Linux System Administrator

Location: Springfield, VA

Work Arrangement: Fully Onsite

Salary: $150,000 Clearance: Active Top Secret Required

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview: We are seeking a Linux Systems Administrator / Dev Ops Engineer to support highly available Linux infrastructure and production technology environments supporting Department of Defense programs. This position combines traditional Linux systems administration with production application support, troubleshooting, automation, and Dev Ops responsibilities. The ideal candidate is comfortable administering enterprise Linux environments while also investigating escalated software and application issues, reviewing logs, troubleshooting integrations, and working alongside development and engineering teams to resolve production problems. This is a hands-on technical position requiring an active Top Secret and the ability to work fully onsite in Springfield, VA.

Responsibilities: Administer, maintain, troubleshoot, and support enterprise Linux systems in production environments Manage Linux servers including operating system configuration, patching, upgrades, package management, storage, permissions, services, and system performance Troubleshoot complex Linux infrastructure, operating system, network, and application issues Serve as an escalation point for technical support issues involving production software and applications Analyze application, system, and service logs to identify root causes of production incidents Work with software developers, Dev Ops engineers, infrastructure teams, and application owners to resolve complex technical issues Support deployment, configuration, and operation of applications running within Linux environments Develop and maintain automation using tools such as Ansible, Bash, Python, or similar technologies Support CI/CD processes and Dev Ops tooling used to deploy and maintain production applications Manage system services, processes, scheduled jobs, configuration files, certificates, and user access Monitor system health, availability, capacity, and performance Troubleshoot networking concepts including DNS, TCP/IP, routing, ports, firewalls, and connectivity Support security hardening, vulnerability remediation, patching, and compliance requirements within classified environments Participate in root-cause analysis and develop solutions to prevent recurring production issues Create and maintain technical documentation, troubleshooting procedures, and operational runbooks

Required Qualifications: Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility/access Strong professional experience administering Linux systems in enterprise or production environments Hands-on experience with Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Rocky Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu, or similar Strong Linux troubleshooting skills including: System services and processes File systems and storage Permissions and user administration Networking Performance and resource utilization Log analysis Package management and patching Experience troubleshooting production software or application-related issues, not solely infrastructure Experience with automation or configuration management technologies such as Ansible Scripting experience with Bash, Python, Power Shell, or similar languages Familiarity with Git and source-control workflows Understanding of Dev Ops principles and modern software deployment practices Strong troubleshooting and problem-solving skills in mission-critical environments Ability to work fully onsite in Springfield, Virginia

Preferred Qualifications: Experience supporting Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or other classified environments Experience with STIGs, system hardening, vulnerability remediation, and security compliance Experience with Dev Ops and CI/CD technologies such as Jenkins, Git Lab CI/CD, Azure Dev Ops, or similar platforms Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or other container technologies Experience with Infrastructure as Code or configuration management tools such as Terraform or Ansible Experience supporting VMware or other virtualized infrastructure Experience with monitoring and logging platforms such as Splunk, ELK/Open Search, Prometheus, Grafana, or similar tools Familiarity with web/application technologies, APIs, databases, and multi-tier application environments Experience supporting high-availability or mission-critical production systems

What We’re Looking For: This role is best suited for someone who is more than a traditional Linux administrator. We are looking for an engineer who can own Linux infrastructure, troubleshoot applications running on top of it, dig through logs and production incidents, automate repetitive administration, and collaborate effectively with software and Dev Ops teams. Candidates should be comfortable operating in an environment where infrastructure administration, application support, security, and Dev Ops frequently overlap. Active Top Secret/SCI clearance is required. This position is fully onsite in Springfield, VA.