Automation Analyst

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking an Automation Analyst to support a long-term DOD program focused on automation, process improvement, systems integration, and operational efficiency across a large-scale enterprise environment. This position is 100% onsite in Norfolk, VA and will support the U.S. Navy in identifying, designing, implementing, and maintaining automation solutions that improve service delivery, data quality, reliability, and operational performance. The Automation Analyst will partner with technical teams and business stakeholders to identify manual and repetitive processes, translate requirements into automation use cases, and develop, test, deploy, and support automated workflows. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with PowerShell and/or Python, workflow automation, APIs, configuration management, CI/CD, and enterprise systems integration. Experience with Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath, Ansible, Jenkins, Git/Bitbucket, Azure, Splunk, Power BI, and AI/LLM technologies is highly desirable. Responsibilities of the Automation Analyst include: Analyze business and technical processes to identify opportunities for automation, optimization, and operational improvementEvaluate manual and repetitive processes based on business value, technical feasibility, risk, repeatability, and potential efficiency gainsDocument current-state and future-state workflows, process maps, business rules, dependencies, and automation requirementsPartner with technical teams, business stakeholders, infrastructure teams, cybersecurity teams, application teams, data teams, and operations personnel to define automation requirementsGather and translate stakeholder requirements into automation use cases, functional requirements, acceptance criteria, process documentation, and implementation plansDesign, develop, test, deploy, and maintain enterprise automation solutionsDevelop automation using PowerShell, Python, Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath, REST APIs, and comparable workflow and orchestration technologiesDevelop scripts and automated workflows to reduce manual operational tasks and improve service deliveryRead, modify, troubleshoot, test, and maintain existing automation scripts and workflowsDevelop reusable automation components, scripts, functions, workflows, and integrationsIntegrate automation with enterprise applications, data sources, ticketing systems, cloud services, monitoring platforms, and APIsDevelop secure API-driven integrations using REST APIs, JSON, authentication mechanisms, structured data formats, and appropriate error handlingImplement appropriate logging, exception handling, alerting, retry mechanisms, and automated recovery processesSupport configuration-management and CI/CD practices using Ansible, Jenkins, Bitbucket, Git, Azure DevOps, or comparable technologiesUtilize source control and version-management practices to maintain automation code, workflows, configuration files, and documentationSupport automated testing, deployment, validation, and change traceability for automation solutionsMonitor automation performance, utilization, failures, reliability, and realized business benefitsTroubleshoot automation failures and defects and perform root-cause analysis to identify underlying technical issuesImplement improvements to increase automation reliability, scalability, efficiency, and user adoptionDevelop metrics, dashboards, and reporting to measure automation performance and operational improvementsSupport operational analytics using tools such as Power BI and SplunkDevelop and maintain technical documentation, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), solution diagrams, test evidence, runbooks, automation inventories, and operational proceduresMaintain documentation throughout the automation lifecycle, including requirements, design, testing, deployment, maintenance, and retirementLeverage approved Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities for appropriate automation use casesSupport AI-enabled use cases including information extraction, classification, summarization, workflow assistance, decision support, and intelligent process automationDevelop and utilize effective prompts, structured outputs, validation processes, and human-in-the-loop review for AI-enabled workflowsEnsure AI-enabled automation follows applicable security, privacy, access-control, data-handling, and responsible-AI requirementsIntegrate approved AI/LLM services into automated workflows using APIs, prompt templates, structured outputs, and retrieval/grounding techniquesCoordinate with cybersecurity and compliance teams to ensure automation solutions meet applicable security and operational requirementsSupport automation solutions throughout their lifecycle from requirements gathering and design through deployment, monitoring, maintenance, and continuous improvementParticipate in Agile, DevOps, and continuous-improvement activitiesSupport solutions operating in mission-critical and potentially classified DoD environmentsMaintain awareness of applicable cybersecurity, configuration-management, change-management, release-management, and audit requirementsCommunicate technical concepts, automation opportunities, risks, and recommendations to both technical and non-technical stakeholders Qualifications of the SRE Automation Analyst include: 7+ years of experience in systems engineering, automation, systems analysis, process improvement, scripting, application support, IT operations, data analysis, or a related technical disciplineActive Secret clearanceIAT Level II-compliant certification, such as CompTIA Security+ CE or an equivalent DoD-approved certificationBachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Data/Business Analytics, or a related technical discipline; equivalent relevant professional experience may be consideredHands-on experience with PowerShell and/or PythonExperience developing, modifying, testing, troubleshooting, and maintaining automation scripts or workflowsExperience with workflow automation and process automation conceptsExperience gathering requirements and translating business and technical requirements into automation solutionsExperience analyzing manual processes and identifying opportunities for automation and process improvementExperience documenting business rules, workflows, process maps, requirements, acceptance criteria, and implementation plansExperience with REST APIs, JSON, authentication methods, and systems integrationExperience with Git-based source control such as Git, Bitbucket, or GitHubWorking knowledge of CI/CD concepts and software/infrastructure delivery practicesStrong analytical, troubleshooting, documentation, and problem-solving skillsAbility