Portland, Oregon, United States
Kavan is a Senior Network Automation Engineer focused on building automation platforms that make network deployments repeatable at scale. I specialize in source‑of‑truth data modeling (DCIM/IPAM/CMDB), config generation, ZTP workflows, and device validation/health checks that reduce manual effort and improve reliability! Over 7+ years I’ve led automation initiatives that cut operator involvement by 75–98%, built ZTP pipelines for edge and datacenter networks, and delivered validation tooling that ensures infrastructure is production‑ready before workloads land. My background spans multi‑vendor environments (Arista, Cisco, Juniper, F5, Mellanox and others), cloud/edge networking, and cross‑functional collaboration with deployment, DCIM, and infrastructure engineering teams. I’ve operated at the intersection of engineering and outcomes: designing automation systems, setting standards, and driving operational improvements that scale across teams. I’m now focused on senior roles that expand into technical leadership, with a long‑term path toward director‑level ownership of network automation and infrastructure platforms.
-Develop ZTP automation pipeline for edge devices (75% reduction in operator involved configuration) -Develop Selenium automation assets to assist with EVSE, PV and BESS device commissioning -Automate Firmware QA and test process for 4G/5G edge routers -Implement single source of truth within existing systems for network topology and inventory -Automate syslog ingestion with LLM to early identify connection & hardware failures -Various networking architecture and engineering duties -Developed Cradlepoint Firmware Upgrade e2e Automation (10x reduction in operator effort)
-Developer for network automation use cases impacting a wide range of teams and stakeholders Identified, fixed and proposed new features for existing automations -Developed CMDB Remediation Automation: Probe device subcomponents for CMDB sync of Cisco devices cutting operator involvement by over 98% -Developed DNAC and POAP pnp provisioning Automation: Catalyst 9k, Nexus 3k, Nexus 9k cutting operator involved provisioning time by 96%
-Promoted twice: Sales Engineer to Solutions Architect, Solutions Architect to Principal Solutions Architect -Executed winning POCs: J&J, Nike, Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Verizon, Rakuten, DoD, etc. -Packaged and build internal team docker builds with customized content for customer review -Maintained 9/10 technical win rate throughout tenure -Developed and maintained rapport, demonstrated technical acumen and built relationships with key stakeholders which provided invaluable insights during the sales process -Collaborated closely with sales and sales leadership on forecast reporting, rapport building and account status -Assisted sales team with RFP, RFI, and RFQ related inquiries from prospects to competitively position our offering to win procurement -First line resource to customers in pre-sales environment providing technical support and guiding the prospect through the test drive of the product -Increased YoY sales by 450% in the North American region throughout tenure -Provided bug reports, stack traces, customer feedback and feature suggestions for product team in regular cadence
-Analyze and present technical details w/clients, review POCs and draft documents -Leverage internal engineering resources to win business -Draft proposal, technical and RFPs w/assistance from HQ, sales and marketing personnel
Hortonworks: The premier Hadoop and Big Data company. -Represented Hortonworks at key Industry events: Innotech, OSCON, EMC Roadshow -Managed and expanded footprint w/top firms in assigned region! -Honed MEDDIC sales process to qualify and close