Linux System Security Engineer

Job Title: Mid-to-Senior Linux System Security Engineer (On-Site)

Location: Leesburg, VA (5 Days On-Site with Flexible Commute Hours)

Compensation: $190,000 – $205,000 Base Salary (Flexible based on experience) + 100% Paid Employee Medical + 6% Immediate 401(k) Match

Clearance Requirement: U.S. Citizenship required; must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance.

We are looking for a Mid-to-Senior Linux System Security Engineer to serve as the right-hand technical partner to our Security Lead. Because of the sensitive nature of our mission, we rely heavily on on-premises infrastructure rather than public cloud environments. You will have high visibility, massive autonomy, and direct ownership over designing, hardening, automating, and defending our internal Linux and macOS infrastructure from the ground up.

• Top-Tier Compensation: $190,000 – $205,000 base salary, with flexibility based on your demonstrated skills and experience.
• Unbeatable Healthcare Coverage: We pay 100% of your medical insurance premiums (and 75% for your dependents) through Anthem medical and Guardian dental, alongside full life and disability coverage.
• Immediate Retirement Wealth Building: 6% 401(k) company match with immediate vesting from day one.
• Generous Time Off & Growth: 3 weeks of paid vacation, 2 weeks of paid sick leave, 11 paid federal holidays, and up to $7,000 per year in educational assistance
  .
• Common-Sense Commute Flexibility: While the nature of our on-premises infrastructure requires this role to be in our Leesburg, VA office 5 days a week, we don't believe in rigid clock-watching. Our leadership understands Northern Virginia traffic and supports flexible early-in / early-out schedules so you can beat the rush hour.

• Own On-Premises Security: Design, implement, and maintain security practices across our internal infrastructure, with a heavy emphasis on physical, on-premises Linux servers and Apple/macOS endpoints.
• Harden Systems: Perform deep Linux system hardening, including kernel tuning, service management, and secure infrastructure configuration.
• Automate Everything: Eliminate manual busywork by automating security tasks, configurations, and deployments using Ansible (writing and maintaining playbooks and roles) alongside Python and Shell scripting.
• Monitor & Mitigate Threats: Regularly audit systems for vulnerabilities, apply security patches, and manage open-source security monitoring and logging stacks (
  Wazuh, Elasticsearch/Open Search, Git
  ).
• Collaborate Across Engineering: Partner directly with our Security Lead, Compliance Manager, and fellow engineers to align security strategies without slowing down innovation.

• Experience &
  
  Education:
  
  B.S. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field, plus 10+ years of hands‑on experience as a Security Engineer, Linux Systems Administrator, or similar role.
• On-Premises Linux & macOS Expertise: Deep, hands‑on proficiency securing on‑premises Linux environments and Apple/macOS systems (candidates whose experience is exclusively cloud‑based or Windows‑only will not be a fit for our environment).
• Open‑Source Security Tooling: Proven experience working with Git
  , Wazuh
  , and Elasticsearch or Open Search
  .
• Configuration Management & Scripting: Strong hands‑on experience writing and maintaining Ansible playbooks/roles, plus proficiency in Python and Shell/Bash scripting to build security tools and automate monitoring.
• Network Security Fundamentals: Solid command of networking protocols (
  TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, VPN
  ) and network defense, including firewalls, VPNs, and network segmentation.
• Location & Clearance: Must be a U.S. Citizen able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance, and able to work on‑site 5 days a week in Leesburg, VA.

• Familiarity with DNS infrastructure and tools (
  BIND, Unbound, and/or PowerDNS
  ).
• Experience with Fluent Bit or Fluentd for log collection, processing, and forwarding across distributed environments.
• Hands‑on experience with virtualization platforms (
  VMware, Proxmox, Virtual Box
  ).