Linux​/HPC Systems Engineer

In this role, your daily impact spans the entire spectrum of systems engineering. One hour, you might be performing routine lifecycle maintenance—patching a fleet of RHEL workstations or managing user identities across a heterogeneous domain—to ensure the baseline stability of our enterprise. The next, you are diving into the high-performance fabric, debugging a latency spike on an Infini Band card or fine-tuning a Slurm scheduler to prioritize a mission-critical simulation.

You aren't just managing boxes; you are the bridge between raw silicon and national security breakthroughs. Whether it's the methodical "hardening" of a standard server build to meet SAP requirements or the high-adrenaline optimization of a multi-petabyte Lustre file system, your work ensures that our researchers never have to wait on the infrastructure to catch up with their imagination. This position is 100% on-site.

• Architect & Deploy:
  Lead the design and lifecycle management of mission-critical Linux workstations, enterprise-grade servers, and high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.
• Engineer File systems:
  Master the art of data movement. Administer complex local and distributed file systems (Lustre, GPFS/Spectrum Scale) to ensure extreme-speed access across the fabric.
• Infrastructure as Code (IaC):
  Treat the data center as a codebase. Develop sophisticated automation workflows using Python, Bash, and Ansible to eliminate manual toil and ensure drift-free configurations.
• Defensive Engineering:
  Implement "Hardened by Design" security. Fine-tune SELinux policies and advanced firewall configurations to protect sensitive data without sacrificing computational performance.
• Container Orchestration:
  Modernize scientific workflows by deploying and managing isolated environments using Podman while working to establish a Kubernetes environment.
• HPC Performance Tuning:
  Push the limits of the silicon. Optimize cluster scheduling and management utilizing industry-leading tools like Bright Cluster Manager and Slurm.
• Low-Latency Networking:
  Configure and optimize high-bandwidth networking, including Infini Band fabrics, for seamless inter-node communication.
• Technical Documentation:
  Author high-fidelity playbooks and strategic architectural diagrams that serve as the blueprint for our evolving infrastructure.

• Bachelor’s Degree in related field or equivalent high-level professional experience in mission-critical environments
• Minimum of 1 to 10 years of related experience
• U.S. Citizenship required:
  Active DoD Top Secret security clearance with eligibility for SCI along with successful completion of CI Scope Polygraph within 180 days of hire
• Ability and willingness to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) eligibility
• Active DoD 8570.01-M baseline certification (Security+ CE, SSCP, or equivalent)
• Deep-tier professional experience in Linux systems engineering (RHEL/Rocky preferred)

• Active TS/SCI clearance with a current CI Polygraph
• Advanced Certification: RHCE, RHCSA, or similar
• Direct experience tuning kernel parameters and MPI libraries for large-scale distributed computing
• Expertise in VMware, Nutanix, or KVM within a heterogeneous environment that include Windows integration

Applicant selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. COLSA Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer, Minorities/Females/Veterans/Disabled. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.