Systems Administrator - Vulnerability Mitigation

Leidos; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 116,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and Wellness programs

Income Protection

Paid Leave

Retirement

Job summary

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Administrator to lead vulnerability remediation and system hardening for a primarily Windows-based enterprise. You will coordinate with the INFOSEC team, implement remediation actions, and help maintain ATO and system accreditation.

This Windows-heavy role benefits from Linux familiarity and requires Top Secret/SCI w/Poly, a degree, and extensive client/server experience. The position emphasizes proactive ownership and cross-team collaboration in Chantilly, VA.

Qualifications

• Clearance: Must have a Top Secret/SCI w/Poly to be considered
• Bachelor's degree and at least 12 years of experience OR a Master's degree and at least 10 years of prior relevant experience preferred OR 16 years of relevant career experience in lieu of degree
• Client/Server experience. Linux and Windows
• Must pass customer-required and administered medical and psychological screening as a condition of employment (#MSBA)

Responsibilities

• Remediation of vulnerabilities based on direction and prioritization from the INFOSEC team
• Research remediation options and assess potential system and operational impacts prior to implementation
• Translate vulnerability findings into system-level fixes (patching, configuration changes, registry updates)
• Execute and guide remediation efforts across Windows systems, with support for Linux where applicable
• Independently drive remediation efforts to completion and remove blockers as they arise
• Track remediation progress and provide clear status reporting to stakeholders
• Research, validate, and recommend hardening changes with awareness of dependencies
• Implement and refine security configurations based on baselines and INFOSEC guidance
• Disable or restrict insecure protocols, ports, and services (e.g., SMBv1, legacy TLS)
• Configure and maintain secure cipher suites and encryption standards
• Apply and interpret STIGs, CIS Benchmarks, or organizational hardening standards across Windows systems
• Design, implement, and manage Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to enforce security settings
• Evaluate and test policy changes for enterprise-wide impact
• Support domain-level security configurations and account policies
• Troubleshoot complex policy application issues and ensure consistent enforcement
• Support activities to achieve and maintain Authorization to Operate (ATO) and system accreditation
• Ensure remediation timelines meet accreditation and compliance requirements
• Provide detailed evidence and documentation for patching, hardening, and remediation
• Assist with audits, assessments, and validation of security controls
• Partner with INFOSEC and Client/Server teams to coordinate remediation efforts
• Communicate strategies, risks, and system impacts to stakeholders
• Participate in Windows patching activities with WUS team
• Validate patch applicability and remediation impact
• Support testing and post-deployment validation of Windows updates
• Troubleshoot update issues with server teams and ensure patch compliance

Skills

Vulnerability remediation

Group Policy management

Security remediation guidance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

16 years of experience in lieu of degree

Tools

Windows

Linux

Job description

Looking for an opportunity to make an impact? At Leidos we deliver innovative solutions through the efforts of our diverse and talented people who are dedicated to our customers' success. We empower our teams, contribute to our communities, and operate sustainable. Everything we do is built on a commitment to do the right thing for our customers, our people, and our community. Our Mission, Vision, and Values guide the way we do business. If this sounds like the kind of environment where you can thrive, keep reading!

Leidos Intelligence Group uses a wide range of capabilities in Digital Modernization, Mission Software Systems, and enabling technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to support our customers' mission to defend against evolving threats around the world. Our team's focus is ensuring our intelligence customers have the right tools, technologies, and tactics to keep pace with an ever-evolving security landscape and succeed in their pursuit to protect people and critical assets.

We are seeking a Senior Systems Administrator to lead execution of vulnerability remediation and system hardening activities across a primarily Windows-based enterprise environment. This role works in close coordination with the Information Security (INFOSEC) team, which is responsible for vulnerability identification and prioritization. The Senior Systems Administrator is responsible for researching, validating, and implementing remediation actions, including assessing potential system impacts prior to deployment. This role plays a key part in achieving and maintaining system Authorization to Operate (ATO) and ongoing system accreditation efforts. While this is a Windows-heavy position, familiarity with Linux systems and basic administration is beneficial. We are looking for a proactive, execution-focused individual who takes ownership of assigned responsibilities and consistently drives remediation efforts to completion with minimal oversight.

Vulnerability Remediation Execution Lead

• remediation of vulnerabilities based on direction and prioritization from the INFOSEC team
• Research remediation options and assess potential system and operational impacts prior to implementation
• Translate vulnerability findings into system-level fixes (patching, configuration changes, registry updates, etc.)
• Execute and guide remediation efforts across Windows systems, with support for Linux where applicable
• Independently drive remediation efforts to completion and remove blockers as they arise
• Track remediation progress and provide clear status reporting to stakeholders

System Hardening & Configuration

• Research, validate, and recommend hardening changes with full awareness of system and application dependencies
• Implement and refine security configurations based on established baselines and INFOSEC guidance
• Disable or restrict insecure protocols, ports, and services (e.g., SMBv1, legacy TLS)
• Configure and maintain secure cipher suites and encryption standards
• Apply and interpret STIGs, CIS Benchmarks, or organizational hardening standards across Windows systems, with awareness of equivalent practices in Linux environments

Group Policy & Active Directory

• Design, implement, and manage Group Policy Objects (GPOs) to enforce security settings
• Evaluate and test policy changes to understand enterprise-wide impact prior to deployment
• Support domain-level security configurations and account policies
• Troubleshoot complex policy application issues and ensure consistent enforcement

Compliance & Reporting

• Support and contribute to activities required to achieve and maintain Authorization to Operate (ATO) and system accreditation
• Ensure systems meet remediation timelines aligned with accreditation and compliance requirements
• Provide detailed evidence and documentation for patching, hardening, and remediation activities
• Assist with audits, assessments, and validation of security controls

Collaboration

• Partner with INFOSEC and Client/Server teams to coordinate and execute remediation efforts
• Communicate implementation strategies, risks, and system impacts to technical stakeholders

Windows Patching & Updates

• Participate in Windows patching activities in coordination with the WUS team
• Validate patch applicability and remediation impact prior to deployment
• Support testing and post-deployment validation of Windows updates
• Troubleshoot complex update issues in collaboration with WUS and server teams
• Ensure systems meet patch compliance requirements as defined by organizational standards

Required Qualifications

• Clearance: Must have a Top Secret/SCI w/Poly to be considered
• Must have a Bachelor's degree and at least 12 years of experience OR a Master's degree and at least 10 years of prior relevant experience preferred OR 16 years of relevant career experience in lieu of degree.
• Client/Server experience. Linux and Windows
• You will be required to pass both a customer required and administered medical and psychological screening, as a condition of employment #MSBA

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.

Pay Range: Pay Range $116,350.00 - $210,325.00

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.

Leidos Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $17.2 billion for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2026.

For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Pay and Benefits Pay and benefits are fundamental to any career decision. That's why we craft compensation packages that reflect the importance of the work we do for our customers.

• competitive compensation
• Health and Wellness programs
• Income Protection
• Paid Leave
• Retirement

More details are available here.

Securing Your Data Leidos will never ask you to provide payment-related information at any part of the employment application process. And Leidos will communicate with you only through emails that are sent from a Leidos.com email address. If you receive an email purporting to be from Leidos that asks for payment-related information or any other personal information, please report the email to [e-mail].

Commitment and Diversity All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, ethnicity, age, national origin, citizenship, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy, family structure, marital status, ancestry, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law. Leidos will also consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories consistent with relevant laws.