Senior Systems Administrator

Overview

BigBear.ai is seeking a Senior Systems Administrator to join a mission-focused engineering team supporting the sustainment, reliability, and security of two critical operating environments. This is a full-time, onsite role based in Washington, D.C., ideal for a hands-on technical leader with proven experience managing a team in a high-availability environment. You will combine deep Linux systems administration expertise with day-to-day people leadership-driving priorities, ensuring consistent execution, and developing administrators while keeping systems stable, secure, and mission-ready.

What you will do

• Administer and sustain Linux-based operating environments supporting critical applications and services
• Manage a team of systems administrators, including work planning, task assignment, prioritization, and quality control of deliverables
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and technical guidance; support onboarding, skills development, and knowledge transfer across the team
• Support people-management responsibilities such as performance feedback, goal setting, and contributing to staffing needs (interviews, hiring recommendations) as applicable
• Plan and lead major technical activities (upgrades, patching, hardening, automation, performance tuning) and drive work through completion
• Coordinate incident response, lead troubleshooting bridges as needed, and drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions to reduce repeat issues
• Monitor system health, analyze trends, and troubleshoot complex issues across OS, web/application tiers, and databases
• Implement and maintain security controls and configuration baselines (including FIPS mode, SELinux, firewall configurations, and access controls)
• Support web/application infrastructure components such as Apache HTTPD and Apache Tomcat and troubleshoot service-level issues
• Manage change execution by ensuring readiness (communications, approvals, rollback planning, validation, and post-change documentation)
• Improve operational maturity through runbooks/SOPs, standardization, and automation to reduce operational toil and increase reliability
• Serve as a technical expert across multiple assignments; ensure the team meets operational commitments and timelines

What you need to have

Clearance: Active TS/SCI and CI Poly eligible (must be able to obtain/maintain)

• Education / Experience:
• Minimum 10 years of systems administration experience, with at least a portion of that experience in the last 2 years, and
• Master's degree in a systems administration-related field OR a Bachelor's degree in a related field plus 2 additional years of senior experience (for a total of 10 years) in lieu of a Master's degree
• People Management Experience:
• Demonstrated experience managing a team (e.g., assigning work, setting priorities, coaching, accountability for outcomes) in an operations/sustainment environment
• Experience providing performance input/feedback and driving team execution through competing priorities
• Operating Systems / Platforms:
• Experience administering Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7/8/9
• Working knowledge of FIPS mode, SELinux, firewalld, fapolicyd, and core Linux administration
• Certifications / Privileged Access:
• Ability to obtain a Privileged User Access (PUA) account
• CompTIA Security+ or equivalent certification (required for privileged access eligibility)
• Demonstrated proficiency administering Linux-based systems
• Web / Application Infrastructure: Familiarity supporting Apache HTTPD and Apache Tomcat
• Databases: Working knowledge of PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and OracleDB
• Principal technologies (environment-facing): Exposure to ecosystems that may include Java, JCE, Java Web Services, Hibernate, Spring, JavaScript, Apache Ant, and Apache Solr

What we'd like you to have

• Prior experience as a people manager for system administration, platform operations, or infrastructure teams (including hiring support, onboarding, and talent development)
• Experience creating and managing on-call/coverage schedules and operational handoffs (as applicable)
• Experience tracking and reporting team operational metrics (incident trends, backlog, system availability, risks/mitigations)
• Proficient experience with cloud computing environments and operational best practices
• Strong Linux administration depth (automation, hardening, troubleshooting at scale)
• Proficient digital security experience (system hardening, compliance, access controls, audit readiness)
• Working knowledge of SQL and strong Bash scripting/automation skills
• Ability to debug Java web applications in partnership with development teams (logs, configs, runtime behavior, dependencies)

About BigBear.ai

BigBear.ai is a leading provider of AI-powered decision intelligence solutions for national security, supply chain management, and digital identity. Customers and partners rely on Bigbear.ai's predictive analytics capabilities in highly complex, distributed, mission-based operating environments. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, BigBear.ai is a public company traded on the NYSE under the symbol BBAI. For more information, visit https://bigbear.ai/ and follow BigBear.ai on LinkedIn: @BigBear.ai and X: @BigBearai.

BigBear.ai is an Equal opportunity employer all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.