Senior Linux Systems Administrator

Computational Physics Inc; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Health, Dental, and Vision insurance

Paid time off

Tuition reimbursement

Professional development support

Job summary

A technology company is seeking a Senior Linux System Administrator to maintain systems at the US Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. The role involves managing RHEL systems, configuring authentication services, and supporting security compliance. Candidates must have at least seven years of experience in Linux system administration and hold a Bachelor's degree in a related field. Partial telework may be permitted and various benefits, including professional development support, are offered.

Qualifications

• Seven years of industry experience.
• Five years as a Linux System Administrator.
• Experience with RHEL and DoD cybersecurity frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Support deployment and maintenance of precise timing networks.
• Configure and manage centralized authentication services.
• Administer Linux systems using configuration management tools.

Skills

Linux System Administration

Configuration Management

Network Troubleshooting

Security Compliance

Virtualized Environments

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT, CS, or related field

CompTIA Security+ CE

Tools

Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

Ansible

Docker

Job description

Computational Physics, Inc. (CPI) is seeking a Senior Linux System Administrator to support our customers at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) in the deployment and maintenance of its precise timing and astrometry networks.

The USNO is responsible for the production and dissemination of precise parameters concerning time, star positions, and the earth's rotation to the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community, other U.S. Government (USG) users such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as non-USG civilian and international users. Distribution of these parameters supports GPS navigation, among other applications, an important national and international function. A reliable, secure, maintainable and manageable USNO network is crucial to the production and dissemination of these data products.

The position will be located at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. Partial telework may be permitted in accordance with applicable Navy and Observatory guidance in effect at the time.

Required Qualifications

• Seven (7) or more years of industry experience
• Five (5) or more years of experience as a Linux System Administrator Experience managing, configuring, and patching
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems Experience applying STIGs and remediating vulnerabilities identified by ACAS or similar security tools Experience supporting systems in virtualized environments (e.g., VMware vSphere)
• Experience integrating systems with monitoring and alerting platforms (e.g., SolarWinds, AIDE)
• Experience configuring and managing centralized authentication services (e.g., Active Directory, Centrify, FreeIPA/IdM)
• Experience installing and maintaining endpoint security tools (e.g., Trellix/McAfee, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint)
• Experience configuring and managing centralized logging solutions (e.g., rsyslog, SIEM integrations)
• Experience administering Linux systems using configuration management tools (e.g., Ansible, Puppet)
• Experience with DoD cybersecurity policies and frameworks is highly desirable

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT, CS, or related field
• CompTIA Security+ CE
• Active Top Secret Security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong troubleshooting skills across system, network, and storage layers
• Experience configuring and troubleshooting SELinux
• Experience managing RHEL lifecycle and patching using tools such as Red Hat Satellite or equivalent
• Experience with container technologies (e.g., Podman, Docker)
• Strong understanding of Linux networking (e.g., firewalld/nftables, DNS, routing, VLANs)
• Experience with modern monitoring and observability platforms (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK)
• Experience managing Linux storage (e.g., LVM, XFS, NFS, multipath) Experience developing and maintaining
• Ansible playbooks/roles and using version control (e.g., Git)
• Experience supporting compliance frameworks (e.g., RMF, STIG checklists, POA&M development)

U.S. citizenship is required for DoD contracts.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits
• Positive, upbeat, and transparent company culture with opportunities for self-development and career advancement
• Employee-owned small business that allows team members to learn from each other and take ownership
• Professional development support including conference attendance and certification training
• 401(k), Profit Sharing and an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Disability insurance (short-term and long-term)
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental Leave
• Tuition reimbursement

CPI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case‑by‑case basis.