Senior Systems Administrator (Linux/Cloud)

Penn State University; United States; On-site; USD 80,100 - 152,004; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Tuition discount for employees

Comprehensive benefits

Job summary

Penn State University in Reston, VA seeks a Systems Administrator to maintain HPC infrastructure, focusing on Linux (Red Hat), Ansible, and GitLab pipelines. You will install, configure, and support servers, workstations, and CI/CD tooling.

This role requires a Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of relevant experience (Senior Professional) or 3+ years (Advanced Professional). You may supervise staff and contribute to system documentation, security clearances, and ongoing upgrades.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and 6+ years of relevant experience (Senior Professional) or 3+ years (Advanced Professional).
• Equivalent combinations of education and experience are acceptable.
• Security clearance eligibility may be required.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, maintain, upgrade, and support Linux systems.
• Develop deployment plans and automation tooling.
• Maintain and improve CI/CD pipelines and GitLab workflows.
• Diagnose outages and coordinate with teams.
• Create system documentation and supervise staff as needed.

Skills

Linux (RedHat)

Ansible scripting

GitLab pipelines

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

6+ years of relevant experience

Equivalent combinations acceptable

Tools

Kubernetes

Job description

Position Overview

Systems Administrator – Reston, VA – Digital Engineering Department, Cyber, Modeling, and Simulation Division, Information Advantage Office, Applied Research Laboratory (ARL).

We seek an experienced systems administrator to maintain high‑performance computing (HPC) systems, including operating systems, physical servers/workstations, and applications. The role involves installing, configuring, upgrading, troubleshooting, and supporting infrastructure with a strong focus on Linux (Red Hat), Ansible scripting, and GitLab pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, maintain, upgrade, and support systems and software with a focus on Linux (Red Hat), Ansible scripting, and GitLab pipelines.
• Develop plans, schedules, and requirements for deployment of systems.
• Create or improve existing scripts and tooling to aid in systems management.
• Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve server, workstation, and audio‑visual (A/V) issues and respond to outages during normal business hours.
• Resolve service‑related issues; determine immediate economic and financial consequences of an incident.
• Test and implement upgrades and patches to installed operating systems, Kubernetes‑based container orchestration platforms, and modeling & simulation (M&S) applications.
• Maintain reliability of systems by monitoring, running tests, and troubleshooting.
• Monitor backups and plans for installed systems.
• Monitor, maintain, and execute automation processes and CI/CD pipelines.
• Evaluate and recommend new or existing system improvements and/or solutions.
• Create and maintain system documentation of processes, procedures, plans, and configurations.
• May supervise staff members, including hiring, development, and performance management.

Qualifications

• Strong experience installing, configuring, maintaining, upgrading, and supporting systems and software, focused on Linux (RedHat), Ansible scripting, and GitLab pipelines.
• Skilled in diagnosing, troubleshooting, and resolving server, workstation, and audio‑visual (A/V) issues, including responding to system outages during normal business hours.
• Proficiency in testing and implementing upgrades and patches for operating systems, Kubernetes‑based container orchestration platforms, and modeling & simulation (M&S) applications.
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher; may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree and 6+ years of relevant experience (Senior Professional) or 3+ years of relevant experience (Advanced Professional). Equivalent combinations of education and experience are acceptable.

Security & Eligibility

Employment requires successful completion of background checks and eligibility to obtain a U.S. government security clearance. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Participation in the ARL drug testing program and compliance with electronic and physical monitoring requirements are mandatory.

Salary & Benefits

Salary range: $80,100.00 – $152,004.00, depending on grade and qualifications.

Benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; robust retirement plans; paid time off (holidays, vacation, sick time); and a generous 75% tuition discount for employees and eligible families.

EEO Statement

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.