SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR 5

Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of HII; Newport News (VA); Hybrid; USD 139,000 - 174,000; Full time

Job summary

Newport News Shipbuilding is seeking a Senior UNIX/Linux System Administrator / Team Lead to manage a multi-user Linux and virtualization environment. You will lead a skilled team, drive major infrastructure initiatives, and ensure scalable, secure operations across on‑prem and cloud platforms.

Strong expertise in AIX, RHEL/Linux, VMware vSphere, automation, and configuration management is essential. Excellent leadership, planning, and vendor-management skills are required for success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in IT; Master’s preferred.
• Expert-level knowledge of AIX, RHEL/Linux, VMware vSphere, automation and configuration management.
• Proven project leadership, problem solving and strong communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead UNIX/Linux admin team with guidance, mentoring and performance feedback.
• Oversee major infrastructure projects with scope, budget, and timeline control.
• Define standards, playbooks and runbooks for operation.
• Manage vendor relationships and evaluate new tech.
• Design and maintain highly available, on-prem and cloud Linux infra.
• Develop long-term roadmaps for Linux and virtualization environments.
• Act as escalation point for complex system issues.
• Drive IaC with automation frameworks and CI/CD pipelines.
• Ensure security and compliance across environments.
• Architect and validate Backup and Disaster Recovery solutions.

Skills

Team leadership

Project management

Security & compliance

Vendor management

CI/CD

Automation

Cloud & on-prem infra

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science / IT or related field

Master’s degree preferred

NNS Apprentice School / NNPS equivalent option

Bachelor’s or higher in related field; certifications acceptable

Tools

Splunk

Ansible

IBM AIX

VMware vSphere

Linux (RHEL/Solaris)

Job description

Req ID: 50820

Team: T54 TECHNOLOGY SVCS

Entity: Newport News Shipbuilding

US Citizenship Required for this Position: Yes

Full-Time

Shift: 1st

Relocation: No relocation assistance available

Virtual/Telework Opportunity: Yes - Occasional or hybrid telework available

Travel Requirements: Yes, 10%-25% of the time

Clearance Required: No - Clearance Not Required to Start

Salary Range: $139,000.00 to $174,000.00

The anticipated salary range represents the estimated base pay for this role. Final compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors, and may vary from the posted range

Meet HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding

With more than 25,000 employees – including third-, fourth- and even fifth-generation shipbuilders – HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division is the largest industrial employer in Virginia. We’re the sole designer, builder and refueler of U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy nuclear submarines. Our diverse and innovative team of professionals ranges from skilled trades to project managers, engineers and software developers to solution architects, technical subject matter experts, and system users. We collaborate together at the forefront of technology, manufacturing, and integration of the most powerful and survivable naval ships in the world.

The Role

Maintains smooth operation of multi-user computer systems, including coordination with network administrators. Interacts with users and evaluates vendor products. Makes recommendations to purchase hardware and software, coordinates installation and provides backup recovery. Develops and monitors policies and standards for allocation related to the use of computing resources. Ancillary duties may include setting up administrator and service accounts, maintaining system documentation, tuning system performance, installing system wide software and allocating mass storage space.

Senior UNIX/Linux/Solaris System Administrator / Team Lead (Level 5), emphasizing the need for a highly experienced professional to lead the organization’s critical Linux and virtualized infrastructure. The role combines technical expertise, leadership, and strategic planning, requiring the individual to drive major technology initiatives, manage a team, and ensure the security, scalability, and availability of the infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Team Leadership: Lead the UNIX/Linux administration team, providing guidance, mentoring, and performance feedback.
• Project Management: Oversee major infrastructure projects, ensuring adherence to scope, budget, and timeline.
• Process Improvement: Develop and enforce standardized operating procedures, best practices, and runbooks.
• Vendor Management: Manage relationships with vendors and service providers, evaluating new technologies.
• System Architecture: Design, deploy, and maintain highly available, scalable, and secure on-premises and cloud-based Linux infrastructure.
• Strategic Planning: Define the long‑term roadmap for Linux and virtualization environments.
• Advanced Troubleshooting: Serve as the final escalation point for complex system issues.
• Automation & CI/CD: Drive the Infrastructure‑as‑Code (IaC) vision, designing and implementing advanced automation frameworks.
• Security & Compliance: Design and audit security configurations, ensuring compliance with internal and external requirements.
• Disaster Recovery: Architect and validate enterprise‑grade Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solutions.

Must Have

Bachelor’s Degree and 14 years of relevant exempt experience; Master’s Degree and 12 years of relevant professional experience; Ph.D. and 9 years of experience.

