Linux Systems Administrator

Peraton Labs is seeking a poly cleared Linux Systems Administrator to support the infrastructure team for a cleared research and development program in Maryland. This role will support the implementation, maintenance, troubleshooting, and daily operations of Linux-based systems used across classified and unclassified research environments.

The ideal candidate for this role is a hands-on systems administrator with strong Linux experience, solid troubleshooting skills, scripting ability, and the ability to support users, researchers, engineers, and customer stakeholders in a fast-paced R&D environment. This position will help ensure research systems, servers, storage, networking components, and supporting infrastructure remain reliable, secure, and available for mission-focused prototype development and experimentation.

This position requires full-time on-site work at a customer site near College Park, MD.

Key responsibilities may include

• Provide day-to-day administration, maintenance, monitoring, and troubleshooting for Linux-based IT systems
• Support implementation, configuration, operation, and sustainment of servers, workstations, storage, network-connected devices, and research infrastructure
• Provide Tier 1 and Tier 2 support for system access, user issues, software problems, hardware issues, and operational incidents
• Diagnose and resolve Linux system, application, storage, network, and user access issues
• Manage user accounts, permissions, authentication, system access, and basic security controls
• Install, configure, patch, and update Linux operating systems, software packages, tools, and system services
• Support Windows systems administration as needed within mixed Linux/Windows environments
• Develop scripts and automation using Bash, Python, or similar tools to improve system operations, monitoring, reporting, and repeatable administration tasks
• Monitor system performance, availability, logs, storage utilization, and resource consumption
• Support system capacity analysis, resource planning, and performance optimization
• Support backup, recovery, log management, archive, and system restoration procedures
• Assist users, researchers, and engineers with accessing and using IT systems in classified and unclassified environments
• Escalate issues, communicate system status, and coordinate problem resolution with internal teams, customer stakeholders, and subcontractor personnel
• Maintain system documentation, operational procedures, configuration records, and troubleshooting notes
• Support security posture activities, including patching, vulnerability remediation, endpoint protection, and audit support

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of 3+ years of experience with a Bachelors degree, 1+ years of experience with a Masters degree, or a PhD in Computer Science, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, or a related technical discipline. In lieu of a Bachelors, an additional 4 years of experience is required for a total of 7+ years relevant experience.
• Strong experience with Linux systems administration
• Experience with Windows system administration in mixed operating system environments
• Experience supporting IT systems in programs or environments of similar scope, scale, and complexity
• Experience with Linux installation, configuration, patching, troubleshooting, user support, and system maintenance
• Experience with scripting/automation using Python, Bash, or similar
• Understanding of basic networking concepts, including TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, routing, switching, firewalls, ports, and network troubleshooting
• Experience support client/server systems, storage devices, network-connected devices, and user workstations
• Ability to provide Tier 1 and Tier 2 support, diagnose issues, and communicate status clearly
• Strong communication skills and ability to work as part of an integrated team with customers, subcontractors, and Peraton personnel.
• US Citizenship is a requirement for this position
• This position requires an active/current TS/SCI w/ Polygraph

Desired Additional Qualifications

• Experience supporting classified research environments, DoD/IC customers, or national security programs
• Experience with Linux distributions such as RHEL, CentOS, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, or similar platforms
• Experience with system hardening, patch management, vulnerability remediation, audit support, STIGs, ACAS/Nessus, SCAP, or RMF-related activities
• Experience with virtualization platforms such as VMware, KVM, Proxmox, Hyper-V, OpenStack, or similar tools
• Experience with storage technologies such as NAS, SAN, RAID, NFS, SMB, iSCSI, object storage, or backup appliances
• Experience with configuration management or automation tools such as Ansible, Puppet, Chef, SaltStack, or Terraform/OpenTofu
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and alerting tools such as Splunk, ELK/OpenSearch, Prometheus, Grafana, Zabbix, Nagios, or similar tools
• Experience with network troubleshooting of complex issues, such as IPSec, VXLan, FWs, Load Balancing and DNS
• Expertise with Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and thin client architectures
• Experience with Security administration to include enterprise antivirus, malware detection, intrusion detection, and audit solutions
• Experience with open source tools, such as Snort
• Experience with containers or DevOps environments such as Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, GitLab, GitHub, Jenkins, or CI/CD pipelines
• Knowledge of cloud or private cloud technologies such as OpenStack, AWS, Hadoop, Cloudera, or similar platforms
• Experience supporting operational mission partners, research teams, software developers, or cyber/network experimentation environments
• Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships across technical teams, customer stakeholders, and program leadership