configurations and system deployments.
• Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines, including tools like Jenkins, Git, and associated best practices for automated testing and deployment in network environments.
• Experience with networking protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF, DNS, etc.) and configuring network devices (routers, switches, firewalls).
• Strong troubleshooting skills in network automation and infrastructure environments.
• Familiarity with cloud environments (AWS, Azure, etc.) and virtualized networks is a plus.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with cross-functional teams. Preferred Qualifications:
• Certification in Cisco (CCNP, CCIE), Juniper (JNCIP, JNCIE), or similar network automation-related certifications.
• Familiarity with containerization technologies like Docker or Kubernetes in the context of network automation.
• Experience with monitoring and logging tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK Stack to integrate with network automation solutions.