Automation Solution Consultant - Senior

Assignment: RQ00219 - Automation Solution Consultant - Senior Requisition: RQ00219 Job Title: Automation Solution Consultant - Senior Client: Metrolinx Start Date: 2026-08-17 End Date: 2027-02-17 Department: Operations Office Location: 277 Front St W, Toronto Business Days: 133.00 Location: Remote 4 p.m. and 12:00 am shift (preference) Public Sector Experience: Nice to Have

Must Haves:

• 7+ years of hands-on Ansible automation experience in production environments.
• 7+ years Windows Server 2012, 2019 and 2022
• 7+ years PowerShell (Windows automation)
• 7+ years Bash or shell scripting (Linux automation)
• 7+ years Enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL, Ubuntu, or equivalent)

Description

• We are seeking a Senior Ansible Automation Engineer to lead automation initiatives within a large enterprise IT operations environment. This role is responsible for designing and implementing automation solutions that improve consistency, security, and operational efficiency across enterprise Windows and Linux server infrastructure.
• The successful candidate will combine deep Ansible automation expertise with advanced systems administration experience across Windows Server (2019/2022) and enterprise Linux platforms, supporting large-scale operational environments with strong governance, reliability, and compliance requirements.
• This is a hands-on technical role focused on reducing manual operational work through automation while ensuring stability, security, and scalability of production systems.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Automation & Standardization

• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise-grade automation using Ansible across Windows and Linux environments.
• Build reusable Ansible roles, playbooks, inventories, and automation frameworks aligned with enterprise standards.
• Establish automation governance, coding standards, and reusable automation patterns, while maintaining source-controlled automation repositories and documentation.
• Automate provisioning, configuration management, compliance enforcement, and operational workflows, reducing manual administration across the enterprise.
• Lead the transition from manual administration to automation-first operations.
• Design and implement phased patch deployment strategies (Dev Test UAT Production) ensuring environment promotion discipline.
• Automate end-to-end patch lifecycle management using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager APIs, PowerShell modules, WSUS integration, and ADR (Automatic Deployment Rules).
• Automate maintenance window execution, change sequencing, pre- and post-deployment validation, rollback procedures, and compliance verification aligned with enterprise ITIL processes.
• Build approval-gated promotion pipelines with reporting dashboards to ensure auditability, production stability, and compliance adherence.
• Optimize patch baselines, supersedence management, deployment scheduling, and automated remediation workflows for large-scale server environments.

Monitoring & Event Management

• Design and implement event-driven automation workflows triggered by enterprise monitoring platforms (e.g., Micro Focus Operations Bridge or equivalent).
• Integrate monitoring systems with automation frameworks and ITSM platforms (e.g., ServiceNow) using REST APIs and webhooks.
• Develop automated remediation runbooks for threshold-based and binary alerts to reduce manual NOC intervention.
• Implement closed-loop automation, including automated ticket creation, status updates, and event resolution feedback.
• Define alert correlation, suppression logic, and escalation workflows aligned with enterprise operational standards.
• Continuously optimize event noise reduction and improve mean time to resolution (MTTR) through intelligent automation.

Windows Server Infrastructure Administration

• Provide senior-level administration and support for Windows Server 2019 and 2022 environments.
• Manage server lifecycle activities including provisioning, configuration, patching, upgrades, and decommissioning.
• Administer and troubleshoot:
• Active Directory and Group Policy
• DNS, DHCP, and core enterprise services
• File and application services
• Implement OS hardening aligned with enterprise security standards.
• Support backup, disaster recovery, and high availability solutions.

Linux Systems Administration

• Administer enterprise Linux environments (e.g., Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, or equivalent).
• Perform installation, configuration, patch management, and system upgrades.
• Manage system services, package management, and OS security configurations.
• Implement automation for configuration enforcement and system compliance.
• Troubleshoot performance, networking, and system-level issues.
• Support enterprise authentication integrations (LDAP/AD integration preferred).

Operational Excellence

• Automate routine operational tasks including patching, configuration validation, and remediation.
• Reduce configuration drift through automated compliance enforcement.
• Develop operational runbooks and automated recovery procedures.
• Participate in incident response, root cause analysis, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Partner with Security, Architecture, and Infrastructure teams to align automation with enterprise policies and standards.

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

• Act as a technical lead for infrastructure automation initiatives.
• Mentor systems administrators and operations teams in automation practices.
• Promote automation adoption across infrastructure teams.
• Work within enterprise change management and release processes.
• Provide strategic input into automation tooling and infrastructure standards.

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of enterprise IT infrastructure or systems administration experience.
• 7+ years of hands-on Ansible automation experience in production environments.
• Advanced administration experience with:
• Windows Server 2012, 2019 and 2022
• Enterprise Linux distributions (RHEL, Ubuntu, or equivalent)

Strong scripting experience:

• PowerShell (Windows automation)
• Bash or shell scripting (Linux automation)
• Experience automating Windows systems using WinRM and Ansible Windows modules.
• Solid Linux administration skills including package management, services, permissions, and networking.
• Deep knowledge of enterprise infrastructure services:
• Active Directory
• DNS and networking fundamentals
• Experience operating within structured enterprise or ITIL-based environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Ansible Automation Platform, AWX, or Ansible Tower.
• Experience managing environments with hundreds or thousands of servers.
• Hybrid or cloud infrastructure experience (Microsoft Azure preferred).
• Experience with security baselines, CIS hardening, or compliance automation.
• Familiarity with Infrastructure as Code and DevOps practices within enterprise operations.
• Virtualization experience (VMware, Hyper-V, or similar).

Technical Skills

• Ansible automation (roles, playbooks, collections)
• SCCM API / PowerShell automation
• WSUS integration
• ADR (Automatic Deployment Rules)
• Patch compliance reporting
• PowerShell and Bash scripting
• Windows Server administration
• Linux systems administration
• Git version control
• YAML and automation design principles
• Patch automation and configuration enforcement
• Enterprise monitoring and logging platforms

Soft Skills

• Strong operational mindset focused on reliability and stability.
• Ability to translate manual operational processes into scalable automation.
• Excellent documentation and communication skills.
• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities.
• Collaborative approach across infrastructure, security, and application teams.

Education & Certifications (Preferred)

• Degree or diploma in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• Microsoft Windows Server or Azure certifications.
• Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) or equivalent Linux certification.
• Red Hat Ansible Automation certification.
• ITIL Foundation certification or equivalent.

Success Measures

• Reduction in manual server administration effort.
• Increased automation adoption across Windows and Linux platforms.
• Improved configuration consistency and compliance.
• Reduced operational incidents through automated remediation.