Infrastructure Automation Engineer
Atlanta, GA, partially Remote
3 months

Engagement Overview

Environment Context

Primary Deliverables

• Aria Automation templates that provision VMs and self-register with AWS SSM and SentinelOne across Windows, Linux, and macOS
• GitLab CI pipelines to develop, test, validate, and deploy provisioning templates and migration script code.
• Security team collaboration — define and validate exclusions, token handling, and a documented exclusions process and technical implementation.
• VMware-to-Proxmox migration toolkit — robust, repeatable scripts and pipelines to migrate ~1,500–2,000 on-premises VMs with SSM and SentinelOne registration to a proxmox-based environment.
• Proxmox platform readiness — collaborate on capacity planning input, environment validation, and migration tools and scripts.

Key Responsibilities

Provisioning & Templates

• Extend existing production Aria Automation environment with new virtual machine templates for SSM and SentinelOne self-registration
• Build reusable, parameterized templates across Aria Automation, Terraform, and Ansible
• Support for all three OS types: Windows, Linux, and macOS (Intel-based)
• Integrate with existing CI-driven provisioning and deprovisioning workflows already in place
• Treat the existing production environment with care — validate all changes in non-production before any production promotion. Attention to detail and clear team communication of possible clear assessment of production impact it imperative.

AWS SSM Integration

• Automate SSM Agent installation and registration as part of every provisioning workflow
• Configure hybrid activation codes for all on-premises (non-EC2) targets across all OS types
• Validate SSM registration before marking provisioning complete

SentinelOne Integration

• Automate SentinelOne agent installation and silent deployment for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• Develop hands-off integration with SentinelOne so that any defined exclusions are in place at SentinelOne installation time.
• Confirm agent check-in as a provisioning completion gate.

Security Team Collaboration

• Work directly with the internal Security group to define and validate required exclusion sets.
• Work directly with internal security group to define system integration for up-front exclusions activation process.
• Collaborate with Security to develop and document a formal exclusions process — covering what exclusions are permissible, how they are requested, reviewed, and approved.

GitLab & CI/CD Pipeline Development

• Maintain all code in GitLab with regular, meaningful check-ins, pull requests and regular reviews with team.
• Follow generally accepted software development practices: branching strategies, merge requests, commit hygiene, and code review
• Build and maintain GitLab CI pipelines for linting, validation, testing, and deployment of provisioning and migration code
• Implement pipeline stages for Dev, Staging, and Production promotion with appropriate approval gates
• Use Artifactory to store and retrieve binary dependencies.
• Organize repositories clearly so the internal team can understand, maintain, and extend the work after the engagement ends.

VMware-to-Proxmox Migration

• Work with the infrastructure team to inventory all ~1,500–2,000 VMs — workload types, OS, network topology, storage layout, and VMware-specific dependencies (VMware Tools features, VMXNET3, paravirtual SCSI, VMware-specific drivers, etc.)
• Self-review all VMs and migration candidates for VMware-specific dependencies — proactively identify anything that may not translate cleanly to Proxmox and raise findings with the team leader before proceeding
• Coordinate with the infrastructure team on Proxmox capacity planning — advise on node count, storage sizing for ~300TB of VM data, and network configuration
• Design and develop a migration script toolkit (Bash, Python, PowerShell, and/or Ansible) to automate export from VMware and import/conversion to Proxmox-compatible formats using tools such as virt-v2v and qemu-img
• Automate post-migration configuration: network interface remapping, storage attachment, and VM hardware profile alignment
• Integrate SSM Agent and SentinelOne re-registration into the post-migration workflow so migrated VMs are immediately managed and protected on Proxmox
• Implement pre- and post-migration validation checks — confirming VM boot, network connectivity, SSM registration, and SentinelOne check-in before marking a migration complete
• Prefer live migration where feasible; where downtime is unavoidable, coordinate directly with end-users to agree on outage windows before proceeding
• Support a phased migration approach: non-production and lower-risk workloads first, then production with change management gates
• Consult freely and proactively with the team leader throughout — ask questions early, flag concerns immediately, and do not proceed with uncertain migrations without alignment
• Deliver a migration runbook covering prerequisites, execution steps, rollback procedures, and known edge cases

Proxmox Platform Readiness

• Advise the infrastructure team on capacity requirements based on current VMware inventory and ~500TB data volume
• Assist with validation of Proxmox-based self-service provisioning system. Develop and run test scripts and terraform and cloud-init templates for testing.
• Prototype VM provisioning using Terraform (Proxmox provider) and Ansible
• Validate Proxmox networking, storage, and resource configuration against workload requirements

Documentation & Handoff

• Deliver runbooks for all provisioning templates, CI pipelines, and migration workflows
• Document integration architecture, secret/credential management with existing internal controls.
• Deliver the Security-approved exclusions process as a standalone document
• Deliver the migration script toolkit with inline documentation and a standalone operations guide.
• Conduct a knowledge transfer session with the internal infrastructure team before engagement close

Required Skills

Nice to Have

• Experience with Packer for building Proxmox or VMware VM templates
• Familiarity with HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager
• Prior work in security-conscious environments (SOC 2, FedRAMP, etc.)
• Experience with large-scale VMware-to-KVM or VMware-to-Proxmox migrations
• Experience with GitLab Environments and deployment tracking
• Experience integrating provisioning or migration workflows with ITSM tools (e.g., ServiceNow)

Key Constraints

• Availability during US business hours (west coast) with reliable overlap for team meetings and Security review sessions
• All code must be in GitLab with regular, meaningful check-ins.
• All exclusions must be reviewed and approved by the internal Security team before implementation
• Agent installers and dependencies must be sourced through Artifactory — not pulled directly from the internet during pipeline runs
• Live migration is preferred — downtime migrations require prior coordination and agreement with affected end-users
• Contractor must proactively self-review for VMware-specific dependencies and consult with the team leader before proceeding with any uncertain migration
• Production migrations must follow internal change management processes with documented rollback procedures
• All work product is owned by the organization upon engagement close

Working Style Expectations

• Ask early, ask often — the team leader is available and expects the contractor to raise questions and concerns proactively rather than making assumptions.
• Self-sufficient enough to identify and research VMware-specific edge cases independently, but collaborative enough to validate findings with the team before acting. Recommendations and thoughts are welcome to discuss to make final decisions in a clear and open communication environment.
• Treat the production environments (5 years, 300TB, 1,500–2,000 VMs) with appropriate care — no production changes without validation and team alignment.
• Code should be written as if the internal team will maintain it after the engagement ends — readable, documented, and well-organized

#LI-SA1

Russell Tobin offers eligible employee’s comprehensive healthcare coverage (medical, dental, and vision plans), supplemental coverage (accident insurance, critical illness insurance and hospital indemnity), 401(k)-retirement savings, life & disability insurance, an employee assistance program, legal support, auto, home insurance, pet insurance and employee discounts with preferred vendors.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Russell Tobin is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of the race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decision making, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Fair Chance Employment
Russell Tobin is a Fair Chance employer. We consider all qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with applicable state and local Fair Chance laws and ordinances, including, the California Fair Chance Act and all applicable local Fair Chance ordinances.

Accommodations
We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, or to perform the essential functions of this role, please contact us. 

Only applicable for San Francisco Candidates: Under the San Francisco Lactation in the Workplace Ordinance, we will provide written notice of lactation accommodation rights, and this notice will automatically be given upon hiring, any inquiry of parental leave or lactation accommodation.