Systems Administrator

AeroVironment, Inc.; Maryland; On-site; USD 150,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental & Vision

401K match

9/80 schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. seeks a System Administrator to own and optimize a high-performance IT environment supporting CNO capabilities. You will manage NVIDIA GPU hardware, HPC systems, and lifecycle tasks within a government data warehouse setting.

Strong documentation and cross-team collaboration are essential. The role emphasizes virtualization, IT modernization, and workflow improvements, with required TS/SCI clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in IT/IS/CE or related field or equivalent experience.
• Minimum 9 years of IT/systems administration experience in mission-critical environments.
• Strong Linux administration and GPU-accelerated system experience required.
• Experience with enterprise GPU hardware installation and lifecycle management.
• Ability to document complex processes clearly and communicate with mission users.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, and maintain HPC hardware including NVIDIA accelerators.
• Lead hardware installation, sustainment, relocation in government data warehouse.
• Maintain rigorous documentation, SOPs, and deployment playbooks.
• Collaborate with data center admins to optimize troubleshooting and coverage.
• Work with contract engineering teams to improve performance and workflows.
• Support virtualization efforts and IT modernization including AWS/LLM infra.

Skills

Linux administration

GPU-accelerated HPC

NVIDIA hardware

Data center operations

Virtualization

Technical writing

TS/SCI with Polygraph

Education

Bachelor's degree in IT/IS/CE or related field

Tools

Hypervisors

Network troubleshooting tools

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary

The primary role of the System Administrator is to support CNO Capabilities by sustaining and evolving a high-performance operational IT environment. This is not a ticket-only administration role—we are looking for a technical contributor who takes complete ownership of systems, documents with precision, builds strong operational relationships, and actively optimizes workflows to make future engineering efforts faster and more efficient.

Position Responsibilities:

• Install, configure, and maintain high-performance compute (HPC) hardware, including cutting-edge NVIDIA H100, H200, and B300 class accelerator platforms.
• Lead the installation, sustainment, uninstallation, and relocation of new and legacy hardware within a government data warehouse environment while ensuring strict configuration integrity and tracking.
• Maintain meticulous technical documentation, network diagrams, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to establish scalable deployment playbooks that allow seamless cross-functional handoffs.
• Build strong working relationships with onsite data center administrators to streamline troubleshooting, bridge support coverage gaps, and elevate mission priorities.
• Partner directly with contract engineering teams to enhance system performance, refine user workflows, and improve daily operational efficiency.
• Support ongoing virtualization efforts and contribute to long-term IT modernization strategies, including future integration with AWS, cloud environments, and Large Language Model (LLM) infrastructure.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, Information Systems, Computer Engineering, or related field is required or equivalent combination of education, and experience.
• Minimum of 9 years of relevant IT/Systems Administration experience (with or without a Bachelor’s degree).
• Strong background in Linux systems administration within operational, mission-critical environments.
• Direct experience installing, configuring, and maintaining enterprise-class GPU-accelerated or high-performance compute systems (specifically NVIDIA hardware).
• Proven ability to work within structured data center or warehouse environments handling physical deployment and lifecycle management.
• Familiarity with hypervisors, virtualization technologies, and enterprise networked system troubleshooting.
• Excellent technical writing skills with a demonstrated ability to document complex processes clearly, along with strong interpersonal skills for direct interaction with mission users.
• An Active TS/SCI with Polygraph.

Other Qualification & Desired Competencies:

• A growth-oriented mindset with enthusiasm for improving user experience and streamlining workflows.
• Comfort working hands-on with data center/warehouse hardware setups and relocations.
• Interest in expanding capabilities into cloud architectures (AWS) and AI/LLM infrastructure.
• Strong focus on mentorship, process automation, and building institutional knowledge.

Salary Range:

$150,000 - $175,000 The BlueHalo, an AV Company, pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Determination of official compensation or salary relies on several factors including, but not limited to, level of position, job responsibilities, geographic location, scope of relevant work experience, educational background, certifications, contract-specific affordability, organizational requirements, alignment with local internal equity as well as alignment with market data.

ITAR Requirement:

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations ("ITAR") and/or the Export Administration Regulations ("EAR"). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants will be asked to provide specific documentation to verify U.S. person status under the ITAR and the EAR. A "U.S. person" according to their definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee, or asylee. See 22 CFR §120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits:

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits. We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

Who We Are

Based in California, AeroVironment (AVAV) is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Founded in 1971 by celebrated physicist and engineer, Dr. Paul MacCready, we’ve been at the leading edge of technical innovation for more than 45 years. Be a part of the team that developed the world’s most widely used military drones and created the first submarine-launched reconnaissance drone, and has seven innovative vehicles that are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s permanent collection in Washington, DC.

What We Do

Building on a history of technological innovation, AeroVironment designs, develops, produces, and supports an advanced portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical missile systems. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense and allied military services use the company’s hand-launched UAS to provide situational awareness to tactical operating units through real-time, airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR U.S. Citizenship required

About AV: AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you’re ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.