About Gruve

Gruve is an innovative software services startup dedicated to transforming enterprises to AI powerhouses. We specialize in cybersecurity, customer experience, cloud infrastructure, and advanced technologies such as Large Language Models (LLMs). Our mission is to assist our customers in their business strategies utilizing their data to make more intelligent decisions. As a well-funded early-stage startup, Gruve offers a dynamic environment with strong customer and partner networks.

Position Summary

Platform Automation Engineer responsible for automating the configuration, deployment, and validation of Cisco ISE across Gruve's multi-tenant ISE-as-a-Service (ISEaaS) platform, with 5+ years of experience in infrastructure automation. Owns the Ansible codebase, dynamic inventory, CI/CD pipelines, secrets management, and the automated validation suite that gates every customer onboarding. This role sits at the intersection of automation and network security: the successful candidate will develop working Cisco ISE knowledge as a secondary skill in order to automate the platform meaningfully rather than generically. Working knowledge of AWS and Terraform.

Key Responsibilities

Build and maintain dynamic inventory integration with AWS (amazon.aws.aws_ec2 plugin) driven by resource tags.
Automate Cisco ISE configuration through ERS / OpenAPI interfaces and CLI where API coverage is incomplete.
Automate ISE node bootstrap, deployment formation, persona assignment, certificate operations, logging targets, SNMP configuration, and backup scheduling.
Design and maintain CI/CD pipelines covering linting, validation, plan/approval gates, automated apply, and post-change verification.
Build and own the automated validation suite used as the onboarding acceptance gate, including health checks, replication status, and test authentication.
Implement secure secrets management using AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or ansible-vault; ensure no credentials are stored in code or state.
Collaborate with the Cloud Architect to ensure Terraform outputs integrate cleanly into Ansible inventory and configuration workflows.
Apply automation-first practices to reduce manual effort in patching, upgrades, onboarding, and recurring operational tasks.
Contribute to Terraform module development as a secondary responsibility where infrastructure and configuration overlap.
Automate creation of Network Device Groups and Network Devices (NADs) with RADIUS/TACACS+ shared secrets.
Explicitly own pxGrid automation (certificates, clients, and subscriptions) as a distinct task, not just folded into general certificate operations.
Support creation and validation of the ISE repository used for backup and certificate artifacts.
Run and document a joint Terraform-apply + Ansible-idempotency validation with the AWS Cloud Architect before promoting a tenant to production.

Basic Qualifications

5+ years of experience in infrastructure automation, DevOps, or configuration management roles.
Strong hands-on Ansible experience with production-grade roles and playbooks that the candidate has personally authored.
Practical experience automating network or security appliances via REST API, not solely server operating systems.
Experience designing and operating CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure or configuration changes.
Working knowledge of AWS services and terraform sufficient to collaborate on infrastructure provisioning.
Programming or scripting proficiency in Python (preferred) or equivalent.
Exposure to Cisco ISE, NAC, RADIUS, or 802.1X, or demonstrated ability and willingness to build that knowledge quickly.
Experience with secrets management and secure automation practices.
Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Automation or equivalent certification is an advantage.
Strong documentation and collaboration skills across cloud, network, and security teams.

Preferred Qualifications

Automation & Configuration: Ansible (roles, playbooks, collections, dynamic inventory, ansible-vault), idempotent design, Jinja2 templating.
CI/CD & Version Control: Git, GitHub Actions / GitLab CI / Jenkins, pipeline design, approval gates, OIDC federation for cloud credentials.
Cloud & IaC: AWS (EC2, IAM, Secrets Manager, SSM, S3, tagging), Terraform (working knowledge), cross-account role assumption.
Scripting & APIs: Python, Bash, REST API integration, JSON/YAML, API authentication and error handling.
Secrets & Security: AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, ansible-vault, least-privilege automation identities, secure credential handling.
Testing & Validation: Automated smoke testing, health validation, pytest or equivalent, ansible-lint, molecule (desirable).
Familiar with Technologies: Cisco ISE (ERS / OpenAPI), RADIUS, 802.1X, certificates and PKI, syslog, SNMPv3.

Why Gruve

At Gruve, we foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive and contribute their best work. If you're passionate about technology and eager to make an impact, we'd love to hear from you.

Gruve is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and thank all who apply; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Senior Security Consultant (Cisco ISE/Ansible/AWS)