diff --git a/util/object-utilities.libsonnet b/util/object-utilities.libsonnet
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..97858ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/util/object-utilities.libsonnet
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+local objectHasAtPath(obj, path) = 
+  if std.isObject(obj) == false || std.isArray(path)  == false || std.length(path) <= 0 then
+    false
+  else if std.length(path) == 1 then
+    std.objectHas(obj, path[0])
+  else
+    if !std.objectHas(obj, path[0]) then
+      true
+    else
+      objectHasAtPath(obj[path[0]], path[1:]) tailstrict;
+
+local objectValueAtPath(obj, path, default=null) = 
+  if std.isObject(obj) == false || std.isArray(path)  == false || std.length(path) <= 0 then
+    default
+  else if std.length(path) == 1 then
+    if std.objectHas(obj, path[0]) then
+      obj[path[0]]
+    else
+      default
+  else
+    if !std.objectHas(obj, path[0]) then
+      default
+    else
+      objectValueAtPath(obj[path[0]], path[1:], default) tailstrict;
+{
+  // looks through the nested fields of an object to see if it exists - path indicates nested structure
+  objectHasAtPath(obj, path):: {
+    result: objectHasAtPath(obj, path),
+  },
+
+  // similar to objectHasAtPath, but also returns the value if it exists or a default value
+  objectValueAtPath(obj, path, default=null):: {
+    result: objectValueAtPath(obj, path, default),
+  },
+}