Infrastructure Systems Administrator

Position

We are searching for an experienced, organized, positive, and self‑motivated Infrastructure Systems Administrator to join our Dev Sec Ops  Department within the Joint Mission Integration and Experimentation (JMIE) Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State.

• Asset installation, configuration, operation, and maintenance of systems hardware, software, and related infrastructure.
• Configure and manage operating systems (Windows and Linux), applications (commercial and government), networks (IPs, subnets, etc.), and network equipment (switches).
• Configure and manage DOD and IC standard distributed authentication services.
• Build systems from bare‑metal in alignment with accredited baselines.
• Ensure that system hardware, operating systems, software systems, and related procedures adhere to government security and readiness policies.
• Perform regular security monitoring to identify possible intrusions, including assessment of logs and reports.
• Perform daily backup operations, regular file archival and purge as necessary.
• Create, change, and delete user accounts per request.
• Perform ongoing performance tuning, hardware upgrades, and resource optimization.
• Repair and recover from hardware or software failures for multiple sites.
• Establish, document, and monitor the government’s cyber security program implementation plan.
• Maintain facility video distribution system and displays.

• System administration experience (server and desktop security implementation and management, software development, IT infrastructure setup and management).
• Experience with U.S. Government computers, networks, and security.
• Administering server‑side technology and networked computing systems.
• Proven working experience with DNS, DHCP, Kickstart, LDAP, Kubernetes, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Windows 11 and Server, ACAS, Rancher, Grafana, ELK Stack, Cross Domain Guards.
• Configure and manage operating systems (Windows and Linux), applications, networks, and network equipment.
• Configure and manage DOD and IC standard distributed authentication services.
• Maintain and create system documentation, provide surge hours during events, and create simple scripts (e.g., Power Shell or Bash).
• Cybersecurity Management Certification (CISSP, CISM), Cybersecurity IAT‑2 level Technical Certification (Security+, GSEC, etc.), Risk Management Framework (RMF) accreditation experience within six months of hire if not already held.
• Demonstrated ability to work through difficult problems, using proper steps to define and formulate ideas to reach a solution.
• Willingness to learn new technologies.
• Ability to obtain an active security clearance at the TS/SCI level prior to beginning employment.

• Automate installation, configuration, and provisioning using Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, and Chef.
• Experience with Joint IO Range, Defense Research and Engineering Network, or similar environments.
• Experience with DOD and IC network infrastructures.

Your working location will be hybrid on‑site/work from home (project‑dependent ability for hybrid work), located in San Diego, CA. Questions related to flexible work should be directed to the hiring manager during the interview process.

For Senior Professional:
Bachelor’s Degree with 6+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. For Advanced Professional:
Bachelor’s Degree with 3+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $76,700 to $129,500. The proposed salary range may be impacted by geographic differential.

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full‑time employees designed to support personal and professional well‑being. Benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; robust retirement plans; substantial paid time off including holidays, vacation, and sick time; and a generous 75% tuition discount available to employees and eligible spouses and children.