Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer - job 1 of 2

The Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer at Experian is responsible for the day-to-day management of large-scale servers, including both physical and virtual machines. You'll develop automation tools and processes that are crucial for scaling operations and ensuring system health. Additionally, you'll lead disaster recovery testing and oversee critical services, all while fostering best practices within your team. Your expertise will help streamline server builds, automate validation processes, and maintain 24/7 availability of key applications.

To qualify as a Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer at Experian, a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field is required, accompanied by five years of experience in the role or a related occupation. Candidates should have strong expertise in automation technologies such as Ansible and Jenkins, demonstrate proficiency in network automation, and have experience with IT service management, security protocols, and server decommissioning processes.

In the role of a Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer at Experian, you play an essential part in ensuring business continuity through disaster recovery planning. Your responsibilities will include conducting rigorous disaster recovery testing and managing the restoration of critical services during DR events. Your expertise in automating processes will enhance the efficiency and reliability of recovery efforts, ensuring that infrastructure remains resilient under pressure.

As a Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer at Experian, you will leverage various automation and management tools to excel in your role. This will include using Ansible for server builds, Cisco’s API for network automation, and service management platforms like ServiceNow. Familiarity with tools such as Truesight, Tanium, and CyberArk will also be vital for maintaining cybersecurity compliance and operational effectiveness.

Career progression for a Lead Infrastructure Automation Engineer at Experian can be quite vibrant. Starting in this role, you will gain invaluable experience in managing high-level infrastructure and automation processes. With successful performance, there are ample opportunities to move into senior management roles or specialized positions within the company, such as Senior Infrastructure Architect or even Director of Infrastructure Operations. Continuous learning and mentorship will also pave the way for further advancement.

When addressing your experience with automation tools such as Ansible and Jenkins, be sure to highlight specific projects where you've implemented these technologies. Discuss how you've used Ansible to automate server builds and configuration management, as well as Jenkins for continuous integration and delivery processes. Make it clear how you've contributed to streamlined operations and improved efficiency in previous roles.

In responding to this question, emphasize your systematic approach to disaster recovery. Discuss methodologies you've employed to assess risks, establish recovery time objectives (RTO), and develop testing protocols. Provide examples of past DR tests you have facilitated, detailing the outcomes and improvements made to the recovery process as a result of your initiatives.

To effectively ensure the health and availability of production servers, explain your monitoring strategies. Detail how you utilize tools for performance tracking and log analysis to proactively identify issues. Talk about your experience implementing alerts and the protocols you follow for incident resolution, demonstrating your commitment to maintaining high system availability.

When discussing your mentoring approach, be open about your belief in fostering a collaborative and supportive learning environment. Share your experiences guiding junior staff through hands-on training, encouraging open dialogue for questions, and providing constructive feedback. Illustrate how you empower them by involving them in projects, helping to build their confidence and skills for future responsibilities.

Reflect on specific challenges you have encountered in automation, such as integrating legacy systems or resistance to change within teams. Discuss how you addressed these hurdles by leveraging your technical skills, facilitating team workshops to demonstrate automation benefits, and pursuing incremental automation strategies to align with the team’s comfort with new technologies.

Provide insight into your time management skills by describing your prioritization process. Mention how you assess the urgency and impact of tasks and how you use tools like Kanban boards or task management software to keep your work structured. Share real-life examples of how you have effectively managed competing responsibilities in high-pressure situations.

In your response, summarize your experience with network automation, specifically mentioning any projects where you've utilized Cisco’s API. Explain how you've created endpoint groups and streamlined network operations. Discuss the outcomes of these projects, such as improvements in efficiency or reductions in manual errors, which highlight your capabilities in automation.

Discuss your approach to managing on-call responsibilities, focusing on how you stay prepared for unexpected incidents. Mention the importance of establishing clear incident response protocols and maintaining thorough documentation. Share tips on balancing work-life while on call, such as effective communication with teams to manage workloads and ensure a seamless flow of information during incidents.

Elaborate on the methods you have employed in validating automated builds, indicating your familiarity with tools that facilitate this process. Discuss your approach to ensuring that all builds meet specification requirements by integrating checks into the CI/CD pipeline, utilizing tests for performance and security to guarantee that deployments are robust and reliable.

In your answer, emphasize your commitment to continuous learning and professional development. Talk about how you follow industry blogs, take part in webinars, attend conferences, and engage in community forums. Describe how actively seeking knowledge allows you to implement the best practices and latest technologies into your infrastructure automation strategies, benefiting the overall team and organization.