Ansible Automation Systems Engineer

Position Title: Systems Engineer – Ansible Automation Location: Columbia MD (Hybrid work schedule) Clearance Requirements: Eligibility for a Secret Clearance, Active Clearance would be great Industry: Government / Defense / Secure Enterprise Environment Position Overview We are seeking a highly skilled Systems Engineer – Ansible Automation to architect, design, and own enterprise-scale automation frameworks. This is not a “playbook user” role — we are looking for someone who has built, structured, and maintained automation ecosystems from the ground up. The ideal candidate has deep experience designing Ansible playbooks, modular role structures, and scalable configuration management frameworks that support secure, compliant, and repeatable infrastructure deployments. Experience operating in security-focused, federal, or DoD-adjacent environments is strongly preferred. This role will serve as a technical leader in automation strategy, infrastructure as code (IaC), and configuration governance. Key Responsibilities Architect and own enterprise-wide Ansible automation frameworks Design, develop, and maintain scalable playbooks and reusable role structures Establish best practices for configuration management, inventory structuring, and secrets handling Build modular, version-controlled automation aligned with infrastructure lifecycle management Integrate Ansible with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps toolchains Automate system provisioning, patching, hardening, and compliance validation Develop standardized automation for Linux and/or Windows environments Collaborate with Security, Infrastructure, and DevOps teams to ensure automation aligns with compliance frameworks (e.g., STIG, NIST, RMF) Troubleshoot and optimize automation workflows for performance and scalability Provide technical mentorship and governance around automation standards Maintain documentation, testing frameworks, and change control for automation assets Required Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience) 5+ years of systems engineering or infrastructure automation experience Demonstrated experience architecting and owning Ansible automation frameworks Deep expertise in: Ansible playbook development Role-based architecture and modular design Inventory and variable structuring at scale Ansible Tower / AWX (or similar orchestration platforms) Strong understanding of: Linux system administration Infrastructure as Code principles Configuration management best practices Experience integrating Ansible into CI/CD pipelines Strong scripting experience (Python, Bash, or similar) Experience managing automation in large, multi-environment infrastructures (Dev/Test/Prod) Preferred Qualifications Experience in security-focused or DoD-adjacent environments Familiarity with: STIG hardening NIST 800-53 / RMF controls FedRAMP or IL-level environments Experience in containerized or cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GovCloud) Active or prior security clearance Experience automating patch management and vulnerability remediation workflows Familiarity with GitOps methodologies What Makes This Role Different We are specifically seeking someone who has: Designed automation architecture — not just executed tasks Owned lifecycle management of automation frameworks Built reusable, scalable automation standards adopted by teams Driven governance and technical direction around configuration management