Linux Systems Administrator - Cloud & Distributed Systems, Lead Associate

Peraton; Laurel (MD); On-site; USD 146,000 - 234,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Heavily subsidized employee benefits

25 days of PTO accrued annually

Attractive bonus plan

Job summary

A national security company based in Laurel, Maryland, is seeking a Senior Cloud & Distributed Systems Engineer. The role focuses on administering and optimizing large-scale distributed systems, particularly Hadoop and Accumulo. Candidates should have at least 7 years of Linux experience and strong scripting skills. This position offers competitive salary ranging from $146,000 to $234,000 and excellent benefits, including significant paid time off and a bonus plan.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Linux systems administration experience.
• 5+ years scripting (Bash, Python, or Perl).
• 5 years with BS/BA or 3 years with MS/MA.
• Experience supporting large-scale distributed systems across multiple clusters.
• Hands-on experience with Hadoop, Accumulo, and distributed storage technologies.

Responsibilities

• Administer and optimize enterprise Linux systems across large distributed clusters.
• Monitor system health, performance, and reliability.
• Support and tune Hadoop (HDFS/YARN) and Accumulo environments.
• Engineer monitoring, observability, and alerting solutions.
• Automate infrastructure using scripting and Infrastructure-as-Code.

Skills

Linux systems administration

Scripting (Bash, Python, Perl)

Hadoop

Acccumulo

Kubernetes

Docker

Automation tools (Puppet, Ansible, Salt)

Networking fundamentals (VLANs, TCP/IP)

Incident response and root cause analysis

Education

BS/BA or equivalent experience

Tools

Terraform

CloudFormation

Prometheus

Grafana

ELK

Splunk

Job description

Job Locations

US-MD-Laurel

Requisition ID

2026-163747

Position Category

Information Technology

Clearance

Top Secret/SCI w/Poly

Responsibilities

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Cloud & Distributed Systems Engineer to support mission-critical, cloud-based data repositories serving users within a dynamic Intelligence Community environment.

This role operates in a dynamic, high-tempo operational environment where requirements evolve rapidly in response to global events. The selected candidate will administer and engineer large-scale Hadoop and Accumulo clusters, ensure system reliability and security, and collaborate across infrastructure, networking, and security domains to maintain continuous mission availability.

This is not a traditional system administration role - it is a reliability-focused distributed systems engineering position operating on a scale. This position will provide after-hours on call/call in support.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and optimize enterprise Linux systems across large distributed clusters (60+ nodes, multi-rack deployments)
• Monitor system health, performance, and reliability; troubleshoot complex hardware, software, network, and cloud issues
• Support and tune Hadoop (HDFS/YARN) and Accumulo environments
• Engineer monitoring, observability, and alerting solutions
• Automate infrastructure using scripting and Infrastructure-as-Code
• Patch, harden, and secure systems in compliance with security standards
• Manage LDAP-based user accounts and core Linux services (DHCP, DNS)
• Support Kubernetes-based containerized workloads
• Participate in architecture discussions and cross-team engineering efforts
• Contribute to incident response and root cause analysis

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of Linux systems administration experience
• 5+ years scripting (Bash, Python, or Perl)
• 5 years with BS/BA or 3 years with MS/MA
• Experience supporting large-scale distributed systems across multiple clusters
• Hands-on experience with Hadoop, Accumulo, and distributed storage technologies
• Experience with Kubernetes and Docker
• Familiarity with automation tools (Puppet, Ansible, Salt) and IaC (Terraform or CloudFormation)
• Knowledge of monitoring platforms (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Splunk)
• Understanding of networking fundamentals (VLANs, TCP/IP, load balancing)
• Experience with high-availability design, storage architecture, and disaster recovery
• System hardening and security compliance experience

Required Certifications & Clearance

• Active TS/SCI clearance with current polygraph
• Security+ (DoD 8570 compliant)
• One of the following:
  • AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
  • AWS DevOps Engineer - Professional
  • Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Environment

• Mission-critical cloud platforms
• High-availability distributed systems
• Automation-first engineering culture
• Operationally responsive, fast-paced environment

If you are a senior Linux administrator who operates confidently at scale and approaches systems with a reliability-first mindset, we encourage you to apply.

Peraton offers enhanced benefits to employees working on this critical National Security program, which include heavily subsidized employee benefits coverage for you and your dependents, 25 days of PTO accrued annually up to a generous PTO cap and participation in an attractive bonus plan.

#AJCM #PeratonRoyalMove

Peraton Overview

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can't be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we're keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Target Salary Range

$146,000 - $234,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual's experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay.

EEO

EEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.