System Administrator

Leidos; Norfolk (CO); On-site; USD 87,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

Leidos in Hampton Roads, VA is seeking a Lead System Administrator with 3-5 years' experience to lead a team responsible for provisioning, installing, configuring, operating, and maintaining enterprise systems and storage.

The role emphasizes security compliance (STIGs, RMF), vulnerability management, and automation using PowerShell, Ansible, and Jenkins, with on-site work and occasional shift requirements.

Qualifications

• US citizenship required.
• Active DoD Secret clearance required.
• DoD 8570.01-M IAT II certification plus AZ-900 and Network+.
• Location in Hampton Roads, VA; on-site.
• 3–5 years of progressive system administration experience.
• Experience with Windows and Linux servers and virtualization.

Responsibilities

• Administer, monitor, and maintain servers and storage to ensure uptime.
• Apply STIGs and RMF for security compliance.
• Perform vulnerability scans, patching, remediation.
• Develop automation scripts with PowerShell, Ansible, Jenkins.
• Manage backups and disaster recovery testing.
• Provide Tier III support and document topology and SOPs.

Skills

Leadership

System administration

Security compliance

Automation

Vulnerability management

Tools

PowerShell

Ansible

Jenkins

ACAS/Nessus

Job description

We are seeking a highly skilled and mission-oriented Lead System Administrator with at least 3-5 years' experience to join our enterprise IT operations team located in the Hampton Roads area, VA. In this critical role, you will be responsible for leading a team in provisioning, installing, configuring, operating, and maintaining system hardware, software, and related infrastructure. You will play a key part in ensuring that system hardware, operating systems, software systems, and related procedures adhere to organizational values and rigorous security standards.

Position Summary:

The ideal candidate possesses exceptional leadership skills along with robust technical expertise in system infrastructure administration combined with a proactive approach to security compliance, automated configuration management, and system monitoring. Working in a collaborative environment, you will sustain infrastructure health, participate in technical research and development to enable continuing innovation, and guarantee the high availability and security of essential defense and enterprise networks. Candidates must demonstrate excellent self-motivation and punctual attendance while working within a highly dynamic environment

Key Responsibilities:

• Infrastructure Maintenance & Operations: Administer, monitor, and maintain physical and virtual servers, operating systems, and enterprise storage solutions to ensure baseline operational efficiency and minimum downtime.
• Security & Compliance: Apply Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) to operating systems, applications, and network devices. Maintain a robust security posture in alignment with the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
• Vulnerability Management: Perform regular vulnerability scans, analyze results, and execute timely system patching, remediation, and mitigation strategies against recognized security threats.
• Automation & Configuration Management: Develop, test, and implement automated scripts and workflows using tools like PowerShell, Ansible, and Jenkins to streamline system provisioning, deployment, and configuration baselines.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery: Manage enterprise-wide backup and recovery procedures, routinely testing data integrity and failover systems to safeguard critical operational workloads.
• Technical Support & Documentation: Provide Tier III system administration support to isolate and resolve complex technical infrastructure issues. Draft and maintain precise system topology documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and configuration logs.

Required Qualifications

• Citizenship: Must be a United States Citizen.
• Security Clearance: Must possess and maintain an active Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance.
• Certification: Must hold a current DoD 8570.01-M Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level II certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, GSEC, or SSCP). As well as the current AZ-900 and Network+ certifications.
• Location: Position is physically located in the Hampton Roads area, VA (on-site or hybrid as required by operational parameters).
• Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years of progressive experience in system administration, managing enterprise infrastructure, server operating systems (Windows/Linux), or virtualized environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Core Technical Certifications: Possession of CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications.
• Cloud Certifications: Active Microsoft AZ-900 Certified
• Security & Framework Familiarity: Strong operational familiarity with DISA STIGs, Risk Management Framework (RMF) processes, automated vulnerability management platforms (such as ACAS/Nessus), and federal compliance frameworks.
• Automation & DevOps Tools: Hands-on experience developing automation or configuration-management routines using PowerShell, Ansible, Jenkins, and version control repositories like Bitbucket.

Working Environment

This is a 100% on-site role. Remote or hybrid work arrangements are not available for this role.

Preferred Work location

Norfolk, Virginia facility.

Shift days/hours

Required to work schedules that extend to evenings, nights, weekends, and occasional holidays.

NGEN

If you're looking for comfort, keep scrolling. At Leidos, we outthink, outbuild, and outpace the status quo - because the mission demands it. We're not hiring followers. We're recruiting the ones who disrupt, provoke, and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. We're already at step 30 - and moving faster than anyone else dares.

Original Posting:

September 16, 2026

For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

Pay Range

Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.