Principal Automation/Systems Engineer

Principal Automation Engineer is responsible for design, build, and evolve highly automated virtual environments supporting cyber training, exercises, testing, and mission-focused use cases. This role sits at the intersection of software engineering, infrastructure automation, virtualization, networking, and cybersecurity. The ideal candidate is comfortable working across the full technology stack-from Python and Ansible through Windows/Linux, virtual infrastructure, networking, and security appliances-and can turn complex operational requirements into reliable, repeatable automation. The successful candidate will also provide technical leadership, help establish engineering patterns and standards, and mentor other engineers as we continue to expand the capabilities and scale of our cyber range platform.. This is a remote staff position.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect and develop automation used to create, configure, deploy, operate, reset, and destroy complex virtual environments

• Develop and maintain Ansible roles, collections, playbooks, Python tooling, APIs, and supporting automation frameworks

• Design automation for repeatability, idempotency, resiliency, observability, failure recovery, and long- running workflows

• Integrate virtualization platforms, operating systems, networking technologies, security products, and other third-party infrastructure using APIs, SDKs, CLIs, and configuration automation

• Evaluate unfamiliar technologies and determine reliable methods for incorporating them into automated environments

• Troubleshoot complex problems across application, automation, operating system, virtualization, storage, and network layers

• Translate customer, operator, cyber SME, and product requirements into scalable technical solutions

• Own technical designs from initial requirements through implementation, deployment, testing, and sustainment

• Participate in architecture and code reviews and help establish reusable engineering standards and patterns

• Mentor engineers and provide technical leadership on complex development and infrastructure efforts

• Support the development and execution of cyber ranges, exercises, training environments, and other dynamically provisioned infrastructure

• Collaborate closely with engineering, product, operations, cybersecurity SMEs, customers, and external stakeholders, Circadence Corporation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, medical condition, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status or civil partnership/union status, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, childbirth, genetic information, military and veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law.

Circadence will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with local and federal requirements. https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf

All Circadence employees are expected to actively support diversity on their teams, and in the Company.

Automation & Software Engineering

• Significant experience developing infrastructure and configuration automation using Ansible, including roles, collections, and complex playbooks

• Strong Python scripting/development and YAML experience

• Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, source control, code review, and collaborative software development , * Experience architecting and maintaining build, configuration, deployment, or infrastructure automation for complex systems

• Experience integrating third-party technologies through APIs, SDKs, CLIs, or automation frameworks

• Ability to quickly evaluate unfamiliar technologies and develop maintainable automated integrations Systems, Networking & Virtualization

• Strong Windows and Linux systems engineering experience

• Strong working knowledge of technologies such as SSH, WinRM, PowerShell, Bash, and Linux administration

• Comprehensive understanding of networking, virtualization, and enterprise IT infrastructure
• Experience with VMware vSphere/ESXi or comparable enterprise virtualization platforms

• Working knowledge of switching, routing, VLANs, firewalls, NAT, virtual networking, and related network concepts

• Experience troubleshooting complex distributed systems spanning multiple infrastructure layers

• Familiarity with enterprise infrastructure technologies such as Cisco, Dell, NetApp, or comparable platforms Senior Engineering

• Demonstrated experience owning complex technical solutions from design through production use
• Ability to turn ambiguous or operationally focused requirements into practical engineering solutions
• Experience performing technical design and code reviews
• Ability to mentor engineers and help establish engineering standards and reusable patterns
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to manage multiple technical priorities in a dynamic, collaborative environment

• Self-motivated and capable of independently driving complex technical work Preferred Qualifications Cyber Range & Exercise Engineering

• Experience developing, supporting, or operating cyber ranges, cyber exercises, training environments, test environments, or other dynamically provisioned virtual infrastructure

• Experience automating environments that must repeatedly be built, configured, exercised, reset, and reused

• Experience supporting network operations, cyber exercises, or mission-oriented technical events
• Experience integrating offensive or defensive cybersecurity tools into virtualized environments

• Experience with cyber exercise capabilities such as scenario orchestration, telemetry, injects, scoring, environment reset, and after-action analysis

• Familiarity with MITRE ATT&CK and ATT&CK-based scenario, detection, or exercise design Cybersecurity

• Familiarity with cybersecurity practices including vulnerability management, system hardening, STIGs, RMF, and related security requirements

• Experience with Windows and Linux patching, vulnerability remediation, and secure system configuration

• Familiarity with enterprise security technologies such as SIEM, EDR, IDS/IPS, network telemetry, logging, or security analytics platforms

• Experience with Active Directory security, attack paths, or defensive controls AI & Emerging Technology

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools for software engineering, infrastructure automation, or cybersecurity

• Experience developing or integrating LLM- or AI-enabled capabilities into infrastructure, automation, or security applications

• Familiarity with agentic AI, tool-calling, retrieval-augmented generation, or AI-assisted workflow automation Operational Cyber Experience - Significant Plus

• Operational cybersecurity experience is not required, but candidates who have worked directly with offensive or defensive cyber teams can bring particularly valuable perspective to this role. , * Experience supporting defensive cyber operations (DCO), Blue Team, SOC, incident response, threat hunting, detection engineering, or similar defensive operations

• Experience supporting OPFOR, Red Team, penetration testing, adversary emulation, or similar offensive operations

• Understanding of realistic attack chains, adversary behavior, lateral movement, persistence, and post- exploitation workflows

• Experience with adversary-emulation or command-and-control frameworks
• Experience designing realistic attacker/defender scenarios or cyber exercises

• Ability to translate real-world offensive or defensive cyber workflows into scalable, automated cyber- range capabilities

• Relevant certifications such as OSCP, OSCE3, CRTO, PNPT, GCIH, GCIA, GCFA, GCED, or comparable credentials are a plus Exceptional candidates may combine strong infrastructure and automation engineering experience with hands- on operational cyber experience. Especially valuable is the ability to translate real-world operator workflows into realistic virtual environments, automated scenarios, integrated cyber tooling, measurable exercise activity, and repeatable range capabilities.

Government / Mission Experience

• Previous government contracting or DoD experience is a plus

• Experience working directly with DoD cyber organizations, exercise teams, operational cyber units, or other mission-focused customers is a plus

• Experience supporting environments subject to government security and accreditation requirements is a plus Education & Eligibility

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent relevant professional experience

• U.S. citizenship required due to security clearance requirements
• Ability to obtain and maintain the required U.S. Government security clearance
• Existing Secret or Top Secret clearance is a plus
• Preferred location near Huntsville, Alabama

About Circadence Corporation Circadence is an award-winning, privately held, US-owned business that specializes in cybersecurity training and assessment platforms. Our core area of expertise is the development and management of cyber range capabilities, implementation of policies, processes and tools required to conduct cyber assessments and cyber range automation. Circadence has spent more than a decade working with the Joint Information Operations Range (JIOR) and Joint Mission Network (JMN), building cyber ranges and participating in cyber-T&E, exercises, and training events. JMN is part of the National Cyber Range Complex (NCRC).