HPC Systems Administrator - Linux, Automation & Security

University of Tennessee; Knoxville (TN); Hybrid; USD 88,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) seeks a skilled System Administrator to join our research computing and enterprise infrastructure team in Knoxville, TN. You will help maintain enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems, automate operations, and support researchers and developers.

Hybrid work arrangement; must be able to respond to outages within a defined window.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, or related field.
• At least 3 years of professional Linux system administration experience.
• Experience with Ansible, Bash, Python for automation.
• Strong knowledge of core network services (DNS, DHCP, NFS, SSH, LDAP).
• Familiarity with virtualization (VMware) and containerization (Kubernetes).
• Strong information security practices in an enterprise.

Responsibilities

• System Administration & Maintenance: Install, configure, patch, and maintain enterprise Linux (RHEL) across physical and virtual environments.
• Performance & Monitoring: Use monitoring tools to track system performance, resources, and network health.
• Automation & Configuration Management: Develop and maintain automation scripts and CM frameworks (Ansible, Bash, Python).
• Security & Compliance: Enforce security controls, manage access, patch management, and compliance audits.
• Storage & Backup Management: Coordinate with storage teams for file systems and backups, disaster recovery planning.
• User Support & Collaboration: Provide Tier-2 and Tier-3 support for researchers and developers.
• Documentation: Maintain system docs, topologies, SOPs, and inventory logs.
• Knowledge Sharing: Present papers, talks, and posters at local, regional, and national meetings.

Skills

Linux system administration

Automation scripting

Networking fundamentals

Security best practices

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science / information technology

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Ansible

Bash

Python

VMware

Kubernetes

Job description

The National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) seeks a skilled System Administrator to join our research computing and enterprise infrastructure team in Knoxville, TN. You will help maintain enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems, automate operations, and support researchers and developers.

Hybrid work arrangement; must be able to respond to outages within a defined window.