Senior Linux Systems Administrator

The University of Iowa; Iowa City (IA); Remote; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

24 days paid vacation

Paid sick leave

Job summary

The University of Iowa is seeking a Senior Linux Systems Administrator to design, deploy, and manage enterprise Linux platforms across on‑premises, hybrid cloud, and healthcare environments. You will lead automation, security hardening, and DR planning while collaborating with cybersecurity, storage, and network teams.

Responsibilities include implementing IaC, supporting container workloads, and delivering reliable, scalable Linux services for Epic and other clinical, research, and academic

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience administering enterprise Linux systems.
• Experience with Linux OS administration, troubleshooting, performance analysis, and automation.

Responsibilities

• Architect and administer enterprise Linux platforms across on‑prem, hybrid, and healthcare environments.
• Develop automation strategies using Ansible, Python, Bash, or PowerShell.
• Lead modernization initiatives and IaC adoption with DevOps teams.
• Support container workloads with Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, or AKS.
• Ensure security hardening, backups, DR, and cyber‑resilience programs.
• Provide 24x7 on‑call support and incident escalation.

Skills

Linux administration

Automation

Shell scripting

High availability

Cybersecurity compliance

Disaster recovery

Collaboration with teams

DevOps practices

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Ansible

Docker

Kubernetes

OpenShift

AKS

Azure

AWS

PowerShell

Zabbix

Nagios

Splunk

Cohesity

Job description

The Senior Linux Systems Administrator is responsible for the architecture, administration, automation, security, and lifecycle management of enterprise Linux platforms supporting critical healthcare, research, academic, and business applications. This role provides senior-level technical leadership for Linux infrastructure, ensuring high availability, operational excellence, cybersecurity compliance, and disaster recovery preparedness across on-premises, hybrid cloud, and healthcare application environments.

The position requires extensive experience working collaboratively with infrastructure engineering, cybersecurity, cloud operations, storage, networking, DevOps, application teams, vendors, and organizational leadership to deliver reliable and scalable services.

The Senior Linux Systems Administrator serves as a technical expert and trusted advisor, leading complex projects, driving modernization initiatives, developing automation strategies, and supporting enterprise backup, recovery, and cyber-resiliency programs.

Design, deploy, administer, and support enterprise Linux platforms, including Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), , and other enterprise distributions.

Manage Linux operating system lifecycle activities including installation, patching, upgrades, performance tuning, security hardening, and retirement.

Administer enterprise services including authentication, identity integration, DNS, NTP, certificates, file systems, storage, and networking.

Implement and support Linux High Availability (HA) and clustering technologies to ensure critical application availability.

Troubleshoot complex operating system, application, storage, and infrastructure issues across multi-tier environments.

Support mission-critical healthcare applications including Epic and other clinical, research, and academic systems.

Manage enterprise storage integration, including SAN, NAS, software-defined storage, and cloud-based storage services.

Utilize Logical Volume Manager (LVM), file systems, and performance analysis tools to optimize platform performance and scalability.

Automation, DevOps & Infrastructure Modernization

Develop and maintain automation solutions using Ansible, Python, Bash, PowerShell, or other scripting languages.

Implement Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) and configuration management best practices.

Partner with DevOps and application teams to streamline deployments, configuration management, and operational processes.

Support containerized workloads using Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, OpenShift, AKS, or similar orchestration platforms.

Evaluate emerging technologies and recommend solutions that improve reliability, scalability, security, and operational efficiency.

Lead modernization initiatives involving cloud adoption, platform migrations, automation, and service transformations.

Security, Compliance & Cyber Resilience

Implement and maintain Linux security hardening standards aligned with healthcare, regulatory, and cybersecurity requirements.

Collaborate with Information Security teams on vulnerability remediation, incident response, threat mitigation, and compliance initiatives.

Support privileged access management, auditing, endpoint protection, logging, and security monitoring solutions.

Participate in cybersecurity preparedness and resilience planning activities.

Maintain documentation and operational standards supporting regulatory and audit requirements.

Backup, Recovery & Disaster Recovery

Design, implement, monitor, and maintain enterprise backup, recovery, and cyber-recovery solutions for Windows, Linux and related infrastructure platforms.

