Principal System Administrator

We are seeking an Expert-Level Systems Administrator to provide technical leadership for a mission-critical enterprise development program. In this role, you will help design, implement, and maintain a highly secure, Cloud-Native Service architecture that enables software engineering teams to seamlessly maximize cloud capabilities.

You will act as a core engineering resource, providing execution guidance and practical systems support to cross-functional implementation teams. Because this program powers foundational authentication, authorization, and secure directory services utilized across hundreds of enterprise networks, maintaining high availability is paramount.

Primary Responsibilities
• Infrastructure O&M: Maintain, monitor, and optimize enterprise servers and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) applications running within an Amazon Web Services (AWS) environment.
• Security & Compliance: Lead regular security patching, system hardening, and provide key technical support throughout the system security accreditation and compliance lifecycle.
• Technical Leadership: Deliver innovative infrastructure approaches, translating high-level program requirements into tactical, production-ready cloud solutions.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner directly with Software Developers, V&V Engineers, and DevSecOps teams to coordinate complex software and infrastructure deployment instructions.
• Mission Availability: Ensure 24/7/365 operational status for core services. Actively participate in an on-call rotation (approximately one full calendar week every two months).

Required Experience & Technical Skills:
• Linux Mastery: Expert-level knowledge of Linux-based operating systems paired with advanced Bash scripting capabilities for system automation.
• AWS & Infrastructure as Code: Strong hands-on experience navigating the AWS Console and CLI. Proven understanding of enterprise cloud architecture and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) concepts.
• Observability Stack: Proficient with the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana, and Beats) for system monitoring and log aggregation.
• DevOps CI/CD Pipelines: Experience working with automated deployment and configuration management tools (e.g., GitHub, Jenkins, Puppet, Docker, Rundeck).
• Security Systems: Familiarity with federal security accreditation procedures and privileged access management duties.
• Agile Alignment: Background collaborating within Agile development frameworks to deliver incremental system updates.
• Education & Longevity: BS degree and 11–15 years of relevant engineering experience (additional years of deep technical experience may be considered in lieu of a degree).

Highly Desired (Bonus) Qualifications:
• Active AWS Associate-level certification (SysOps Administrator, Solutions Architect, or Developer).
• Hands-on experience working within secure government cloud environments (C2S) or using AWS CloudFormation.
• Experience with Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM / IdAM / IAM) architectures, directories, or enterprise LDAP / Tomcat implementations.
• Prior experience handling highly sensitive, restricted datasets.
• Containerization credentials, such as a Certified Kubernetes Application Developer (CKAD) certification.