One of the following may be used as an equivalent to Bachelor's Degree for Information Technology Related Positions Only:

• NNS Apprentice School graduate
• Navy Nuclear Power School (NNPS) graduate
• Associate's Degree or other formal 2 year program and 2 years of relevant exempt experience or 4 years of relevant non-exempt experience
• Military Paygrade E-5 or above military experience
• High School/GED and 4 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant exempt experience
• High School/GED and 8 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant non-exempt experience
• A relevant professional certification can be substituted for a Bachelor's Degree.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
• Technical Expertise: Expert‑level knowledge of AIX, RHEL/Linux, VMware vSphere, automation, and configuration management.
• Leadership & Soft Skills: Demonstrated history of successful project leadership, exceptional problem‑solving, and superior communication skills.

Nice to Have

Experience with Splunk: The ideal candidate should have hands‑on experience with Splunk, including:

• Configuring and managing Splunk indexes, including data retention, rotation, and archiving
• Creating and managing Splunk dashboards, reports, and alerts to visualize and monitor machine‑generated data
• Writing and optimizing Splunk searches, including the use of Splunk Query Language (SPL) and regular expressions
• Utilizing Splunk’s data ingestion capabilities, including configuring inputs, outputs, and forwarders
• Implementing Splunk’s security features, such as authentication, authorization, and encryption
• Troubleshooting Splunk issues, including data ingestion problems, search performance, and dashboard errors
• Integrating Splunk with other tools and systems, such as SIEM systems, log management tools, and IT service management software
• Experience with Splunk’s add‑ons and apps, including the Splunk App for Enterprise Security and the Splunk Add‑on for Linux
• Familiarity with Splunk’s data models, including the Common Information Model (CIM) and the Splunk Data Model
• Knowledge of Splunk’s clustering and distributed search capabilities, including configuring and managing indexer clusters and search heads
• Experience with Splunk’s API and SDK, including using the Splunk REST API and the Splunk Python SDK to automate tasks and integrate with other systems. This revised requirement provides a more detailed and specific description of the Splunk‑related tasks and responsibilities that the candidate should be familiar with.

Experience with Ansible Automation: The candidate should have hands‑on experience with Ansible, including:

• Creating and managing Ansible playbooks, roles, and templates to automate infrastructure and application deployment
• Writing Ansible modules and plugins to extend Ansible’s functionality
• Utilizing Ansible’s built‑in features, such as variables, conditionals, and loops, to create dynamic and flexible playbooks
• Managing and configuring Ansible inventories, including static and dynamic inventories
• Implementing Ansible’s security features, such as encryption and authentication, to secure automation workflows
• Troubleshooting Ansible playbook runs, including debugging and error handling
• Integrating Ansible with other tools and systems, such as CI/CD pipelines, monitoring systems, and cloud providers
• Experience with Ansible Tower or AWX, including creating and managing jobs, inventories, and credentials
• Familiarity with Ansible’s best practices, including playbook organization, variable management, and testing

Experience with IBM AIX: The candidate should have hands‑on experience with IBM AIX, including:

• Installing, configuring, and managing AIX operating systems on IBM Power Systems hardware
• Performing AIX system administration tasks, such as user management, file system management, and network configuration
• Troubleshooting AIX system issues, including error analysis and resolution
• Implementing AIX security features, such as access control, authentication, and encryption
• Managing AIX storage, including LVM, JFS, and NFS
• Utilizing AIX performance monitoring and tuning tools, such as nmon and topas
• Experience with AIX‑specific commands, such as smitty and smit
• Familiarity with AIX virtualization technologies, such as WPARs and LPARs

Why HII

We build the world’s most powerful, survivable naval ships and defense technology solutions that safeguard our seas, sky, land, space and cyber. HII’s diverse workforce includes skilled tradespeople; artificial intelligence, machine learning (AI/ML) experts; engineers; technologists; scientists; logistics experts; and business administration professionals.

Recognized as one of America’s top large company employers, we are a values and ethics driven organization that puts people’s safety and well‑being first. Regardless of your role or where you serve, at HII, you’ll find a supportive and welcoming environment, competitive benefits, and valuable educational and training programs for continual career growth at every stage of your career.

Working at HII is more than a job - it’s an opportunity to build a future. We offer comprehensive benefits including: medical, prescription drug, dental and vision plan choices, on‑site health centers, tele‑medicine, wellness resources, employee assistance programs, savings plan options (401K), financial education and planning tools, life insurance, tuition reimbursement, employee discounts, early childhood and post‑secondary education scholarships, and more. Some benefits may vary depending on your specific division or work location.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, or veteran status or any other basis protected by federal, state, or local law. U.S. Citizenship may be required for certain positions.

Together we are working to ensure a future where everyone can be free and thrive.

Do You Need Assistance?

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please send an e‑mail to [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Reasonable accommodations are considered on a case‑by‑case basis. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e‑mail address.

Additionally, you may also call 1-844-849-8463 for assistance. Press #2 for Newport News Shipbuilding.