Senior Network Automation Engineer

Senior Network Automation Engineer - Remote (San Francisco, CA Office Vicinity)

Role Summary
Lead a multi-site, multi-vendor network modernization and automation program to upgrade and standardize enterprise firewalls, switches, load balancers, and power management platforms. This role owns end-to-end planning, automation, execution, and validation across 22 offices and two data centers (Ashburn & Denver). The primary goal is to ensure minimal downtime and repeatable processes through strong governance and automation.

Responsibilities
Program Planning & Governance: Build master upgrade plans, risk registers, RACI, change window calendars, and rollback strategies aligned with CAB/ITIL processes.

Automation Architecture: Design IaC/automation pipelines (Ansible, Python, Git, CI/CD) leveraging vendor APIs such as Panorama XML/REST, Cisco RESTCONF/NETCONF, Arista eAPI, and F5 iControl REST.

Pre-Upgrade Readiness: Manage inventory, compatibility checks, image curation, lab validation, and health baselines.

Execution at Scale: Coordinate phased batches across sites, driving pre/post checks and HA failover testing.

Quality & Observability: Implement telemetry, logs, and automated post-validation (routing, services health, CPU/memory).

Documentation: Produce runbooks, SOPs, and rollback playbooks while training operations teams for day 2 support.

Stakeholder Management: Partner with InfoSec, NetOps, and Service Desk to communicate status and risks to leadership.

Required Skills
**Palo Alto: 6+ years

Cisco Catalyst: 6+ years

Arista EOS: 6+ years

F5 BIG IP: 6+ years

APC: 6+ years**
Automation: Hands-on experience with Ansible playbooks/roles, Python tooling, Git workflows, and CI/CD pipelines.

Networking: 10+ years in enterprise networking with hand-on multi-vendor upgrades and HA designs.

Nice-to-Have Skills

Certifications: PCNSE (Palo Alto), CCNP/CCIE (Cisco), Arista ACE, F5 Certified (CTS/CA), ITIL Foundation.

Training: Any Schneider Electric/APC relevant training.

Candidate Traits

Excellent communicator capable of translating technical risks and outcomes to executive and non-technical stakeholders.

Disciplined approach to change management (ITIL) in mission-critical environments.

Job Responsibilities

Design and implement automation pipelines using Ansible, Python, and Git.

Manage large-scale network upgrades for Palo Alto, Cisco, Arista, and F5 platforms.

Perform pre-upgrade health checks, lab validations, and compatibility assessments.

Develop robust rollback strategies and coordinate change windows via ITIL processes.

Maintain network observability through automated telemetry and post-validation testing.