Systems Engineer - Level II (Linux Engineer)

Team: Information Technology

Location: Washington, DC

Commitment: Full-time

Workplace Type: remote

Salary:

Key Tasks & Responsibilities

Linux Systems Administration & Troubleshooting

• Manage, maintain, and troubleshoot Linux servers deployed in AWS across a mixed distribution environment, including Amazon Linux 2023, Ubuntu 22.04 and later, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9.
• Diagnose and resolve complex operating system, networking, storage, and performance issues across the server fleet.
• Make performance-based recommendations for server configuration changes to optimize workloads, cost, and reliability.

 

Virtual Desktop Support

• Support and maintain Linux-based virtual desktop environments running on VMware and AWS WorkSpaces.
• Partner with end users and application teams to ensure a stable, secure, and productive virtual desktop experience.

 

Security Baselines & Hardening

• Develop, deploy, and maintain Linux operating system baselines aligned with Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmarks.
• Collaborate with application owners to customize security baselines as needed to enable application functionality without compromising the organization's security posture.

 

Configuration Management & Automation

• Perform enterprise-wide configuration management using Ansible.
• Author, maintain, and version-control Ansible playbooks used to define system baselines, configurations, and repeatable operational tasks.

 

Application Support & Collaboration

• Work directly with application owners, developers, and analytics engineers to deploy, upgrade, migrate, and maintain applications running on Linux.
• Serve as a trusted infrastructure partner during application lifecycle events, providing guidance on Linux best practices.

 

Monitoring & Uptime

• Develop and maintain monitoring solutions for servers across the enterprise to ensure maximum system uptime and rapid incident detection.
• Continuously improve alerting, dashboards, and observability to reduce downtime.

 

Patching & Vulnerability Remediation

• Oversee regular and ad-hoc system patching efforts to ensure timely vulnerability remediation in accordance with organizational SLAs.
• Monitor and enforce patching requirements using AWS Systems Manager.

 

Cloud Infrastructure & Infrastructure-as-Code

• Deploy and manage infrastructure using AWS CloudFormation and AWS Service Catalog.
• Contribute to and maintain reusable, standardized infrastructure templates that streamline provisioning and enforce compliance.

Education & Experience

Required

• 3 or more years of hands-on experience managing Linux systems in a production environment.
• 2 or more years of experience performing configuration management using Ansible, including authoring and maintaining playbooks and roles.
• 2 or more years of experience supporting Linux virtual desktops.
• Demonstrated experience working in a large government, financial, regulatory, or corporate environment, where formal change management, security compliance, and audit requirements are standard.

 

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree or higher
• Experience supporting analytics infrastructure, such as Hadoop clusters, AWS EMR, HPC grid clusters using SLURM, AWS Parallel Cluster, or other distributed computing platforms.
• Experience administering VMware virtual desktops or AWS WorkSpaces at scale.
• Proficiency with Python for automation, scripting, and tooling development.

Certifications

Preferred

• Red Hat certifications
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications

Security Clearance

• Public Trust High (Tier 4/BI) Risk Level
• Must be a US citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident

Other (Travel, Work Environment, DoD 8570 Requirements, Administrative Notes, etc.)

• D.C or Remote