Linux and Ansible Automation Engineer

Booz Allen Hamilton; Reston (VA); On-site; USD 86,800 - 198,000; Full time

Job summary

Booz Allen Hamilton in Reston, VA is seeking a Linux engineer and automation specialist to design, deploy, and grow automated solutions for an enterprise environment undergoing modernization.

You will build automation frameworks, establish best practices, and lay the foundation for scalable infrastructure in a mission-critical setting. You will mentor others and drive automation strategy for growing customer needs.

Qualifications

• 5+ years Linux administration experience (RHEL)
• Experience at scale with Ansible for configuration management
• IaC experience with Terraform/Salt/Puppet/Chef
• Bash, Python, or PowerShell scripting
• US DoD environment knowledge incl. STIG/RMF/NIST
• Active TS/SCI clearance + willingness for polygraph
• Education: Associate degree +5+, Bachelor +3+, or Master +1+

Responsibilities

• Design, deploy, and grow automated solutions for a mission-critical enterprise environment.
• Build automation frameworks and establish best practices for scalable infrastructure.
• Mentor and lead teammates; promote a culture of automation.
• Translate stakeholder pain points into repeatable automation to reduce risk.

Skills

Linux administration

Ansible

Terraform

Bash/Python/PowerShell

Security compliance (STIG/RMF/NIST)

TS/SCI clearance

DoD 8570 IAT III certs

Education

Associate’s degree +5+ years

Bachelor’s degree +3+ years

Master’s degree +1+ years

Tools

VMware vSphere

Kubernetes

AWS/Azure/GCP

NetApp storage

Job description

Overview

We're looking for a Linux engineer and automation specialist to help design, deploy, and grow automated solutions for an enterprise environment that is actively modernizing. The role includes building automation frameworks, establishing best practices, and laying the foundation for scalable infrastructure in a mission-critical environment.

You will provide the customer with insight into their Linux environments through automated monitoring, system hardening, configuration management, and performance optimization. You will work closely with mission partners and stakeholders to understand their pain points and translate them into automation solutions that reduce manual effort and operational risk.

Your technical expertise will be vital in identifying where automation can make the biggest immediate impact while maintaining a focus on long-term architecture. You will help the team turn early wins into repeatable methodologies and communicate their value to leadership.

We focus on growing as a team, so you will share expertise through leadership and mentoring as you help others embrace a culture of automation. As a technical leader, you will influence how this capability evolves, identify new opportunities to expand coverage, and mature the program as customers’ needs grow. The position is located in Reston, Virginia.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience administering Linux-based environments such as RedHat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• Experience managing configuration at scale using Ansible, including enforcing consistent system state across large inventories, detecting and correcting configuration drift, and writing idempotent playbooks
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) technologies such as Ansible, Terraform, Salt, Puppet, or Chef
• Experience with Bash, Python, or PowerShell
• Experience managing systems within U.S. federal government or DoD enterprise IT environments, including security compliance and vulnerability management frameworks such as STIG, RMF, or NIST
• Active TS/SCI clearance; willingness to take a polygraph exam
• Education and experience: Associate’s degree and 5+ years of experience, Bachelor’s degree and 3+ years of experience, or Master’s degree and 1+ years of experience supporting IT projects and activities
• Ability to obtain a DoD 8570 IAT Level III Certification such as SecurityX, formerly CASP+, CCNP Security, CISA, CISSP, GCED, GCIH, or CCSP within 30 days of start date
• Ability to obtain a DoD 8570 Cybersecurity Service Provider - Infrastructure Support Certification (CSSP-IS), including CEH, CySA+, GICSP, SSCP, CHFI, CFR, Cloud+, or CND within 30 days of start date

Nice to have

• Experience with VMware vSphere administration and managing virtual machines
• Experience in Kubernetes, container platform operations, cluster lifecycle management, workload orchestration
• Experience working with cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP
• Experience with NetApp storage solutions and designing or maintaining enterprise backup and recovery solutions
• Knowledge of version control concepts and Git

Clearance

Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information; TS/SCI clearance is required.

Compensation

Salary at Booz Allen is determined by factors including location, education, skills, and experience. The projected compensation range for this position is $86,800.00 to $198,000.00 annualized USD. The posted salary range is one component of the total compensation package.

Benefits include health, life, disability, financial, retirement, paid leave, professional development, tuition assistance, work‑life programs, and dependent care. Full-time and part‑time employees working at least 20 hours a week are eligible for benefit programs. For more information, visit the Resource page on our Careers site and review the Employee Benefits page.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.