Network Automation Engineer, AI and Infrastructure at Google
Thornton, CO
$126,000–$181,000from the description
Jul 22, 2026
Thornton, CO
Jul 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This role sits at the crossroads of network engineering and software development, focused on building tools and systems that improve the reliability, efficiency, and manageability of a large-scale global IP and optical network. Day-to-day work involves analyzing network data, identifying inefficiencies, and writing software to automate diagnostics and troubleshooting. It suits engineers with hands-on routing protocol experience who are also comfortable writing production code.
Mid level · 3+ years · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Roughly 3,250 people in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO area plausibly meet what this posting asks for (software developers). range 1,350–4,900
Applicant volume Heavy — This req sits in a large pool with little in its requirements to thin it, and auto-apply tools fire at everything in the occupation. Applying early and leading with the rare skills below is what gets read.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $140,636 (middle half $126,359–$175,118). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (5)
This role sits at the intersection of network engineering and software engineering — the primary deliverable is software that analyzes, automates, and improves network systems, which points to 15-1252 (Software Developers). However, the 3-year hard gate is on network routing/design/troubleshooting experience, and the team also operates the network, making 15-1244 a credible runner-up.
The programming language requirement (C++, Go, or Python) is listed as a single interchangeable gate; Go is also called out separately under Preferred qualifications with additional context (RPC frameworks, databases, large-scale data pipelines), so it is captured both ways.
The posting advertises a 15% bonus target plus equity in addition to the $126,000–$181,000 base salary range.
A Bachelor's degree is listed as a minimum qualification but the posting explicitly accepts 'equivalent practical experience' as a substitute, so the degree requirement is set to None.
The job title includes 'Mid' as an explicit level descriptor, consistent with the 3-year experience floor and the framing in the posting header ('Mid — deeper expertise and applied knowledge').
Read the full posting
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