Collaborate with backup, storage, and security teams to ensure recoverability of critical healthcare and business systems.

Participate in disaster recovery planning, testing, and operational readiness exercises.

Validate backup integrity through regular recovery testing and documentation of recovery procedures.

Support data protection technologies including immutable storage, cyber vaults, air-gapped solutions, replication, and ransomware recovery capabilities.

Assist in defining and executing enterprise data retention and recovery strategies.

Lead technical projects and work efforts involving multiple infrastructure and application teams.

Serve as an escalation point for complex technical issues and operational incidents.

Develop and maintain technical documentation, standards, procedures, architecture diagrams, and knowledge articles.

Mentor junior administrators and engineers while promoting operational excellence and knowledge sharing.

Partner with vendors and technology providers to evaluate solutions and resolve technical challenges.

Contribute to strategic planning and long-term infrastructure roadmaps.

Operational Support

Participate in scheduled maintenance activities and change management processes.

Monitor platform performance, capacity, availability, and operational health.

Participate in 24x7 on-call support rotations for critical infrastructure services.

Ensure adherence to service level objectives and operational best practices.

The University of Iowa offers a generous benefits package, including 24 days of paid vacation per year to start and paid sick leave. Complete information regarding the full benefits package may be viewed at https://hr.uiowa.edu/benefits .

Percent of Time: 100%

Staff Type: Professional & Scientific

Type of Position: Regular

Education Requirements: Bachelor’sdegreeinComputerScience,orrelatedfield;oranequivalentcombinationofeducationand experience in a related field.

Experience Requirements: 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience administering enterprise Linux systems.

Demonstrated expertise with Linux operating system administration, troubleshooting, performance analysis, and automation.

Experience supporting mission-critical production environments requiring high availability and operational reliability.

Strong experience with shell scripting and automation tools.

Experience with enterprise storage technologies, including SAN and NAS environments.

Demonstrated experience with backup/recovery tool(s), and knowledge of disaster recovery and business continuity procedures.

Desired Qualifications: Experience supporting healthcare, academic medical centers, research computing, or highly regulated environments.

Experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, and enterprise Linux lifecycle management.

Experience with Ansible Automation Platform and Infrastructure-as-Code methodologies.

Experience with container platforms including Docker, Kubernetes, OpenShift, or AKS.

Experience supporting hybrid cloud environments including Microsoft Azure and AWS.

Experience with enterprise monitoring platforms such as Zabbix, Nagios, Splunk, or similar solutions.

Experience working with enterprise backup and cyber recovery solutions including Cohesity, Dell PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM), Dell Data Domain, Avamar, IBM Storage Protect, or equivalent technologies.

Knowledge of immutable backup architectures, cybersecurity recovery controls, and ransomware recovery strategies.

Experience supporting enterprise storage solutions including Dell PowerScale (Isilon), PowerStore, PowerMax, NetApp, or equivalent platforms.

Familiarity with Epic infrastructure requirements and healthcare application platforms.

Linux certifications such as RHCSA, RHCE, RHCA, LFCS, LFCE, or equivalent.

Experience leading infrastructure modernization, cloud migration, or large-scale platform transformation initiatives.

Job openings are posted for a minimum of 7 calendar days. This job may be removed from posting and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

Successful candidates will be required to self-disclose any conviction history and will be subject to a criminal background check and credential/education verification.

This position is not eligible for University sponsorship for employment authorization.

• Classification Title: Senior Systems Administrator
• Appointment Type: Professional and Scientific
• Schedule: Full-time
• Work Modality Options: Remote within Iowa

Compensation

Contact Information

• Contact Name: Stefan Foster
• Contact Email: [e-mail]

Equal opportunity employer

The University of Iowa is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment free from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), disability, genetic information, status as a U.S. veteran, service in the U.S. military, sexual orientation, or associational preferences.

Persons with disabilities who need assistance or accommodations with the application or interview process may contact University Human Resources/Faculty and Staff Disability Services, [phone] or [e-mail] . For jobs in UI Health care Leave & Disability Administration at 319-356-7543 .

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