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.

Qualifications

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.