Team: HNS Security - Global Automation (Network Focused)
Location: Atlanta, GA or Cincinnati, OH preferred (Remote as 3rd option)
Duration: 6 months (possible extension)
Role
Lead enterprise network automation initiatives. Build and enhance automation platforms end-to-end across environments. Must have implemented automation from scratch - not partial contributor.
Must Have
- 4-5 years enterprise experience
- 2+ years strong hands-on automation
- Python, Terraform (mandatory), Ansible
- Terraform required (CloudFormation alone not sufficient)
- Dedicated automation specialist (not general DevOps)
Security
Automation-first role. Security background preferred but not required.
Day-to-Day
- Platform-based automation projects
- Environment setup
- Service automation buildout
- Move to next platform
- Mix of Python tooling + infra automation
Work Model
- Atlanta or Cincinnati strongly preferred
- Hybrid starting May
- Remote only for strong candidates
Interview Process
- Hiring Manager - 1st round
- Technical Leads - 2nd round
- Hands-on Automation Lab Test/Assessment - 3rd/final round
Notes
- 6-month contract (extension possible)
- Looking for true automation transformation experience
- Lab will assess real hands-on capability
About The Role:
- Client is seeking an Automation Engineer to design, build, and operate automation that accelerates delivery, reduces operational toil, and improves reliability across client's environments.
- Candidates will use Python, Terraform, and Ansible to implement infrastructure as code, configuration management, and workflow automation.
- Candidate's work will integrate with GitHubbased CI/CD practices and ServiceNow change processes, ensuring changes are safe, auditable, and repeatable.
- Candidates will collaborate with security, platform, network, and application teams to embed guardrails, create runbooks, and continuously improve the developer and operator experience.
Candidates Will Be Doing:
- Design and develop Pythonbased tooling, scripts, and services to automate operational tasks, integrate with third-party APIs, and orchestrate change workflows.
- Build and maintain reusable Terraform modules and environments, enabling predictable, idempotent provisioning and lifecycle management across targets.
- Create and operate Ansible roles and playbooks for configuration, patching, compliance baselines, application deployment, and drift remediation. Integrate automation into CI/CD using GitHub (branching, pull requests, reviews, checks), adding validation, linting, and plan/apply gates.
- Implement observability for automation (structured logs, metrics, alerts) and maintain SOPs/runbooks, including rollback and recovery steps.
- Embed securityby-default: secrets management, least-privilege identities for automation, and audit trails aligned to PCI requirements.
- Partner with crossfunctional teams to translate requirements into safe, versioned, and tested automation; contribute to internal documentation and knowledge bases.
Candidates Need (Required):
- 3 to 5 years of experience in an enterprise environment.
- Minimum 2 years of handson automation experience delivering production outcomes.
- Strong proficiency with Python, Terraform, and Ansible.
- Practical GitHub experience (branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, reusable workflows).
- Experience integrating automation with change/ITSM processes using ServiceNow. Comfortable working with Linux fundamentals, YAML/JSON, templating, APIs (REST/JSON), and idempotent design patterns.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills and a systematic, documented troubleshooting approach.
Nice To Have (Preferred):
- Experience with transition or transformation to Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
- AWS Lambda for eventdriven automation; familiarity with serverless patterns and orchestration.
- Container and image automation fundamentals (Docker, Kubernetes, Packer).
- Secrets management (e.g., HashiCorp, Vault, KMS, Secrets Manager).
Key Performance Indicators:
- Percentage of infrastructure and configuration managed via Terraform and Ansible.
- Change success rate for automated changes and rollback frequency.
- Lead time from request to automated delivery and deployment frequency.
- MTTR for automation incidents and scope of autoremediation coverage. Reduction in manual steps and operator toil hours per workflow.
Work Practices And Governance:
- Follow standard change control with peer review, test/stage validation, approvals, and defined rollback plans.
- Maintain highquality documentation for modules, roles, pipelines, and runbooks.
- Enforce leastprivilege access and auditable evidence to support PCI compliance.
Note: