Sr Principal Systems Architect (Onsite)

Prattwhitney; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 146,000 - 277,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Three weeks of vacation

Generous 401(k) with employer matching

Job summary

Applied Signal Technology, a Collins Aerospace company, seeks a Senior Principal Systems Architect for cybersecurity, Linux administration, and automation. The role emphasizes collaboration with cyber teams to sustain system availability and respond to vulnerabilities.

Onsite in San Jose with relocation not provided, and up to 15% travel. The candidate will mentor junior staff, work with VMware environments, NetApp storage, and adherence to DoD/CIS/STIG standards while supporting

Qualifications

• Typically requires a STEM degree and 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated administration of RHEL 7/8/9 (systemd, firewalld, SELinux).
• Experience with NetApp storage and enterprise logging/monitoring tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement a cybersecurity mitigation strategy aligned with NIST-800-171.
• Collaborate with Cyber teams to maintain system availability, performance, and logs.
• Develop automation workflows and leverage enterprise tooling (e.g., Ansible).
• Mentor junior system administrators and resolve incidents using ticketing systems.
• Work with operations, supply chain and legal teams to support mission objectives.

Skills

Linux administration

Cybersecurity

Scripting (Bash/Python)

Team collaboration

Mentorship

Education

STEM degree

Tools

Ansible

NetApp OnTap

Splunk

Zabbix

VMware

RHCSA / LPIC

Job description

Job Information

Date Posted: 2026-09-14 Country: United States of America Location: US-CA-SAN JOSE-827 ~ 100 Headquarters Dr ~ BLDG 827 Position Role Type: Hybrid U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements: U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access information under this program/contract. Security Clearance Type: None/Not Required Security Clearance Status: Not Required

Job Description

Applied Signal Technology managed by Collins Aerospace Applied Signal Technology (AST) is seeking a Senior Principal Systems Architect who strives for excellence and has a passion to be part of a team that strengthens our nation and improves the security of our world. https://www.rtx.com/collinsaerospace/what-we-do/industries/military-and-defense/communications/applied-signal-technology AST provides trusted strategic and tactical SIGINT solutions that secure the interests of the U.S. and its partners.AST’s work in areas such as high-capacity broadband communications, signal processing and analysis, tactical SIGINT, and wireless communications continually challenges our extraordinary engineers to resolve problems and make the world a safer place.AST’s work environment is passionate, highly collaborative and provides employees the freedom to strengthen and expand their skills, explore new and creative ideas, and work closely with our nation’s finest service members all while embracing integrity, innovation, and work-life balance. This is an onsite position at our San Jose site. Relocation is not provided.

What You Will Do

• Lead, develop, document, and implement a robust Cybersecurity mitigation strategy by ensuring Linux IT resources are patched and hardened in accordance with NIST-800-171 guidelines
• Collaborate with Cyber teams to maintain and monitor system availability, performance, and logs using enterprise tools.
• Leverage industry standards to build out automation workflows
• Champion processes regarding hardware and software issues across physical and virtualized environments (VMWare)
• Work closely with operations, supply chain and legal teams to support mission objectives.
• Support audit readiness activities and respond to security vulnerability findings.
• Provide mentorship and guidance to junior system administrators.
• Leverage ticketing system to resolve incidents submitted by end users.

Travel up to 15%

Qualifications You Must Have

• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access information under this program/contract
• Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and a minimum of 10 years of prior relevant experience
• Ability to demonstrate administration of RHEL 7/8/9, including systemd, firewalld, and SELinux.
• Ability to demonstrate administration of Netapp enterprise storage.

Qualifications We Prefer

• Experience with enterprise logging, monitoring, and alerting systems.
• Experience with automation tools such as Ansible.
• Experience with CIS/STIG benchmarks and DoD security standards.
• Linux OS Certificate (RHCSA / LPIC)
• Experience with Splunk/Zabbix
• Experience with High Performance Computing (HPC) Environments
• Experience with NetApp / OnTap tools
• Experience with Enterprise Active Directory (AD) & LDAP
• Experience dealing with Managed Anti-Virus (AV) solutions (ClamAV & SEM).
• Scripting Experience (Bash, Python, Ansible) and Kickstart Experience hardening systems using tools like SCAP and following STIGs.
• Experience supporting engineers in software, simulations, and hardware development.

What We Offer

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches across the world, and even beyond? At Collins Aerospace, our Mission Systems team helps civilian, military and government customers complete their most complex missions — whatever and wherever they may be. Our customers depend on us for intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft and collaborative space solutions. By joining our team, you’ll have your own critical part to play in ensuring our customer succeeds today while anticipating their needs for tomorrow.

*Please ensure the role type (defined below) is appropriate for your needs before applying to this role.

Onsite: Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products. Regardless of your role type, collaboration and innovation are critical to our business and all employees will have access to digital tools so they can work with colleagues around the world – and access to Collins sites when their work requires in-person meetings.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees
• Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution, including a Lifetime Income Strategy option
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Student Loan Repayment Program
• Life insurance and disability coverage
• Optional coverages you can buy: pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection
• Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits
• Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning
• Adoption Assistance Autism Benefit
• Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions
• Healthy You Incentives, wellness rewards program
• Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits
• Bright Horizons, child and elder care services
• Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program
• And more!

The salary range for this role is 145,600 USD - 276,800 USD.

RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

RTX is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. It comprises three industry‑leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. Its 195,000 employees enable the company to operate at the edge of known science as they imagine and deliver solutions that push the boundaries in quantum physics, electric propulsion, directed energy, hypersonics, avionics and cybersecurity. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.