Lead Network Automation Engineer - Federal Customer

Dell GmbH; McLean (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Dell Mission Operations is seeking a Lead Network Automation Engineer to drive automation of network workflows and reliability for a federal customer, reporting to senior engineering leaders. On-site five days a week, the role requires TS/SCI clearance and leadership of Tier II engineers, with emphasis on secure, high‑availability network operations and proactive change management.

The ideal candidate brings strong networking fundamentals, disciplined operational practices, and the ability to

Qualifications

• Experience in network engineering, network operations, or Tier II support.
• Strong understanding of routing, switching, and enterprise network fundamentals.
• Experience troubleshooting incidents in operational environments.
• Familiarity with change control, monitoring, and documentation practices.

Responsibilities

• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve network incidents and performance issues
• Support routing, switching, and network infrastructure operations
• Execute approved changes, upgrades, and maintenance activities
• Develop or maintain automation workflows that improve repeatability and speed
• Analyze alerts, logs, and trends to identify recurring problems and corrective actions
• Produce technical documentation, diagrams, operational procedures, and status updates
• Coordinate with engineering, security, and field teams on implementation and incident response
• Provide reports to relevant stakeholders and participate in leadership level design and engineering decisions
• Support network reliability, resiliency, and service availability goals

Skills

Network fundamentals

Team leadership

Operational discipline

Security-conscious

Tools

Python

Ansible

Monitoring tools

Job description

Lead Network Automation Engineer - Federal Customer

(on-site 5 days per week: TS/SCI Required)

Job summary

The Network Automation & Operations professional supports Dell Mission Operations by maintaining reliable, secure network services while improving operational speed and consistency through automation. This role is responsible for leading Tier II engineers, providing network engineering support, change execution, monitoring, and automation of recurring workflows. The ideal candidate brings strong network fundamentals, disciplined operational practices, and the ability to improve network performance in a high-trust mission environment.

Key responsibilities

• Monitor, troubleshoot, and resolve network incidents and performance issues
• Support routing, switching, and network infrastructure operations
• Execute approved changes, upgrades, and maintenance activities
• Develop or maintain automation workflows that improve repeatability and speed
• Analyze alerts, logs, and trends to identify recurring problems and corrective actions
• Produce technical documentation, diagrams, operational procedures, and status updates
• Coordinate with engineering, security, and field teams on implementation and incident response
• Provide reports to relevant stakeholders and participate in leadership level design and engineering decisions
• Support network reliability, resiliency, and service availability goals

Required qualifications

• Experience in network engineering, network operations, or Tier II support
• Strong understanding of routing, switching, and enterprise network fundamentals
• Experience troubleshooting incidents in operational environments
• Familiarity with change control, monitoring, and documentation practices
• Ability to work hands-on in a secure environment
• Active TS/SCI and ability to maintain access as required by the program

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with Python, Ansible, or network automation tooling
• Cisco or comparable networking certifications
• Experience with firewalls, load balancers, or network security concepts
• Experience with maintenance windows, after-hours support, or incident response rotations
• Experience supporting government or classified networks

Work environment / program context

This role combines traditional network operations with modern automation practices. Lead-level roles must have experience with technical leadership, standards ownership, mentoring, and design influence.