System Administrator (w/ active Secret)

CriticalSolutions, LLC; Norfolk (VA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

Supplemental Insurance

401K matching

Flexible Time Off (PTO/Holidays)

Higher Education/Training Reimb.

and more

Job summary

Critical Solutions is seeking a Junior System Administrator to support our federal customer in Norfolk, VA. The role requires handling provisioning, installation, configuration, operation, and maintenance of system infrastructure with strong security emphasis.

The candidate should have 1–3 years in system administration, DoD 8570.01-M IAT II certifications, and current AZ-900 and Network+ credentials. Onsite work in Norfolk, VA is required with a competitive salary and benefits.

Qualifications

• Active DoD Secret clearance is required.
• High school diploma or GED with 5+ years in general IT.
• 1–3 years in system administration of enterprise infrastructure.
• DoD 8570.01-M IAT Level II certification and current AZ-900 and Network+.

Responsibilities

• Infrastructure maintenance, monitoring, and uptime of servers and storage.
• Apply STIGs and RMF to maintain secure systems.
• Perform vulnerability scans and patching.
• Develop automation scripts with PowerShell, Ansible, Jenkins.
• Manage backups and disaster recovery plans.
• Provide Tier II support and maintain documentation.

Skills

Active Secret clearance

Evenings/Nights/Weekends

Proactive security mindset

Education

High school Diploma or GED

Tools

PowerShell

Ansible

Jenkins

Bitbucket

Windows/Linux server administration

Job description

Job Description

Critical Solutions is seeking a Junior System Administrator to support our federal customer.

Location: Norfolk, VA

Clearance: Secret

Type: Full-time, Onsite

Salary Range: $68,000 - $88,000

We are looking for a highly skilled and mission-oriented junior System Administrator to join our enterprise IT operations team. In this critical role, you will be responsible for 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.

The ideal candidate possesses 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.

Primary Roles And 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 II 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.

Basic Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance
• High school Diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and 5+ years in general IT
• Experience: Minimum of 1–3 years of progressive experience in system administration, managing enterprise infrastructure, server operating systems (Windows/Linux), or virtualized environments.
• Must be able to work schedules that extend to evenings, nights, weekends, and occasional holidays.
• 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.

Certification Requirement

Candidates must currently hold all of the following:

• DoD 8570.01-M Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level II certification such as:
• CompTIA Security+ CE
• CompTIA CySA+
• CCNA Security
• GSEC
• SSCP
• AZ-900
• Network+

Preferred Qualifications

• 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.

LOCATION

• Onsite 100% - Norfolk, VA
• Other acceptable locations: San Diego, CA and Honolulu, HI
• Must be able to work schedules that extend to evenings, nights, weekends, and occasional holidays.

Additional Information

CLEARANCE REQUIREMENT

Must possess an active DoD Secret Clearance. In addition, selected candidate must undergo background investigation (BI) and finger printing by the federal agency and successfully pass the preceding to qualify for the position. US CITIZENSHIP IS REQUIRED.

Critical Solutions Pay And Benefits

Salary range $68,00 - $88,000. The salary range for this position represent the typical salary range for this job level and this does not guarantee a specific salary. Compensation is based upon multiple factors such as responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, certifications, and other requirements.

BENEFIT SNAPSHOT

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• and Life Insurance
• Supplemental Insurance
• 401K matching
• Flexible Time Off (PTO/Holidays)
• Higher Education/Training Reimbursement
• and more.