Cyber Security Engineer (Automation SME)

Ampcus Inc. is a certified global provider of a broad range of Technology and Business consulting services. We are in search of a highly motivated candidate to join our talented Team. Job Title: Cyber Security Engineer (Automation SME) Location: Cincinnati, OH. (Hybrid). About The Role: - We are seeking an Automation Engineer to design, build, and operate automation that accelerates delivery, reduces operational toil, and improves reliability across our environments. - You will use Python, Terraform, and Ansible to implement infrastructure as code, configuration management, and workflow automation. Your work will integrate with GitHub-based CI/CD practices and ServiceNow change processes, ensuring changes are safe, auditable, and repeatable. - You will collaborate with security, platform, network, and application teams to embed guardrails, create runbooks, and continuously improve the developer and operator experience. What You Will Be Doing: - Design and develop Python-based tooling, scripts, and services to automate operational tasks, integrate with third-party APIs, and orchestrate change workflows. - Build and maintain reusable Terraform modules and environments, enabling predictable, idempotent provisioning and lifecycle management across targets. - Create and operate Ansible roles and playbooks for configuration, patching, compliance baselines, application deployment, and drift remediation. - Integrate automation into CI/CD using GitHub (branching, pull requests, reviews, checks), adding validation, linting, and plan/apply gates. - Implement observability for automation (structured logs, metrics, alerts) and maintain SOPs/runbooks, including rollback and recovery steps. - Embed security-by-default: secrets management, least-privilege identities for automation, and audit trails aligned to PCI requirements. - Partner with cross-functional teams to translate requirements into safe, versioned, and tested automation; contribute to internal documentation and knowledge bases. What You Need (Required): - 3-5 years of experience in an enterprise environment. - Minimum 2 years of hands-on automation experience delivering production outcomes. - Strong proficiency with Python, Terraform, and Ansible. - Practical GitHub experience (branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, reusable workflows). - Experience integrating automation with change/ITSM processes using ServiceNow. - Comfortable working with Linux fundamentals, YAML/JSON, templating, APIs (REST/JSON), and idempotent design patterns. - Clear written and verbal communication skills and a systematic, documented troubleshooting approach. Nice to Have (Preferred): - Experience with transition or transformation to Infrastructure as Code (IaC). - AWS Lambda for event-driven automation; familiarity with serverless patterns and orchestration. - Container and image automation fundamentals (Docker, Kubernetes, Packer). - Secrets management (e.g., HashiCorp, Vault, KMS, Secrets Manager). Key Performance Indicators: - Percentage of infrastructure and configuration managed via Terraform and Ansible. - Change success rate for automated changes and rollback frequency. - Lead time from request to automated delivery and deployment frequency. - MTTR for automation incidents and scope of auto-remediation coverage. - Reduction in manual steps and operator toil hours per workflow. Work Practices and Governance: - Follow standard change control with peer review, test/stage validation, approvals, and defined rollback plans. - Maintain high-quality documentation for modules, roles, pipelines, and runbooks. - Enforce least-privilege access and auditable evidence to support PCI compliance. Ampcus is an Equal Opportunity Employer