Entry Level Cloud Infrastructure Network Monitoring and Automation Software Engineer - San Jose, CA - 2027

At IBM, work is more than a job. It is a calling: To build. To design. To code. To consult. To think along with clients and sell. To make markets. To invent. To collaborate. Not just to do something better, but to attempt things you have never thought possible. Are you ready to lead in this new era of technology and solve some of the world's most challenging problems? If so, let's talk. About Business Unit IBM Cloud is the global public cloud platform from IBM, one of the most secure, scalable, and enterprise-ready cloud platforms in the world. IBM Cloud powers thousands of enterprises with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings delivered across public, private, and hybrid cloud models. Within IBM Cloud, the Network Underlay organization is responsible for designing, building, and operating the physical and software-defined network infrastructure that underpins IBM Cloud's global fleet of data centers. NetTools is the automation and tooling engineering team within Network Underlay. We build the software systems that allow network engineers to provision, configure, monitor, and manage network infrastructure at scale, across dozens of data centers globally. The Network Automation mission within NetTools develops and operates three interconnected platforms: NCS/Axon (Network Configuration Service), the system that automates the full lifecycle of network switch configuration from initial rack bring-up to day-to-day operations; SSOT (Source of Truth) and Hivemind, the authoritative data stores for network configuration state in classic and next-generation data center environments respectively; and the associated monitoring, validation, and reporting pipelines that keep our network infrastructure compliant, observable, and reliable. Software Developers at IBM are the backbone of our strategic initiatives to design, code, test, and provide industry-leading solutions that make the world run today. Planes and trains take off on time, bank transactions complete in the blink of an eye, and the world remains safe because of the work our software developers do. At IBM, you will use the latest software development tools, techniques, and approaches and work with leading minds in the industry to build solutions you can be proud of. As a Back-End Developer on the NetTools Network Automation team, you will own and deliver production-grade back-end services and automation pipelines that are critical to the daily operation of IBM Cloud's network infrastructure. You will work alongside senior engineers building and evolving the Axon/NCS platform and the SSOT/Hivemind systems, taking on direct ownership of components from design through delivery. Your responsibilities will include: Implement and automate infrastructure solutions: design, develop, and maintain back-end Python microservices that implement Day-0 (initial network provisioning, Zero Touch Provisioning) and Day-2 (operational changes, firmware updates, configuration drift remediation) automation workflows. This includes owning REST API endpoints, YAML-driven input processing, and Jinja2-based configuration generation pipelines that produce switch configurations deployed across IBM Cloud data centers. Build and maintain automated test frameworks: design, implement, and own unit, integration, and end-to-end regression tests for the Axon/NCS platform. Establishing reliable test coverage and a dedicated test environment is a key team priority, and this role will drive that work forward, including authoring test cases, identifying edge conditions, and validating end-to-end workflow correctness. Build and set up CI/CD pipelines in OpenShift and Kubernetes environments: administer automated CI/CD systems and tools that support the development and test lifecycle of NCS/Axon services, ensuring reliable and repeatable delivery of changes to production. Own SSOT and Hivemind integration work: design and deliver the interfaces between NCS/Axon and the SSOT/Hivemind data platforms (backed by NetBox and CockroachDB), ensuring that network context data (rack topology, port mappings, cable connections, device inventory) is reliably consumed and validated by the automation workflows. Support the compliance and security integrity of the environment: contribute to the NCS Overhaul initiative by hardening service components, improving Docker container configuration practices, writing operational runbooks, and ensuring the platform meets IBM's security and compliance requirements. Partner with cross-functional teams on alerting and monitoring: collaborate with Network Engineering, Data Center Operations, and program managers to develop and maintain observability for mission-critical NCS services, and provide technical escalation support for infrastructure operations teams. Back-end development in Python: demonstrated experience writing and maintaining production Python services, including REST API design and consumption (e.g., Flask, FastAPI, or equivalent), JSON/YAML data processing, and service-layer business logic. Version control and collaborative development with Git: proficiency working in a Git-based team workflow, including branching strategies, pull requests, code reviews, and CI/CD integration. Containerization and deployment: working knowledge of Docker (building, configuring, and running containers) and familiarity with container orchestration via Kubernetes or OpenShift. NCS runs as containerized workloads on IBM's Fabric Container Platform. REST API design and HTTP fundamentals: ability to design, implement, document, and consume RESTful APIs. The Axon architecture exposes Day-0 and Day-2 network build APIs consumed by multiple service teams across IBM Cloud. Automated testing and software quality: experience writing unit and integration tests, building regression test suites, and applying software quality practices in a production-critical environment. Working knowledge with one or more operating systems: Ubuntu (preferred), RHEL, or CentOS Linux. Working knowledge with one or more programming tools: Bash, PowerShell, Python, Ruby, or Go. Working knowledge with key infrastructure tools: Ansible, Chef, or equivalent configuration management tooling. Familiarity with template engines such as Jinja2 or Helm. Configuration generation in NCS is built on Jinja2 templates rendered from YAML-based rack context inputs. Basic understanding of networking concepts: IP addressing (IPv4/IPv6), VLANs, switching, routing fundamentals, or exposure to Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP). Intellectual curiosity about network infrastructure at scale is a strong plus. Working knowledge with monitoring and observability technologies: Zabbix (preferred), Splunk, or Grafana. Working knowledge with ServiceNow, JIRA, Confluence, and GitHub