Linux System Administrator

London Approach; Springfield (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

London Approach is seeking a Linux Systems Administrator / DevOps Engineer to support enterprise Linux infrastructure for DoD programs in a fully onsite role in Springfield, VA. The candidate will combine Linux administration with production application support, troubleshooting, automation, and DevOps responsibilities.

The ideal candidate has Top Secret/SCI clearance, hands-on experience with RHEL/Ubuntu family distributions, scripting, and automation using Ansible or similar tools, and a strong

Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility/access.
• Strong professional experience administering Linux systems in enterprise or production environments.
• Hands‑on experience with Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Rocky Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu, or similar.
• System services and processes management.
• File systems and storage management.
• Permissions and user administration.
• Networking concepts and troubleshooting.
• Performance and resource utilization optimization.
• Package management and patching experience.
• Experience troubleshooting production software or application‑related issues, not solely infrastructure.
• Experience with automation or configuration management technologies such as Ansible.
• Scripting experience with Bash, Python, PowerShell, or similar languages.
• Familiarity with Git and source‑control workflows.
• Understanding of DevOps principles and modern software deployment practices.
• Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills in mission‑critical environments.
• Ability to work fully onsite in Springfield, Virginia.

Responsibilities

• Administer, maintain, troubleshoot, and support enterprise Linux systems in production environments.
• Manage Linux servers including OS configuration, patching, upgrades, package management, storage, permissions, services, and system performance.
• Troubleshoot complex Linux infrastructure, OS, network, and application issues.
• Serve as an escalation point for technical support issues involving production software and applications.
• Analyze application, system, and service logs to identify root causes of production incidents.
• Work with software developers, DevOps engineers, infrastructure teams, and application owners to resolve complex technical issues.
• Support deployment, configuration, and operation of applications running within Linux environments.
• Develop and maintain automation using tools such as Ansible, Bash, Python, or similar technologies.
• Support CI/CD processes and DevOps tooling used to deploy and maintain production applications.
• Manage system services, processes, scheduled jobs, configuration files, certificates, and user access.
• Monitor system health, availability, capacity, and performance.
• Troubleshoot networking concepts including DNS, TCP/IP, routing, ports, firewalls, and connectivity.
• Support security hardening, vulnerability remediation, patching, and compliance requirements within classified environments.
• Participate in root-cause analysis and develop solutions to prevent recurring production issues.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, troubleshooting procedures, and operational runbooks.

Job description

Location: Springfield, VA

Work Arrangement: Fully Onsite

Employment Type: Full-Time

Position Overview

We are seeking a Linux Systems Administrator / DevOps Engineer to support highly available Linux infrastructure and production technology environments supporting Department of Defense programs.

This position combines traditional Linux systems administration with production application support, troubleshooting, automation, and DevOps responsibilities. The ideal candidate is comfortable administering enterprise Linux environments while also investigating escalated software and application issues, reviewing logs, troubleshooting integrations, and working alongside development and engineering teams to resolve production problems.

This is a hands-on technical position requiring an active Top Secret/SCI clearance and the ability to work fully onsite in Springfield, VA.

Responsibilities

• Administer, maintain, troubleshoot, and support enterprise Linux systems in production environments
• Manage Linux servers including operating system configuration, patching, upgrades, package management, storage, permissions, services, and system performance
• Troubleshoot complex Linux infrastructure, operating system, network, and application issues
• Serve as an escalation point for technical support issues involving production software and applications
• Analyze application, system, and service logs to identify root causes of production incidents
• Work with software developers, DevOps engineers, infrastructure teams, and application owners to resolve complex technical issues
• Support deployment, configuration, and operation of applications running within Linux environments
• Develop and maintain automation using tools such as Ansible, Bash, Python, or similar technologies
• Support CI/CD processes and DevOps tooling used to deploy and maintain production applications
• Manage system services, processes, scheduled jobs, configuration files, certificates, and user access
• Monitor system health, availability, capacity, and performance
• Troubleshoot networking concepts including DNS, TCP/IP, routing, ports, firewalls, and connectivity
• Support security hardening, vulnerability remediation, patching, and compliance requirements within classified environments
• Participate in root-cause analysis and develop solutions to prevent recurring production issues
• Create and maintain technical documentation, troubleshooting procedures, and operational runbooks

Required Qualifications

• Active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility/access
• Strong professional experience administering Linux systems in enterprise or production environments
• Hands‑on experience with Linux distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Rocky Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu, or similar
• System services and processes
• File systems and storage
• Permissions and user administration
• Networking
• Performance and resource utilization
• Package management and patching
• Experience troubleshooting production software or application‑related issues, not solely infrastructure
• Experience with automation or configuration management technologies such as Ansible
• Scripting experience with Bash, Python, PowerShell, or similar languages
• Familiarity with Git and source‑control workflows
• Understanding of DevOps principles and modern software deployment practices
• Strong troubleshooting and problem‑solving skills in mission‑critical environments
• Ability to work fully onsite in Springfield, Virginia

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, or other classified environments
• Experience with STIGs, system hardening, vulnerability remediation, and security compliance
• Experience with DevOps and CI/CD technologies such as Jenkins, GitLab CI/CD, Azure DevOps, or similar platforms
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, or other container technologies
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code or configuration management tools such as Terraform or Ansible
• Experience supporting VMware or other virtualized infrastructure
• Experience with monitoring and logging platforms such as Splunk, ELK/OpenSearch, Prometheus, Grafana, or similar tools
• Familiarity with web/application technologies, APIs, databases, and multi‑tier application environments
• Experience supporting high‑availability or mission‑critical production systems

What We’re Looking For

This role is best suited for someone who is more than a traditional Linux administrator. We are looking for an engineer who can own Linux infrastructure, troubleshoot applications running on top of it, dig through logs and production incidents, automate repetitive administration, and collaborate effectively with software and DevOps teams.

Candidates should be comfortable operating in an environment where infrastructure administration, application support, security, and DevOps frequently overlap.

Active Top Secret/SCI clearance is required. This position is fully onsite in Springfield, VA.