Linux/HPC Systems Engineer

In this role, your daily impact spans the entire spectrum of systems engineering. One hour, you might be performing routine lifecycle maintenance-patching a fleet of RHEL workstations or managing user identities across a heterogeneous domain-to ensure the baseline stability of our enterprise. The next, you are diving into the high-performance fabric, debugging a latency spike on an InfiniBand card or fine-tuning a Slurm scheduler to prioritize a mission-critical simulation.

You aren't just managing boxes; you are the bridge between raw silicon and national security breakthroughs. Whether it's the methodical "hardening" of a standard server build to meet SAP requirements or the high-adrenaline optimization of a multi-petabyte Lustre filesystem, your work ensures that our researchers never have to wait on the infrastructure to catch up with their imagination. This position is 100% on-site.
Responsibilities

• Architect & Deploy: Lead the design and lifecycle management of mission-critical Linux workstations, enterprise-grade servers, and high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.
• Engineer Filesystems: Master the art of data movement. Administer complex local and distributed filesystems (Lustre, GPFS/Spectrum Scale) to ensure extreme-speed access across the fabric.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Treat the data center as a codebase. Develop sophisticated automation workflows using Python, Bash, and Ansible to eliminate manual toil and ensure drift-free configurations.
• Defensive Engineering: Implement "Hardened by Design" security. Fine-tune SELinux policies and advanced firewall configurations to protect sensitive data without sacrificing computational performance.
• Container Orchestration: Modernize scientific workflows by deploying and managing isolated environments using Podman while working to establish a Kubernetes environment.
• HPC Performance Tuning: Push the limits of the silicon. Optimize cluster scheduling and management utilizing industry-leading tools like Bright Cluster Manager and Slurm.
• Low-Latency Networking: Configure and optimize high-bandwidth networking, including InfiniBand fabrics, for seamless inter-node communication.
• Technical Documentation: Author high-fidelity playbooks and strategic architectural diagrams that serve as the blueprint for our evolving infrastructure.

At COLSA, people are our most valuable resource and centered at our core value. We invite you to unite your talents with opportunity and be a part of our "Family of Professionals! Learn about our employee-centric culture and benefits here .

Required Experience

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in related fied or equivalent high-level professional experience in mission-critical environments
• Minimum of 1 to 10 years of related experience
• U.S. Citizenship required: Active DoD Top Secret security clearance with eligibility for SCI along with successful completion of CI Scope Polygraph within 180 days of hire
• Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) eligibility
• Active DoD 8570.01-M baseline certification (Security+ CE, SSCP, or equivalent)
• Deep-tier professional experience in Linux systems engineering (RHEL/ /Rocky preferred).

Preferred Qualifications

• Active TS/SCI clearance with a current CI Polygraph
• Advanced Certification: RHCE, RHCSA, or similar
• Direct experience tuning kernel parameters and MPI libraries for large-scale distributed computing
• Expertise in VMware, Nutanix, or KVM within a heterogeneous environment that include Windows integration.

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. COLSA Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.