UNIX​/Linux​/Solaris Engineer

GDIT is seeking a UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer to support NIH CIT’s HSS program. You will keep mission-critical systems stable, secure, and performant across Solaris (Zones/LDOMs) and Red Hat Linux on VMware, while applying careful, responsible automation to reduce toil—modernizing only where it strengthens reliability, security, and customer outcomes.

Hybrid (3 days/week onsite, Bethesda, MD)

• Operate and administer Solaris and Red Hat estates:
  Solaris—administer Zones and Logical Domains (LDOMs); manage OS lifecycle, patching, and hardware (Oracle platforms such as T-series where applicable). Red Hat—administer RHEL systems virtualized on VMware (in partnership with the Windows/VMware team).
• Patching & change execution:
  Drive Solaris patching using Alternate Boot Environments (ABE)—build, patch, and reboot into ABEs on standard cycles (e.g., 3rd Friday for non-prod, 4th Friday for prod) with rapid rollback capability if needed.
• Adapt to Oracle’s revised patch cadence (security bundles every ~6 weeks, with potential interim bundles) and plan out-of-band updates when required by vulnerability severity.
• Maintain Red Hat patching via Puppet, ensuring customer-managed servers also receive monthly OS updates.
• Automation & tool transitions:
  Lead the transition off Oracle Ops Center (EOL/waiver ends Dec 31) toward Ansible (preferred) or Puppet playbooks for Solaris patch automation; author playbooks/modules and operational runbooks for the new process.
• Support upgrade from Oracle OEM 13.5 to 24 AI and ensure monitoring/administration workflows remain reliable during and after the migration.
• Monitoring & security operations:
  Configure and consume SL1 monitoring for OS/hardware health (CPU/memory/file systems) and notifications; coordinate with DCOB (operations management) for platform configuration as needed.
• Triage security alerts from Tenable scans and follow-on tickets in Tripwire (file integrity) and Splunk (log-based anomalies such as SSH attempts); enforce host-level firewalls and raise network blocks when needed.
• Implement account policies (e.g., password expiration changes) safely across environments; validate changes in non-prod first to avoid service impact.
• Service models & customer engagement:
  Solaris—own root and full OS/hardware administration; grant sudo for customer application operations. Red hat—support both managed (GDIT administers OS; customers manage apps) and customer-managed servers (customers hold root; GDIT ensures OS patching and provides consulting on request).
• Incident response & governance:
  Use Service Now for change and incident management; adhere to CAB approvals and standard change windows; deliver post-incident RCA where applicable.
• Participate in XMatters on-call rotations (15-minute acknowledge; tiered escalation), coordinating with NOC bridge during enterprise events (e.g., DNS or network issues).
• Documentation & collaboration:
  Maintain SharePoint-hosted SOPs/runbooks (with screenshots) covering patch orchestration (ABE), rollback, automation playbooks, OEM upgrade steps, SL1 alerting, and security/vulnerability remediation workflows; align with weekly UNIX–security syncs and customer meetings.

• BS/BA or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years administering Oracle Solaris (Zones/LDOMs) and/or Red Hat Enterprise Linux at scale, including OS patching and change execution in regulated environments.
• Hands‑on with ABE-based Solaris patching, rollback, and vendor bundle planning; experience adjusting to non-monthly patch cadences.
• Practical experience with Puppet and Ansible for UNIX automation (playbooks/modules), plus strong shell scripting (bash/ksh).
• Familiarity with VMware-hosted Linux operations and coordination with platform teams.
• Operational monitoring and security tooling: SL1, Tenable, Tripwire, Splunk; host‑level firewall management and security policy enforcement (e.g., password life cycles).
• Proven use of Service Now (CAB/change templates; incident/RCA) and on-call processes via XMatters.
• Strong documentation habits (SOPs/runbooks with screenshots) and collaborative posture with customers and cyber teams.
• Must be able to obtain and…