IT Systems Administrator

Job Overview & Responsibilities

At ULA the System Administrator 2 – Linux is an entry‑level to early‑career role responsible for supporting the day‑to‑day administration, maintenance, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Linux systems in a production enterprise environment. This position works under the guidance of senior engineers and architects to keep infrastructure stable, secure, and operational.

The role includes supporting Linux servers, assisting with patching and upgrades, monitoring system health, reviewing logs, managing user access, documenting work, and helping resolve operational issues. The ideal candidate brings strong foundational Linux skills, a willingness to learn, and a professional, team‑oriented approach to day‑to‑day infrastructure support. Experience with HPC environments is helpful, but Linux administration remains the primary focus.

• Support the administration, maintenance, and day‑to‑day operation of Linux servers and related infrastructure.
• Monitor system health, availability, scheduled tasks, and basic performance indicators, and elevate issues as appropriate.
• Review system and application logs to identify errors, failures, or abnormal conditions.
• Assist with patching, upgrades, system maintenance, and routine operational tasks.
• Help manage user accounts, permissions, and access controls in accordance with team processes.
• Support backup verification, recovery tasks, and operational checks.
• Troubleshoot basic to intermediate Linux system issues and work with senior team members on more complex problems.
• Document system changes, procedures, troubleshooting steps, and operational activities.
• Participate in incident response, support escalations, and team operating rhythms such as status meetings or daily tag‑ups.
• Assist with automation, scripting, or repeatable operational tasks where appropriate.
• Partner with teammates across infrastructure, network, security, and support teams to resolve issues and improve service reliability.
• Provide support for HPC‑related systems or workloads when assigned, under guidance from senior staff.

Bachelor

Minimum of 2 years of related work experience

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) field from an accredited college or university
• Foundational Linux administration skills (e.g., users, permissions, services, storage, patching, logs, monitoring)
• Experience with Linux CLI and common distributions (e.g., RHEL, Rocky, Alma Linux, Ubuntu)
• Basic troubleshooting skills and ability to follow procedures and escalation paths
• Understanding of system operations: monitoring, backups, scheduled jobs, and server health
• Basic knowledge of networking, storage, and security concepts in Linux environments
• Ability to perform routine admin tasks with guidance and document work clearly
• Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
• Detail‑oriented, dependable, and able to follow processes
• Team‑oriented with willingness to learn and take feedback
• Sound judgment on when to troubleshoot independently vs. escalating
• Ability to obtain and maintain active DoD TS/SCI – required. US citizenship is required.

• Hands‑on Linux experience (internships, coursework, homelab, or prior roles)
• Familiarity with enterprise Linux (e.g., RHEL or similar) and package/service management
• Basic scripting or automation experience (Bash, Python, or similar)
• Exposure to enterprise tools (monitoring, ticketing, documentation, change management)
• Familiarity with virtualization, cloud, or storage platforms
• Exposure to HPC or clustered environments – a plus
• Entry‑level certification (RHCSA, Linux+, or similar) – a plus
• Exposure to scripting/automation (Bash, Python, Ansible) – a plus
• Familiarity with virtualization, cloud, or HPC environments – a plus
• Understanding of core admin tasks (users/groups, permissions, storage, log analysis, backups)
• Exposure to configuration management or automation concepts
• Organized, dependable, and able to manage multiple tasks
• Collaborative, professional, and patient when supporting others

Salary is a general…