Senior Automation Engineer | Donato Tech | Durham, NC

Donato tech; Durham (NC); On-site; USD 83,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

Donato Tech is seeking an experienced Senior Automation Engineer for an onsite engagement in Durham, NC. The role focuses on cloud automation, Ansible playbooks, Linux administration, and CI/CD pipelines across mission-critical environments.

You will design, develop, test, and maintain automated deployment scripts and IaC templates using Ansible Tower/AWX, manage AWS services, and support on-call incident response. Strong communication and visa independence are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• 5+ years in DevOps, automation, and cloud administration.
• Hands-on AWS infrastructure expertise.
• Proficiency with Ansible Playbooks, Tower, and AWX.
• Enterprise Linux administration, shell scripting, and YAML.
• CI/CD implementation and IaC experience.
• Excellent English communication; onsite in Durham, visa independence.
• Willingness for on-call in evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain automation solutions and IaC templates.
• Author and run Ansible Playbooks; manage Tower/AWX workflows.
• Administer Linux OS, permissions, storage, and security baselines.
• Build and troubleshoot CI/CD pipelines across AWS.
• Provide L3 build/troubleshooting and RCA.
• Participate in on-call rotations for infra and releases.
• Collaborate with software engineering, DevOps, and operations teams.
• Document automation scripts and runbooks.

Skills

AWS Administration

Ansible Automation

Linux Administration

CI/CD

YAML

Shell Scripting

Problem Solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT/Software Engineering

Tools

Ansible Tower/AWX

AWS

Terraform

CloudFormation

Docker

Kubernetes

Job description

Position Summary

Donato Tech is actively seeking an experienced, high-caliber, and technical Senior Automation Engineer with a strong professional background in AWS infrastructure, Ansible automation, Linux administration, and CI/CD pipelines to join our client engineering team on a contract basis for an onsite engagement in Durham, NC (27709). In this critical DevOps and infrastructure automation role, you will be responsible for building, configuring, deploying, and troubleshooting robust automated deployment pipelines and cloud environments. You will leverage your deep specialist expertise in AWS services, Ansible Playbooks, Ansible Tower / AWX, YAML scripting, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to deliver uncompromised system reliability, operational automation, and high availability. This opportunity offers competitive compensation, executive technical visibility, and exceptional career growth prospects within a premier global IT recruitment and consulting enterprise.

Detailed Job Description

As a Senior Automation Engineer supporting Donato Tech onsite in Durham, NC, you will take full operational, tactical, and technical ownership of cloud automation, Ansible playbook execution, Linux systems administration, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines across mission-critical environments. Your day-to-day responsibilities include designing, developing, testing, and maintaining automated deployment scripts, configuration management workflows, and infrastructure as code (IaC) templates utilizing Ansible Tower / AWX, administering enterprise Linux operating systems and AWS cloud infrastructure services to ensure optimal performance and security compliance, building, maintaining, and troubleshooting automated CI/CD pipelines for seamless software build and release management, collaborating closely with cross-functional software engineering, QA, and operations squads in Agile sprint cycles, participating in on‑call support rotations for evening and weekend incident response as needed, preparing comprehensive technical documentation of automation workflows, playbook architectures, and operational runbooks, and managing application requirements ensuring strict compliance with local candidate requirements, visa independence, and onsite presence in Durham, NC. You will utilize your proactive troubleshooting and analytical problem‑solving skills to resolve complex build and deployment anomalies under strict service level agreements. Furthermore, you will manage application requirements ensuring strict compliance with local candidate requirements, visa independence, and onsite presence in Durham, NC.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, and maintain robust infrastructure automation solutions and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) templates.
• Author, configure, and execute Ansible Playbooks and manage automated workflows utilizing Ansible Tower / AWX.
• Administer enterprise Linux operating systems, user permissions, storage volumes, and server security baselines.
• Build, maintain, optimize, and troubleshoot automated CI/CD deployment pipelines across AWS cloud environments.
• Provide expert level‑3 build and deployment troubleshooting, root cause analysis (RCA), and rapid incident remediation.
• Participate in rotational evening and weekend on‑call support for mission‑critical infrastructure and release deployments.
• Collaborate seamlessly with cross‑functional software engineering, DevOps, and operations stakeholder squads.
• Maintain accurate, comprehensive technical documentation of automation scripts, playbook architectures, and runbooks.

Required Qualifications & Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 5+ years of progressive professional experience in DevOps engineering, systems automation, and cloud administration.
• Strong, demonstrable hands‑on professional expertise in configuring and managing AWS cloud infrastructure and core services.
• Comprehensive working knowledge and practical proficiency in Ansible Playbooks, Ansible Tower, and AWX automation platforms.
• Deep practical experience in enterprise Linux administration, shell scripting, and YAML configuration management.
• Solid practical experience in CI/CD pipeline implementation, build/deployment troubleshooting, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
• Exceptional analytical, troubleshooting, debugging, and problem‑solving capabilities under high‑pressure conditions.
• Excellent written and verbal English communication skills with strong cross‑functional collaboration and stakeholder management abilities.
• Mandatory visa independence, local candidate status, and physical availability for onsite work and evening/weekend on‑call support in Durham, NC.

Nice‑to‑Have Skills

• Professional certifications such as AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional, Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE), or Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA).
• Prior professional working experience in top‑tier technology consulting firms, SaaS enterprises, or financial institutions.
• Hands‑on familiarity with container orchestration platforms (Docker, Kubernetes) and infrastructure provisioning tools (Terraform, CloudFormation).
• Experience utilizing enterprise monitoring and observability suites (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog).
• Exposure to agile software development methodologies and enterprise ITSM ticketing frameworks (Jira, ServiceNow).

Application Information

• Salary/Rate: Market Competitive / Enterprise Contract Package
• Deadline: Open until filled (Urgent Durham Onsite Automation Opening)
• Notice Period: Immediate to 30 Days Preferred
• Contract Duration: Contract Engagement / Onsite Work in Durham, NC