Systems Administrator-Senior

Location: Chantilly, VA
Security Clearance: Active TS or higher [Required]
Job Type: Full-Time
Target Salary Range*: $100,000 - $150,000

*This represents the potential salary range for this position depending on education level, years of experience and/or certifications in addition to other position specific requirements which may impact salary

---

Position Overview

Provision, configure, and maintain highly available enterprise systems while advancing automation, operational efficiency, and secure infrastructure management. Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC), configuration management, and automation tools to streamline administration, improve reliability, and strengthen cybersecurity posture.

Provide technical mentorship, promote standardization, and lead system optimization initiatives across the enterprise.

Key Responsibilities

System Administration and Availability

• Provision, configure, and maintain highly available enterprise systems.
• Monitor system health and resolve issues to ensure continuous availability.
• Optimize system reliability and performance.

Automation and Operational Improvement

• Drive automation initiatives using IaC and configuration management tools.
• Standardize system configurations and operational procedures.
• Lead system optimization initiatives to improve operational efficiency.

Security and Infrastructure Management

• Implement and optimize system security controls.
• Strengthen cybersecurity posture through secure infrastructure management practices.

Technical Mentorship

• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to systems administration teams.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree. [Required]

Experience

• Minimum of 8 years of experience. [Required]
• Experience managing Windows and/or Linux server environments. [Required]
• Experience with cloud and hybrid-cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. [Required]
• Experience with patch management, automation, and enterprise security controls. [Required]

Skills

• Strong knowledge of IaC and configuration management tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, or Chef. [Required]
• Knowledge of system monitoring, backup, disaster recovery, and performance optimization practices. [Required]
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills. [Required]

Cloud and Enterprise Infrastructure Requirements

• Air-gapped hybrid cloud and on-premises operational environments, including complex multi-enclave ecosystems.
• AWS GovCloud/SC2S/C2S and GCP cloud platforms.
• Nutanix host and cluster configuration, management with Prism Central, and NDFS configuration and management.
• Locally hosted GPU servers.
• Cloud cost-optimization techniques.
• Operating systems: Linux, including Rocky, Red Hat, Amazon, and Ubuntu; Windows; and macOS.

Networking and Cross-Domain Requirements

• Cisco switching, routing, firewalling, and site-to-site functionality, such as IPsec, DMVPN, and SD-WAN.
• Multi-tenant Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS).
• Cloud networking and VPC configuration.
• High-assurance cross-domain and encryption solutions, including TACLANE and NCAP.

Automation and Containerization Requirements

• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and Ansible.
• Containerization and orchestration using Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift.
• Advanced GitLab CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.

Security and Identity Requirements

• Cloud-native security implementation and security accreditation processes.
• Identity and access services: Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP / OpenLDAP, Entra ID, and Keycloak.

Data Services and Monitoring Requirements

• Enterprise database services: RDS, RDS Aurora, and DynamoDB.
• Monitoring, logging, and data platforms: Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, and Splunk.

Application Architecture and Development Requirements

• Serverless architectures using Lambda.
• Microservices architecture and API Gateway implementation.
• Development experience with Python, .NET/C#, and related languages.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with containerized environments and orchestration platforms such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Microsoft, Red Hat, VMware, AWS, Azure, or comparable infrastructure certifications.
• Knowledge of DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure automation frameworks.
• Experience supporting highly regulated, government, defense, or enterprise environments.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks, vulnerability management, and security auditing processes.
• Experience mentoring junior administrators and leading infrastructure improvement initiatives.