Senior Software Engineer (Ansible Automation)

What you will do

• Lead the design, development, testing, and maintenance of complex Ansible playbooks, roles, and collections that automate deployment of Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) hunt kits.
• Design and develop custom Ansible modules and plugins in Python using modular design, error handling, and documentation practices.
• Collaborate with software teams to deliver highly parameterized automation aligned to the software product stack, translating requirements into robust solutions.
• Configure and automate physical hardware and network appliances (servers, switches, routers, firewalls) using Ansible.
• Implement security controls within the automation pipeline, including STIG hardening and SELinux, to support “secure by default” deployments.
• Build and maintain CI/CD GitHub Actions pipelines for extensive linting, unit testing, and integration testing of automation code.
• Set coding standards, define code review and testing strategies, and mentor other engineers.
• Work with stakeholders to ensure technology standards, security controls, and engineering practices are consistently understood and applied.
• Partner with internal teams to deliver technical demonstrations that showcase SealingTech capabilities to customers.
• Identify and define high-level functional and technical requirements using user community input and knowledge of existing DoD enterprise architectures.

Required qualifications

• U.S. Citizenship
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 8+ years of experience as a Software Engineer and/or Automation Engineer
• Expert proficiency in Ansible, including writing, testing, and maintaining playbooks, roles, collections, and custom modules, with strong understanding of Jinja2 and configuration management
• Experience using Ansible Galaxy for reusable components and Ansible Vault for sensitive data
• Experience using Ansible to configure and automate physical hardware and network appliances (servers, switches, routers, firewalls)
• Strong analytical and debugging skills to resolve complex automation workflow issues
• Strong Python skills for developing, testing, and packaging custom Ansible modules and plugins, plus Bash for scripting
• Hands-on experience with RHEL-based Linux distributions (RHEL, Rocky, Oracle), including drivers, firmware, file systems, networking, and security administration
• Experience with virtualization and containers (VMware, Kubernetes, Docker/Podman)
• Strong understanding of core cybersecurity concepts and infrastructure security, hardening processes, techniques, and industry best practices
• Experience with network protocols, architecture design, and defense-in-depth practices
• Knowledge of best practices for security patching, authentication, and log retention
• Experience operating within security frameworks to support compliance and auditing requirements
• Experience with Git/GitHub, code review workflows, CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions), and Agile workflows (Jira)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including ability to document and maintain engineering processes and procedures

Preferred qualifications

• Experience supporting Defensive Cyber Operations within Service Cyber Command elements or other U.S. Government organizations
• Experience with defensive cyber tools such as Security Onion, Splunk, Elastic, Zeek, pfSense, and related platforms
• Security certification such as CySA+ or CISSP
• Ansible certifications (for example, Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Automation)
• RHCE (Red Hat Certified Engineer)
• CompTIA Linux+
• Secret security clearance or ability to obtain it (preferred)

Technologies

• Ansible, Python, Jinja2, Ansible Galaxy, Ansible Vault, Bash
• RHEL, Rocky, Oracle Linux, STIG hardening, SELinux
• Git, GitHub, GitHub Actions, CI/CD
• VMware, Kubernetes, Docker, Podman
• Jira
• Security Onion, Splunk, Elastic, Zeek, pfSense

Benefits

• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Retirement contributions
• Continuing education budgets
• Tuition reimbursement
• Flexible schedules
• Generous vacation policies
• Complimentary snacks, drinks, and monthly catered lunches
• Company retreats and gatherings
• Pet-friendly offices
• Quarterly merit bonuses for qualified employees