Linux System Administrator
Description
This position is a fully operational advanced level of the information technology focused on systems, servers, database, networking and security. The system administrator operates independently performing the full range of information technology tasks and specialties. Work requires the use of discretion and creativity within limits of theory and principles of the profession; management’s program objectives; law and regulations; and general systems and guidelines. Judgment is used in the adaptation and skilled application of guidelines to solve a full range of problems related to the assignment. An employee in this must anticipate and analyze the impact and consequences of decisions made. Positions may serve as a resource to others or a specialist in the field of system design, development and engineering.
This position regularly makes decisions that are within limits set by professional standards, the agency’s available technology and resources, and program objectives and regulations established by a higher management level, choices involve determining the process, including designing the set of operations. The general pattern, program, or system exists but must be individualized. This individualization requires analysis of data that is complicated. Analysis is breaking the problem or case into parts, examining these parts, and reaching conclusions that result in work processes. This examination requires the application of known and established theory, principles, conceptual models, professional standards, and precedents to determine their relationship to the problem. New processes or objectives require approval of higher management or the agency with authority and accountability for the program or system.
The Linux System Administrator position is responsible for provisioning, configuring, monitoring, and maintaining infrastructure. They will be responsible for both hardware and software maintenance, troubleshooting system-related issues, and replacing legacy systems in an ever-changing environment. It is important that applicants understand Linux and Windows operating systems, virtualization, and modern DevOps tools and concepts.
The ability to work closely with a small, close-knit team and the ability to take ownership of processes are imperative. This individual will also be able to work well with other teams, identifying what’s best for the greater organization, is self-motivated and can take ownership of processes and see them through. The System Administrator will take part in an on-call rotation along with the other system administrators.
Responsibilities
- Provide Tier 1 & 2 Linux and Windows server technical support and troubleshooting for teams across the organization.
- Works with other technical staff and information technology teams in architecting technical solutions as needed.
- Assists in maintaining and documenting system performance by performing system monitoring and analysis, and performance tuning; troubleshooting system hardware, software, networks and operating and system management systems; designing and running system load/stress testing; escalating application problems to vendor.
- Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
- Protects organization's value by keeping information confidential.
- Accomplishes organization goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests.
- Explores opportunities to add value to job and environment.
- Works all assigned support tickets to ensure resolution within the target timeframes.
- Analyze, troubleshoot, and maintain primarily Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7/8/9 servers. Windows Server 2019 (and above) may be in use, but will not be the primary responsibility of this position.
- Maintain technical documentation.
- Implementation of system changes to meet security compliance and business requirements.
- Maintain and enhance monitoring of all systems, and perform on-call and after hour duties
- Participate in regular security audits and certifications
Qualifications
- Apache and/or NGINX experience
- In-depth experience managing UNIX/Linux systems
- Knowledge of MySQL/MariaDB and Microsoft SQL Server
- Understanding of VMWare and virtualization
- Comprehensive knowledge of networking and web protocols, including HTTP and DNS, and network traffic management and routing protocols
- Knowledge of desktop system administration, server and desktop hardening, developing standards, strong understanding of LAN and WAN networking principles, reverse-proxy servers, training, multi-tasking, on-call, networking knowledge, network hardware configuration, network maintenance, network and system performance tuning
- Desire to troubleshoot problems and take ownership of their solutions
- Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and a positive disposition
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to communicate technical problems to non-technical staff
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills
Desired Experience
- Candidates should also have 5+ years of experience in system administration or a related roll.
- A B.S. in Information Science/Technology, Computer Science, or related technology degree desired.
- Remote work experience, including working with various teams in multiple time zones
- In-depth experience managing Windows Server 2019 and higher
- AWS Cloud Experience
- Experience with RHEL and/or Rocky Linux
- Knowledge of load balancers, preferably F5
- Scripting Skills (Unix/Python/Perl/Powershell)
- PHP, .NET, and/or Perl experience
- Docker experience
- Configuration management using Salt, Ansible or a similar tool
- Windows Active Directory