POSITION SPECIFICSPenn State IT is seeking a highly motivated
Wireless Automation Engineer to join the ENCS Wireless team. This position will play a critical role in designing, automating, and operating Penn State's next-generation wireless platform built on Juniper Mist.
Penn State is currently undergoing a multi-year transformation from Aruba wireless infrastructure to a Juniper Mist cloud-managed wireless platform across campuses and facilities statewide. This position will help accelerate and operationalize that transition through automation, telemetry, observability, and modern network engineering practices.
The successful candidate will focus on developing scalable automation, telemetry-driven operations, and modern network engineering practices to improve the reliability, consistency, and operational maturity of one of higher education's largest enterprise wireless environments.
This role combines enterprise wireless engineering with software development, automation, analytics, and observability. The engineer will help drive Penn State's transition toward proactive, data-driven wireless operations through automation, API integrations, configuration-as-code, and intelligent monitoring workflows.
This position works in close partnership with the Wireless Technical Lead and Wireless Manager. While the Technical Lead provides architectural and technical leadership for the wireless platform, this role focuses on automation engineering, operational tooling, telemetry integration, and platform reliability.
While the primary focus of this position is wireless automation engineering and operational modernization, the successful candidate is also expected to maintain a strong understanding of enterprise wireless networking fundamentals and participate as a member of the wireless engineering team, including participation in the team's on-call rotation.
Penn State operates one of the largest higher education networking environments in the country, supporting academic, research, healthcare, residential, and athletic environments across the Commonwealth.
LOCATIONThis position follows a hybrid work model and may require periodic on-site participation for wireless deployments, troubleshooting, testing, meetings, and operational support activities across Penn State locations.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIESWireless Automation & Engineering - Design, develop, and maintain automation workflows for wireless provisioning, configuration management, and large-scale deployments
- Develop reusable automation frameworks and configuration templates for Juniper Mist wireless environments
- Implement configuration-as-code and version-controlled deployment methodologies
- Automate operational tasks including validation, auditing, diagnostics, and recovery workflows
Telemetry, Observability & Analytics - Develop telemetry pipelines and operational dashboards leveraging Mist APIs, RADIUS data, and wireless performance metrics
- Integrate SLE metrics, authentication telemetry, and network health data into enterprise monitoring and alerting platforms
- Build analytics and reporting solutions to improve visibility into user experience, onboarding success, and wireless reliability
- identify operational trends and develop proactive remediation strategies using telemetry and automation
Platform Reliability & Operations - Improve wireless service resilience, operational consistency, and change reliability through automation and standardizatio
- Support enterprise wireless architecture, deployment standards, and lifecycle strategies
- Participate in troubleshooting complex wireless and authentication issues across large-scale enterprise environments
- Contribute to operational readiness, incident response, and service improvement initiatives
- Participate in the wireless engineering team's on-call rotation and support operational escalations as required
Collaboration & Documentation - Collaborate with networking, security, endpoint management, and campus IT teams to improve wireless service delivery
- Develop technical documentation, operational runbooks, and internal self-service tools
- Mentor team members on automation practices and operational modernization
- Participate in cross-functional initiatives supporting Penn State IT modernization efforts
QUALIFICATIONS Qualified candidates will demonstrate experience across several of the following areas:
- Experience supporting enterprise wireless networking environments
- Strong understanding of wireless networking fundamentals, RF concepts, and authentication technologies including EAP-TLS and RADIUS
- Experience developing automation using Python and REST APIs
- Experience working with JSON, scripting, and infrastructure automation concepts
- Familiarity with monitoring, telemetry, or observability platforms
- Strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills in a large, distributed environment
MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONSBachelor's Degree6+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience acceptedRequired Certifications:None
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS- Experience with Juniper Mist wireless platforms and Marvis
- Experience with infrastructure automation tools such as Ansible or Terraform
- Familiarity with CI/CD workflows, Git, and DevOps practices
- Experience integrating APIs and telemetry into operational workflows
- Experience with Power BI, Splunk, Grafana, or similar analytics and visualization platforms
- Familiarity with cloud-managed networking platforms
- Familiarity with event-driven automation, webhooks, and real-time data processing
- Industry certifications such as CWNA, CWNP, JNCIS, or equivalent
DESIRED COMPETENCIES - Automation-first engineering mindset
- Strong attention to operational consistency and reliability
- Passion for continuous improvement and operational modernization
- Ability to balance engineering, operational support, and strategic initiatives
- Strong documentation and process discipline
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced enterprise environment
- Customer-focused approach to service delivery and user experience
BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCESEmployment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. This position requires that you operate a motor vehicle as a part of your job duties. A valid driver's license and successful completion of a motor vehicle records check will be required in addition to standard background checks.
Penn State does not sponsor or take over sponsorship of a staff employment Visa. Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.
SALARY & BENEFITSThe salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $76,700.00 - $115,100.00.
Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure
Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.
CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICSPursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.