to manage multiple priorities within a mission-critical enterprise environmentAbility to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholdersWorking knowledge of AI and Large Language Model (LLM) conceptsFamiliarity with responsible use of AI-enabled tools, including prompt design, output validation, human review, and appropriate data handling Preferred Qualifications of the SRE Automation Analyst include: Experience with Microsoft Power Automate, UiPath, Automation Anywhere, or ServiceNow Flow Designer/Automation EngineExperience with enterprise Robotic Process Automation (RPA)Experience developing reusable automation components and enterprise workflow solutionsExperience with Ansible and configuration managementExperience with Jenkins, Bitbucket, Git, GitLab, Azure DevOps, or comparable CI/CD and collaboration platformsExperience with scheduled and event-driven automation workflowsExperience implementing workflow logging, monitoring, alerting, exception handling, retry logic, and automated recoveryExperience with Power BI, Splunk, or other business intelligence, analytics, monitoring, and reporting platformsMicrosoft Azure experience, including Azure administration, identity, monitoring, automation, and/or hybrid cloud environmentsMicrosoft Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104) certificationExperience leveraging enterprise-approved AI/LLM platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, or Google GeminiExperience integrating AI/LLM capabilities into automated workflows using APIs, prompt templates, structured outputs, retrieval/grounding techniques, and human-in-the-loop validationExperience with responsible AI practices including data handling, access control, privacy, security, and model-output validationExperience with SQL, data transformation, ETL/ELT, and data integrationExperience developing operational metrics, dashboards, and automation performance reportingFamiliarity with Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), Risk Management Framework (RMF), vulnerability management, and DoD cybersecurity controlsExperience working in classified or unclassified DoD/government environmentsExperience supporting environments with formal configuration, change, release, security, and audit requirementsExperience with Agile, DevOps, DevSecOps, or SRE methodologiesMicrosoft Power Platform, UiPath, Azure, Splunk, or other relevant automation/cloud/analytics certifications Compensation for the SRE Automation Analyst includes: Salary: $95,000-$100,000 depending on experienceBenefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k Plan, Holidays, PTO, sick leave as required by law Keywords: SRE Automation Analyst, Automation Analyst, Automation Engineer, SRE Automation Engineer, SRE Engineer, Site Reliability Engineer, Site Reliability Engineering, Automation Developer, Automation Specialist, Process Automation, IT Automation, Infrastructure Automation, Enterprise Automation, Workflow Automation, Workflow Engineer, Workflow Developer, Business Process Automation, Process Improvement, Robotic Process Automation, RPA, RPA Developer, RPA Engineer, Intelligent Automation, Automation Orchestration, Workflow Orchestration, Systems Analyst, Systems Engineer, Systems Integration, Application Support, IT Operations, Infrastructure Operations, DevOps, DevSecOps, Platform Engineering, PowerShell, PowerShell scripting, PowerShell automation, Python, Python scripting, Python automation, scripting, scripting languages, automation scripts, script development, script debugging, script maintenance, Microsoft Power Automate, Power Automate, Microsoft Power Platform, Power Platform, UiPath, Automation Anywhere, ServiceNow Flow Designer, ServiceNow Automation Engine, workflow development, automated workflows, workflow design, process mapping, business process analysis, requirements gathering, requirements analysis, functional requirements, technical requirements, acceptance criteria, business rules, process improvement, process optimization, process analysis, current-state workflows, future-state workflows, API integration, REST APIs, REST, JSON, API automation, API-driven automation, web services, authentication, OAuth, structured data, systems integration, enterprise integration, application integration, data integration, cloud integration, ticketing systems, ITSM, ServiceNow, configuration management, configuration automation, Ansible, Ansible Playbooks, Ansible automation, Jenkins, Git, GitLab, GitHub, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps, CI/CD, CI CD, continuous integration, continuous deployment, DevOps pipelines, deployment automation, automated testing, software delivery, version control, source control, Git workflows, release management, change management, configuration management, infrastructure as code, IaC, infrastructure orchestration, automated deployment, scheduled workflows, event-driven workflows, workflow triggers, exception handling, error handling, retry logic, automated recovery, logging, monitoring, alerting, automation monitoring, automation reliability, root cause analysis, RCA, troubleshooting, performance monitoring, operational efficiency, operational reliability, service delivery, automation metrics, automation KPIs, business value, ROI, process metrics, Power BI, Microsoft Power BI, dashboards, business intelligence, BI, Splunk, Splunk dashboards, operational analytics, data analytics, reporting, SQL, databases, data transformation, ETL, ELT, data pipelines, data analysis, Microsoft Azure, Azure, Azure administration, Azure automation, Azure monitoring, Azure identity, Azure AD, Entra ID, hybrid cloud, Azure Administrator, AZ-104, artificial intelligence, AI, generative AI, GenAI, Large Language Models, LLM, LLM automation, AI automation, AI-enabled workflows, AI integration, prompt engineering, prompt design, prompt templates, structured outputs, information extraction, text classification, summarization, decision support, workflow assistance, retrieval augmented generation, RAG, grounding, human-in-the-loop, AI validation, model output validation, responsible AI, AI governance, Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI, OpenAI GPT, GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, AI APIs, LLM APIs, AI agents, intelligent automation, cybersecurity, cybersecurity controls, security compliance, STIG, DISA STIG, RMF, Risk Management Framework, vulnerability management, configuration compliance, audit compliance, DoD, DOD, Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, Navy, NMCI, NGEN, government IT, federal IT, defense contracting, cleared IT, classified environments, government contracting, Secret clearance, Active Secret, IAT II, IAT Level II, Security+, Security+ CE, Norfolk VA, Norfolk Virginia, Hampton Roads