UNIX/Linux/ Solaris Engineer (HYBRID)

Waypoint Human Capital; Bethesda (MD); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Waypoint Human Capital is assisting a client in Bethesda, MD, to hire an experienced UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer. The role focuses on administering Oracle Solaris and RHEL production systems, patching, and automation to improve reliability, security, and efficiency.

The successful candidate will collaborate with Windows, VMware, cybersecurity, and application owners to maintain enterprise infrastructure, implement automation, and support security controls.

Qualifications

• 5+ years administering Oracle Solaris (Zones and LDOMs) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux at scale.

Responsibilities

• Administer and maintain production Oracle Solaris and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) environments.

Skills

Unix/Linux admin

Solaris Zones

LDOMs

Puppet/Ansible

Shell scripting

VMware coordination

Security patching

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Oracle Solaris

RHEL

VMware

Puppet

Ansible

OEM

ScienceLogic SL1

Tenable

Tripwire

Splunk

Job description

Position Title: UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer
Position Type: Full-Time, Hybrid (3 Days On-Site per Week)
Location: Bethesda, MD
Clearance: Ability to Obtain and Maintain a Public Trust

Waypoint’s client is seeking an experienced UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer to support the Hosting and Storage Services (HSS) program. This position is responsible for administering production systems running Oracle Solaris and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), executing operating system patching and change management, and implementing automation to improve system reliability, security, and operational efficiency.

The selected candidate will work collaboratively with Windows and VMware teams, cybersecurity personnel, network operations, and application owners to maintain secure and reliable enterprise infrastructure. This role requires hands-on expertise in Solaris Zones, Logical Domains (LDOMs), Linux administration, automation, monitoring, and vulnerability remediation.

Responsibilities:

• Administer and maintain production Oracle Solaris and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) environments.
• Manage Solaris Zones, Logical Domains (LDOMs), operating system lifecycles, patching, and Oracle hardware platforms, including T-series systems where applicable.
• Administer RHEL systems hosted on VMware in coordination with Windows and VMware engineering teams.
• Execute Solaris patching using Alternate Boot Environments (ABEs), including building, patching, rebooting, and performing rollback when necessary.
• Maintain established patching schedules, including the third Friday for non-production systems and the fourth Friday for production systems.
• Adapt to Oracle security bundle releases approximately every six weeks and coordinate out-of-band updates when vulnerabilities require immediate remediation.
• Manage Red Hat patching through Puppet to ensure monthly operating system updates across managed and customer-managed environments.
• Support the transition from Oracle Ops Center to Ansible or Puppet-based automation for Solaris patch management.
• Develop and maintain automation playbooks, modules, scripts, and operational runbooks.
• Support upgrades from Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) 13.5 to 24 AI while maintaining reliable monitoring and administration workflows.
• Configure and utilize ScienceLogic SL1 to monitor operating system and hardware health, including CPU, memory, filesystems, and alerts.
• Investigate and remediate security vulnerabilities identified through Tenable, Tripwire, and Splunk.
• Implement and maintain host-level firewalls, account security policies, password expiration requirements, and other system security controls.
• Support managed and customer-managed Linux environments, providing operating system administration, patching, and technical consultation.
• Utilize ServiceNow for incident management, change requests, Change Advisory Board (CAB) approvals, and root cause analysis (RCA).
• Participate in xMatters on-call rotations, including 15-minute alert acknowledgment requirements and escalation procedures.
• Coordinate with Network Operations Center (NOC) personnel during enterprise incidents and outages.
• Develop and maintain SharePoint-hosted standard operating procedures (SOPs), technical documentation, and operational runbooks.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams, infrastructure engineers, application owners, and stakeholders to ensure system availability, security, and compliance.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of experience administering Oracle Solaris (Zones and LDOMs) or Red Hat Enterprise Linux at scale, including operating system patching and change execution in regulated environments.
• Hands-on experience with Alternate Boot Environment (ABE)-based Solaris patching, rollback procedures, and vendor security bundle planning.
• Experience managing operating system patch cycles, including non-monthly patch schedules and out-of-band security updates.
• Practical experience using Puppet and Ansible for UNIX/Linux automation, including developing playbooks and modules.
• Strong shell scripting experience using Bash and KornShell (ksh).
• Familiarity with VMware-hosted Linux environments and coordination with infrastructure platform teams.
• Experience with enterprise monitoring and security tools, including:
  • ScienceLogic SL1
  • Tenable
  • Tripwire
  • Splunk
• Experience managing host-level firewalls, enforcing security policies, and maintaining account and password lifecycle controls.
• Experience using ServiceNow for change management, CAB approvals, incident tracking, and root cause analysis.
• Familiarity with xMatters or similar on-call incident notification and escalation processes.
• Strong technical documentation skills, including developing SOPs and operational runbooks.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with application owners, cybersecurity teams, infrastructure engineers, and other stakeholders.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.
• Ability to complete required on-site fingerprinting.

Desired:

• Experience designing and implementing Ansible-based automation to replace legacy Solaris management tools such as Oracle Ops Center.
• Experience integrating automation workflows with ServiceNow change management tasks and approvals.
• Experience upgrading Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) and validating monitoring and administration workflows during system migrations.
• Familiarity with Center for Internet Security (CIS) controls and UNIX/Linux system hardening practices.
• Experience implementing security controls related to file integrity, SSH configuration, logging, and firewall management.
• Experience supporting enterprise application monitoring through ScienceLogic SL1, SiteScope, or similar tools.
• Ability to advise application owners on monitoring best practices while maintaining reliable operating system monitoring and alerting.

Additional Information:

• Work Schedule: Hybrid, requiring three days per week on-site in Bethesda, MD.
• Environment: Primarily on-premises infrastructure supporting Oracle Solaris and VMware-hosted Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• On-Call: Participation in scheduled on-call rotations with defined acknowledgment and escalation requirements.
• Security: Public Trust eligibility required; on-site fingerprinting is mandatory.

Candidates must be able to commute to Bethesda, MD, three days per week.