Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Network Automation Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

Are you passionate about building the network of the future? This role requires a highly motivated and innovative Network Automation Engineer to join our dynamic infrastructure team. In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for designing, developing, and deploying automated solutions to build, manage, and scale our complex global network. You will leverage your expertise in modern scripting languages, automation frameworks, and core network protocols to enhance reliability, improve operational efficiency, and accelerate service delivery. If you thrive on solving complex problems and want to eliminate manual toil through elegant code and robust systems, this is the opportunity for you to make a significant impact.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Network Engineer / Network Analyst
Systems Administrator / Systems Engineer
Software Developer (with a focus on infrastructure)

Advancement To:

Senior or Lead Network Automation Engineer
Principal Network Architect
DevOps Architect or Manager

Lateral Moves:

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
DevOps Engineer
Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Design, develop, and maintain a robust automation framework using tools like Ansible, Python, and Terraform to manage the full lifecycle of network devices and services.
Create, manage, and optimize CI/CD pipelines for network infrastructure changes, enabling automated testing, validation, and deployment to ensure network integrity and reliability.
Develop and maintain Python scripts and applications to automate network provisioning, configuration changes, and operational tasks across a multi-vendor environment (Cisco, Arista, Juniper).
Build and integrate with REST APIs to enable programmatic control of network infrastructure, controllers (e.g., Cisco DNA Center, Meraki), and monitoring systems.
Act as a subject matter expert on network automation, providing guidance and mentorship to traditional network engineering teams to foster a culture of NetDevOps.
Automate the collection of network telemetry and performance metrics, creating dashboards and alerting systems (e.g., with Prometheus, Grafana, ELK Stack) to provide deep insights into network health.
Develop and enforce "network-as-code" practices, managing network configurations and topologies in version control systems like Git.
Engineer and support DDI (DNS, DHCP, IPAM) automation solutions to ensure accurate and dynamic resource allocation across the enterprise.
Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to automate security policy enforcement, vulnerability scanning, and compliance checks on network devices.
Lead the evaluation, selection, and implementation of new automation tools and technologies to continuously improve our automation capabilities.
Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for all automation code, workflows, and APIs to ensure clarity and maintainability.
Develop self-service capabilities and tools that empower other teams to consume network services on-demand without manual intervention.
Troubleshoot and resolve complex issues in the automation platform and the underlying network infrastructure, participating in on-call rotations as needed.
Standardize network device configurations and operating systems through automated templating and deployment, reducing configuration drift.
Design and implement automated pre- and post-change validation checks to guarantee the success and safety of network modifications.

Secondary Functions

Serve as a technical liaison between the network engineering team and other departments, including software development, security, and cloud operations.
Participate in architectural design reviews to ensure that new network services and topologies are designed with automation and scalability in mind.
Develop and deliver training sessions to upskill network engineers in automation principles, tools, and best practices.
Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in network automation, SRE, and DevOps.
Support ad-hoc data requests and perform exploratory analysis on network data to identify trends, anomalies, and opportunities for improvement.
Contribute to the organization's infrastructure strategy and technology roadmap, advocating for automation-first solutions.
Participate actively in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and retrospectives within an Agile project management framework.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Python Proficiency: Expert-level proficiency in Python, including deep experience with networking libraries such as Netmiko, NAPALM, Nornir, or Scrapli.
Automation Frameworks: Hands-on experience with configuration management and automation tools like Ansible (preferred), SaltStack, or Puppet, including playbook and role development.
Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Strong understanding of IaC principles with practical experience using tools like Terraform or CloudFormation to manage network resources.
CI/CD & Version Control: Proven experience building and managing CI/CD pipelines (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps) and expert-level use of Git for version control.
API Integration: Strong experience in consuming and building RESTful APIs for system integration and developing custom tooling.
Core Networking Protocols: In-depth knowledge of core networking concepts and protocols, including BGP, OSPF, EVPN/VXLAN, TCP/IP, and DNS.
Data Formats: Fluency in working with data formats like YAML, JSON, and XML for configuration and data exchange.
Linux/Unix Systems: Strong command of the Linux command line and shell scripting (Bash) for system administration and toolchain management.
Cloud Networking: Experience with public cloud networking concepts and services in AWS, Azure, or GCP.
Containerization: Familiarity with container technologies like Docker and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes is a significant plus.
Monitoring & Telemetry: Experience with modern monitoring tools such as Prometheus, Grafana, Telegraf, and the ELK Stack.

Soft Skills

Problem-Solving: A systematic and analytical approach to troubleshooting complex technical challenges.
Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
Collaboration: A team-player mindset with a proven ability to work effectively across different functional teams.
Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment and willingness to learn new technologies quickly.
Detail-Oriented: Meticulous attention to detail to ensure the stability and security of automated systems.
Ownership: A strong sense of ownership and accountability for the systems and code you develop and maintain.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related engineering discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Computer Science
Network Engineering
Software Engineering
Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3-7 years of combined experience in network engineering, systems administration, or software development, with at least 2 years in a dedicated automation role.

Preferred: Experience in a large-scale enterprise, service provider, or data center environment where automation has been a key component of network operations. Relevant certifications (e.g., DevNet Associate/Professional, CCNA/CCNP, JNCIA/JNCIS) are highly desirable.