System Administrator (w/ active Secret)

Critical Solutions; Norfolk (VA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 88,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life coverage

401K matching

PTO/Holidays

Training reimbursement

Job summary

Critical Solutions is seeking a Junior System Administrator to support a federal customer in Norfolk, VA. The role focuses on provisioning, configuring, operating, and maintaining enterprise IT infrastructure while maintaining strict security standards.

Ideal candidates have DoD 8570-M IAT II certification, AZ-900, Network+, and 1–3 years of relevant experience in Windows/Linux or virtualized environments. Onsite work with a 68k–88k salary range is offered.

Qualifications

• Active Secret clearance required.
• DoD 8570.01-M IAT II certification (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, GSEC, SSCP).
• AZ-900 and Network+ certifications required.
• 5+ years in general IT.
• 1–3 years in system administration or enterprise infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Administer, monitor, and maintain physical and virtual servers and storage to ensure uptime.
• Apply STIGs and RMF to OS, apps, and networks.
• Perform vulnerability scans, patching, remediation, and mitigation.
• Develop automation using PowerShell, Ansible, and Jenkins for provisioning and baselines.
• Manage backup and disaster recovery procedures and test failover.
• Provide Tier II support and maintain topology docs, SOPs, and logs.

Skills

PowerShell

Ansible

Jenkins

RMF

Education

High school Diploma or GED

Tools

ACAS/Nessus

Bitbucket

Job description

System Administrator (w/ active Secret)

Location: Norfolk, VA
Clearance: Secret
Type: Full-time, Onsite
Salary Range: $68,000 - $88,000

JOB DESCRIPTION

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

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:

100% premium coverage for Medical, Dental, Vision, and Life Insurance, Supplemental Insurance, 401K matching, Flexible Time Off (PTO/Holidays), Higher Education/Training Reimbursement, and more.