PENDING CONTRACT AWARD: Linux Automation Engineer - Junior Level and Above (Applicants must already hold a Secret Level Clearance or Higher)

Cipher Tech Solutions, Inc.; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 66,000 - 149,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mission focused work environment

Subsidized medical/dental/vision

HSA contributions

401k matching

Holiday and PTO

Monthly WAN parties

Flexible hours

Job summary

Cipher Tech Solutions, Inc. is seeking a Linux Systems Administrator to manage RHEL and Ubuntu servers across both internet-connected and disconnected networks. You will build and maintain Ansible Playbooks deployed via GitLab pipelines to secure and configure systems.

The role requires a U.S. citizenship, active Secret clearance, and a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant fields with DoD 8570 IAT II certification. On-site schedule with core hours and extended coverage.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizenship and active Secret clearance or higher.
• Bachelor's degree with 3+ years experience or Master's with 1+ year experience.
• Strong oral and written communications skills.
• Experience with Configuration as Code tooling (Ansible preferred).
• Expertise with RHEL and Ubuntu in disconnected environments.
• Certification compliant with DoD 8570/8140 IAT II (e.g., Security+).

Responsibilities

• Provision, manage, and support RHEL and Ubuntu servers across connected and disconnected networks.
• Develop, maintain Ansible Playbooks for security, patching, and configuration.
• Manage Kubernetes clusters and workloads.
• Configure connected services like network adapters, storage, and firewalls.
• Deploy and monitor systems to detect anomalies and outages.
• Investigate disruptions and provide root cause analyses.
• Support deployments of new hardware and software applications and appliances.

Skills

Communication skills

CaC tooling

RHEL/Ubuntu admin

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE/CE/Math/IT/Cybersecurity

Master's degree in one of these domains

DoD 8570/8140 IAT II certification

Tools

Kubernetes

Terraform

GitLab

GitHub

Splunk

Grafana

SolarWinds

Job description

Description

This candidate and its peers report to the Operations Task Lead and maintains a fleet of Linux Systems (mostly RHEL 8 and RHEL 9) across on-premises and cloud networks, both with, and without internet connectivity. Responsible for configuring and securing systems utilizing Configuration as Code (Ansible Playbooks) that are deployed via GitLab Pipelines.

Location

Greater Baltimore Area

Telework Status

No Telework Allowed

Clearance Level Required

Secret level clearance or higher

Responsibilities

What you will do:

• Provision, manage, and support Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ubuntu servers across several internet-connected and internet-disconnected networks.
• Develop, utilize, and maintain Ansible Playbooks to secure, patch, and configure Linux servers.
• Manage Kubernetes clusters as well as the workloads deployed on the clusters.
• Manage and configure connected services such as network adapters, storage, and firewalls.
• Deploy, configure, and support monitoring capabilities to detect anomalous conditions or service disruptions.
• Investigate service disruptions and provide root cause analysis reports and implement additional steps to prevent subsequent issues.
• Support deployments of new hardware and software applications and appliances.

Schedule

• Core hours are 0930-1430 Monday-Friday to ensure overlap with the team, attendance is expected outside of this window as needed to support meetings, deployments, and team activities. The system administration team is expected to have on‑site coverage 0600-1800 Monday-Friday and schedules will be coordinated with other members of the team to ensure this coverage.

Required Skills/Credentials

• Must be a U.S. Citizen and have an active Secret clearance or higher
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Math, Information Technology, or Cybersecurity AND 3 years' experience OR a master's degree in one of these domains AND 1 year of experience
• Strong oral and written communications skills
• Expertise with Configuration as Code (CaC) tooling (Ansible preferred)
• Expertise managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ubuntu systems on disconnected environments.
• Certification compliant with DoD 8570/8140 IAT II (e.g., Security+ or similar)

Desirable Skills/Credentials

• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tooling (Terraform preferred).
• Experience administering Kubernetes clusters and services.
• Experience managing secure computing environments to adhere with DISA STIGs and NIST 800-53 controls.
• Experience monitoring system uptime and performance with tools such as Splunk, Grafana, and SolarWinds.
• Experience providing detailed technical after-action reports with root cause analysis after outage or security incidents.
• Familiarity with host-level networking such as instance firewalls.
• Familiarity with storage provider management such as Network File Systems (NFS).
• Familiarity with source code management tooling such as GitHub or GitLab.

Benefits

• Mission focused work environment
• Subsidized medical/dental/vision insurance
• HSA contributions
• 401k matching
• Holiday and Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Monthly WAN parties & quarterly events
• Flexible hours

Remote work is not an option. We do offer relocation assistance. Please see our careers page or inquire with your recruiter about the terms and conditions.

Salary And Other Compensation

The hourly wage range is: $48.08 - $108.17

The salary range for this position is subject not only to the hire's skills, education, expertise, and years of experience, but also to features of the final position offered to the hire: including, but not limited to the location of the position, clearance required for the position, and the contract associated with the position. See our Perks & Benefits page for a general description of benefits and other potential compensation benefits: https://www.ciphertechsolutions.com/careers/perks-benefits/

About Us

At Cipher Tech Solutions, Inc. (Cipher Tech), we take great pride in supporting some of the most mission critical work in the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. The majority of our company is comprised of extremely talented software developers who write production tools which directly support one of two missions: digital forensics and malware reverse engineering.

Digital forensics is the practice of extracting and processing evidence from computers, phones, tablets, cameras, flash-drives, and just about any other form of digital media. The results of our work are then used to support federal and military law enforcement, counterintelligence, and counter terrorist activities.

Malware Reverse Engineering Is The Practice Of Analyzing Malicious Code. The Goal Of a Reverse Engineer Is To Understand How The Malicious Code Works And Determine Facts Such As

• How did it infect the victim's computer*What kind of information it is seeking to steal*How is it communicating with the author (actor)*Who that actor might be.

Vaccination Notice

Please be aware that you are applying for a position to work as a federal contractor. As such, Cipher Tech will require, and your employment will be subject to, such vaccinations as are required by federal, state, and local law requirements.

Important Security Clearance Information

Be aware that you are applying for a job that requires you already hold a U.S. government security clearance at time of application.

The U.S. government will not issue security clearances to recent users of illegal drugs. On your application to us, you must acknowledge that you have not engaged in any illegal drug use within the past twelve months (illegal drug use includes, but is not limited to, the use of illegal substances, the misuse of prescriptions, the misuse of over-the-counter substances, and the use of medical or recreational marijuana (or its derivatives) that may be deemed legal at the state level but is still considered illegal by the federal government). NOTE: CIPHER TECH WILL NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST ANY QUALIFIED APPLICANTS WITH A DISABILITY OR A RECORD OF A DISABILITY, INCLUDING ILLEGAL DRUG USERS WHO HAVE RECENTLY SOUGHT PROFESSIONAL TREATMENT FOR A DRUG PROBLEM.

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Cipher Tech is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All hiring and employment decisions are made on the basis of business requirements, performance, and merit with no regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, or other protected status.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.

Salary: $48.08 - $108.17 per hour