Firewall and Network Automation Engineer

HP•Austin, TX

About The Position

We’re looking for a developer who lives at the intersection of network engineering and software automation. You’ll build and maintain automation that improves the reliability, security, and velocity of our network operations—spanning firewalls, switching, and core network services. Day to day, you’ll work in Python and Ansible to automate device configuration and workflows, and use JavaScript to extend and integrate ServiceNow for network change, asset, and incident processes. If APIs, SNMP, and vendor SDKs are your comfort zone—and names like Palo Alto Networks, HPE Comware, and Aruba ring a bell—you’ll feel right at home.

Requirements

8-15 years in a network automation / DevNet / infrastructure engineering role.
Strong Python (requests, asyncio, data parsing, error handling), packaging basics, and testing (pytest).
Ansible expertise (Jinja2, roles, filters, vault, inventories, idempotency) applied to network devices.
JavaScript for ServiceNow (Glide API, Business Rules, Script Includes, Flow Designer, Catalog, ACLs).
Solid understanding of IPv4 networking (subnetting, routing, ACLs, NAT, VRFs), firewalls, and L2/L3 switching concepts.
Hands-on with APIs (REST), SNMP (walks, MIBs, OIDs), and data formats (JSON/YAML).
Familiarity with at least one of: Palo Alto Networks (PAN‑OS/Panorama), HPE Comware, Aruba switching.
Version control and workflows with Git; comfort with code reviews and branching strategies.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Palo Alto Networks automation (pan‑os‑python, Panorama XML API), rule hygiene tooling, or policy-as-code concepts.
Aruba/Comware automation via Ansible network modules, Netmiko/NAPALM, or vendor SDKs.
CI/CD for infra code (GitHub Actions/Azure DevOps), artifact management, and secrets handling.
Infra standards & compliance exposure (change management, approvals, peer review).
ServiceNow: ATF, CMDB data model, Discovery, and IntegrationHub spokes.
Scripting beyond Python (e.g., PowerShell, Bash); basic Linux operational knowledge.
Certifications (nice but not required): PCNSE, Aruba/Comware vendor certs, ServiceNow CSA/CIS, Cisco DevNet, or RHCE/Ansible.

Responsibilities

Automate Network Operations
Design, build, and maintain Python scripts and Ansible playbooks/roles for configuration management, compliance checks, drift detection, and bulk changes across firewalls and switches.
Integrate with vendor APIs/SDKs (e.g., Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS / Panorama, Aruba, HPE Comware) and standard protocols (SNMP, REST) to gather telemetry and execute changes safely.
ServiceNow Development
Build JavaScript (server-side & client-side) for ServiceNow to automate workflows, approvals, and data integrity for network changes (e.g., Change Requests, CMDB updates, discovery/normalization).
Develop integrations between ServiceNow and network tooling for end-to-end automation (e.g., auto-validate change windows, pre/post checks, and post-change verification).
Network Engineering Enablement
Create reusable automation modules, libraries, and Ansible Collections; establish coding standards, tests, and documentation.
Implement guardrails (linting, schema validation, dry-runs) and CI/CD pipelines for safe change deployment.
Partner with network and security engineers on firewall policy automation, NAT/routing updates, switch provisioning, and access segmentation.
Observability & Reliability
Build health checks and telemetry pipelines (SNMP polling, API collectors) to monitor config drift, rule hygiene, interface status, routing adjacencies, and policy efficacy.
Produce dashboards and reports for compliance, change success rates, and automation coverage.