Systems Administrator-SME

• Location: Chantilly, VA
• Security Clearance: Active TS or higher [Required]
• Job Type: Full-Time

Target Salary Range*:$120,000 - $170,000

*This represents the potential salary range for this position depending on education level, years of experience and/or certifications in addition to other position specific requirements which may impact salary

Position Overview

Serve as the principal authority for enterprise systems architecture, infrastructure modernization, and zero-trust security implementation. Lead the design, automation, optimization, and governance of highly available infrastructure across complex, cross-enclave systems.

Provide strategic and technical leadership for Infrastructure as Code (IaC), configuration management, disaster recovery, and compliance automation to ensure resilient, scalable, and secure operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise Architecture and Modernization
• Serve as the principal authority for enterprise systems architecture and infrastructure modernization.
• Lead the design of highly available infrastructure environments.
• Optimize infrastructure scalability, performance, and security across complex environments.

Infrastructure Automation

• Lead infrastructure automation and optimization.
• Drive IaC and configuration management initiatives across the enterprise.
• Security and Cross-Enclave Interoperability
• Implement zero-trust security principles and cross-enclave interoperability solutions.
• Provide strategic technical leadership for enterprise security and operational resilience initiatives.
• Governance and Disaster Recovery
• Establish and enforce governance frameworks for disaster recovery and compliance automation.

Technical Leadership

Guide teams on best practices for system administration, automation, and infrastructure management.

Education

Bachelor’s degree. [Required]

Experience

• Minimum of 10 years of experience. [Required]
• Extensive experience supporting Windows, Linux, and hybrid-cloud environments. [Required]
• Experience with cloud platforms including AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. [Required]

Skills

• Expertise with IaC and configuration management tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Puppet, or Chef. [Required]
• Strong knowledge of system monitoring, disaster recovery, backup solutions, and performance optimization. [Required]
• Deep understanding of enterprise security controls, compliance requirements, and infrastructure governance. [Required]
• Proven ability to lead enterprise infrastructure initiatives and technical teams. [Required]
• Cloud and Enterprise Infrastructure Requirements
• Air-gapped hybrid cloud and on-premises operational environments, including complex multi-enclave ecosystems.
• AWS GovCloud/SC2S/C2S and GCP cloud platforms.
• Nutanix host and cluster configuration, management with Prism Central, and NDFS configuration and management.
• Locally hosted GPU servers.
• Cloud cost-optimization techniques.
• Operating systems: Linux, including Rocky, Red Hat, Amazon, and Ubuntu; Windows; and macOS.
• Networking and Cross-Domain Requirements
• Cisco switching, routing, firewalling, and site-to-site functionality, such as IPsec, DMVPN, and SD-WAN.
• Multi-tenant Cross-Domain Solutions (CDS).
• Cloud networking and VPC configuration.
• High-assurance cross-domain and encryption solutions, including TACLANE and NCAP.
• Automation and Containerization Requirements
• Infrastructure as Code using Terraform and Ansible.
• Containerization and orchestration using Docker, Kubernetes, and OpenShift.
• Advanced GitLab CI/CD pipelines and DevSecOps practices.
• Security and Identity Requirements
• Cloud-native security implementation and security accreditation processes.
• Identity and access services: Microsoft Active Directory, LDAP / OpenLDAP, Entra ID, and Keycloak.
• Data Services and Monitoring Requirements
• Enterprise database services: RDS, RDS Aurora, and DynamoDB.
• Monitoring, logging, and data platforms: Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, and Splunk.
• Application Architecture and Development Requirements
• Serverless architectures using Lambda.
• Microservices architecture and API Gateway implementation.
• Development experience with Python, .NET/C#, and related languages.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related field.
• Experience supporting federal, defense, intelligence, or highly regulated environments.
• Expertise in zero-trust architecture and secure infrastructure design.
• Experience with containerized platforms such as Docker and Kubernetes.
• Relevant certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect, Azure Administrator/Architect, RHCE, VMware, CISSP, or similar.
• Experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise automation frameworks.