Network Automation Engineer Jobs in Houston, TX (NOW HIRING)

6 week engagement · Full time · Cisco & Palo Alto · PST hours

1. Six (6) week full time contract engagement automating the deployment and configuration of network devices using Terraform.
2. Must be willing to work West Coast Hours / PST.
3. Required LAN / WAN Automation expertise using Terraform

We are seeking an all around network automation expert, someone equally comfortable architecting, engineering, administering, and troubleshooting, not a specialist in only one of these areas. The customer's network is Cisco and Palo Alto Firewalls, and the customer is trying to jump to IaC without having first architected the network for an enterprise level, automation ready environment. This role requires someone who can take that existing brownfield environment as it stands today and evolve it safely into a version controlled, tested, IaC managed state, rather than someone who only knows how to write Terraform against a clean greenfield design.

• Assess the existing brownfield Cisco and Palo Alto environment and identify what must be re architected, standardized, or cleaned up before it can be reliably managed as code
• Design and build Terraform modules to automate deployment and configuration of Cisco network devices and Palo Alto firewalls
• Bring architectural judgment to the engagement, not just execution, including recommending changes needed to make the environment enterprise ready and automation ready
• Establish version control practices and workflow for network configuration as code
• Build and execute regression testing to validate that IaC managed changes do not break existing production behavior
• Translate manual, historically hand configured network processes into repeatable, tested Infrastructure as Code
• Validate, test, and troubleshoot Terraform plans and applies against live network environments
• Perform hands on engineering and administration tasks as needed, in addition to architecture and automation work
• Diagnose and troubleshoot issues that arise during the brownfield to IaC transition, across both Cisco and Palo Alto platforms
• Document module structure, variables, architecture decisions, and usage for the client team
• Collaborate with network and infrastructure teams to confirm requirements and scope

• Demonstrated experience using Terraform for network device automation, not just cloud infrastructure
• Strong LAN and WAN automation and configuration expertise is required
• Direct hands on experience with Cisco networking equipment and Palo Alto firewalls, both required
• Proven experience evolving a brownfield network environment into an Infrastructure as Code model, not just building automation against a greenfield design
• Working knowledge of networking concepts including routing, switching, VLANs, firewall policy, and device configuration
• Experience with version control for network configuration and infrastructure code (Git)
• Experience building and running regression testing for network changes managed as code
• Broad, cross functional skill set spanning architecture, engineering, administration, and troubleshooting, this is not a role for a specialist in only one of these areas
• Ability to work independently and deliver against a compressed timeline

No cloud platforms will be used or required on this engagement. This role is strictly focused on LAN and WAN network device automation and configuration across Cisco and Palo Alto platforms.

• Prior consulting or contract based delivery experience
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure automation
• Familiarity with network automation tools beyond Terraform (Ansible, NAPALM, or similar)
• Experience advising customers on enterprise network architecture prior to or alongside an automation initiative

• Duration: Six (6) weeks
• Commitment: Full time
• Start: Immediate availability required
• Working Hours: Must be available to work PST hours

A well rounded Terraform network automation expert who can architect, engineer, administer, and troubleshoot a real world brownfield Cisco and Palo Alto environment, evolve it into a version controlled and regression tested IaC model, and confirm availability to start right away.