Location: Columbus, OH
Salary: $69.00 USD Hourly - $74.00 USD Hourly
Description: Job TitleLead Automation Network Engineer - Load Balancing & Application DeliveryJob LocationColumbus, OH or
Charlotte, NCEmployment TypeContingent / Contract (No Conversion)
Work ArrangementHybrid / On-site as required
Job SummaryThe Lead Automation Network Engineer - Load Balancing is a senior-level technical role responsible for the design, automation, and operational excellence of large-scale application delivery and load balancing platforms. This position focuses on building resilient, scalable, and secure Layer 4-7 traffic management solutions that support internet-facing, B2B, and enterprise applications within a regulated enterprise environment.
You will act as a technical authority, partnering across network, security, and application teams to drive automation, standardization, and reliability across global infrastructure.
Key ResponsibilitiesArchitecture & Design- Lead the architecture and design of enterprise load balancing and application delivery solutions across data centers and cloud-adjacent environments.
- Define scalable, highly available traffic management strategies aligned with application performance, resiliency, and business continuity requirements.
- Serve as a subject matter expert for Layer 4-7 technologies including load balancing, SSL/TLS, DNS-based traffic steering, and health monitoring.
Automation & Engineering- Design and implement automation-first solutions using Python, Ansible, and Infrastructure-as-Code principles.
- Develop standardized, repeatable workflows for provisioning, configuration, scaling, and lifecycle management of load balancing services.
- Utilize authoritative data sources and Source-of-Truth (SoT) models to ensure configuration accuracy, compliance, and reliability.
- Drive automated testing, validation, and orchestration to reduce deployment risk and improve delivery speed.
Operations & Reliability- Ensure high availability, performance, and resilience of application delivery platforms supporting critical business applications.
- Proactively identify capacity, performance, and resiliency risks and lead remediation efforts.
- Perform failover testing, health validation, and certificate lifecycle management.
- Troubleshoot and resolve complex load balancing and traffic management incidents with clear impact analysis.
Security & Compliance- Implement and maintain security controls including TLS policies, WAF integrations, and access controls.
- Design compliant, hardened solutions in alignment with regulatory and enterprise security requirements.
- Collaborate with network and application security teams throughout the service lifecycle.
Collaboration & Leadership- Act as a technical advisor to engineering, operations, and business stakeholders.
- Mentor engineers on load balancing technologies, automation best practices, and operational standards.
- Produce and maintain technical design documentation, runbooks, and automation frameworks.
- Participate in formal change management and governance processes.
Required Qualifications- 5+ years of experience in Network Engineering or equivalent experience through work, education, training, or military service.
- 5+ years of experience building automation for network or application delivery platforms using Python and Ansible.
- Hands-on experience with load balancing and application delivery technologies (Layer 4/7).
- Experience using Git and version-controlled workflows.
- Strong understanding of network data, data modeling, and Source-of-Truth concepts.
Preferred Qualifications- Experience in large financial services or regulated enterprise environments.
- Experience with load balancer automation, orchestration, and automated testing frameworks.
- Familiarity with ServiceNow, Nautobot, or similar network data management platforms.
- Experience with API-driven infrastructure (REST, GraphQL).
- Knowledge of Jinja, JSON, YAML, YANG, and related templating or data technologies.
- Exposure to CI/CD tools and workflows (Git, Jenkins, Jira).
- Strong technical documentation and communication skills.
Business ImpactThis role is critical to the modernization of enterprise application delivery platforms and supports large-scale application migrations, data center modernization, and partner connectivity initiatives. Reliable and automated load balancing solutions directly impact application availability, performance, and transformation timelines.
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