Lead the design, implementation, testing, and maintenance of advanced Ansible playbooks, roles, and modules to automate deployment of defensive cyber infrastructure
Engineer automation frameworks that deploy networking, server hardware, operating systems, containers, virtualization, and application stacks
Automate configuration of physical hardware and network appliances (routers, firewalls, etc.)
Integrate security controls such as STIG hardening and SELinux into automated deployment pipelines
Develop and maintain CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitHub Actions) to support automated testing and validation
Collaborate with software development teams to build highly parameterized automation aligned with product stacks
Translate mission and technical requirements into scalable automation solutions
Support technical demonstrations and customer engagements
Ensure engineering standards, cybersecurity controls, and best practices are consistently applied
Document processes, workflows, and system configurations

Requirements

6–8 years of experience as a Systems Engineer and/or Automation Engineer
Expert-level proficiency with Ansible, including:
Development and maintenance of playbooks, roles, modules
Deep knowledge of Jinja2 templating, Collections, and configuration management
Experience with Ansible Galaxy and Ansible Vault
Automation of physical hardware and network devices
Strong analytical and debugging skills within complex automation workflows
Extensive hands-on experience with Fedora-based Linux distributions (RHEL, Rocky, Oracle), including:
Driver and firmware management
File systems and networking
Security configuration and hardening
Proficiency in Python and Bash scripting
Experience with virtualization and container platforms (e.g., VMware, Kubernetes, Docker/Podman)
Strong understanding of cybersecurity principles, infrastructure hardening, defense-in-depth, and compliance frameworks
Knowledge of network protocols and architecture design
Experience with patching strategies, authentication models, and log retention policies
Experience with Git/GitHub, CI/CD pipelines, and Agile project workflows (e.g., Jira)
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Active driver’s license with clean driving record
Experience supporting Defensive Cyber Operations within U.S. Government or Service Cyber Command environments
Hands-on experience with defensive cyber platforms such as Security Onion, Splunk, Elastic, Zeek, and pfSense
Security certifications (e.g., CySA+, CISSP)
Active Secret clearance or ability to obtain one
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related technical field

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

AnsibleJinja2PythonBash scriptingCI/CD pipelinesVirtualizationContainer platformsNetworkingSecurity configurationAutomation frameworks

Soft Skills

Analytical skillsDebugging skillsCommunication skillsCollaborationDocumentation

Certifications

CySA+CISSP