Systems Administrator 5

The Role

Maintains smooth operation of multi-user computer systems, including coordination with network administrators. Interacts with users and evaluates vendor products. Makes recommendations to purchase hardware and software, coordinates installation and provides backup recovery. Develops and monitors policies and standards for allocation related to the use of computing resources. Ancillary duties may include setting up administrator and service accounts, maintaining system documentation, tuning system performance, installing system wide software and allocating mass storage space.

Senior UNIX/Linux/Solaris System Administrator / Team Lead (Level 5), emphasizing the need for a highly experienced professional to lead the organization’s critical Linux and virtualized infrastructure. The role combines technical expertise, leadership, and strategic planning, requiring the individual to drive major technology initiatives, manage a team, and ensure the security, scalability, and availability of the infrastructure.
 Key Responsibilities:
•    Technical Team Leadership: Lead the UNIX/Linux administration team, providing guidance, mentoring, and performance feedback.
•    Project Management: Oversee major infrastructure projects, ensuring adherence to scope, budget, and timeline.
•    Process Improvement: Develop and enforce standardized operating procedures, best practices, and runbooks.
•    Vendor Management: Manage relationships with vendors and service providers, evaluating new technologies.
•    System Architecture: Design, deploy, and maintain highly available, scalable, and secure on-premises and cloud-based Linux infrastructure.
•    Strategic Planning: Define the long-term roadmap for Linux and virtualization environments.
•    Advanced Troubleshooting: Serve as the final escalation point for complex system issues.
•    Automation & CI/CD: Drive the Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) vision, designing and implementing advanced automation frameworks.
•    Security & Compliance: Design and audit security configurations, ensuring compliance with internal and external requirements.
•    Disaster Recovery: Architect and validate enterprise-grade Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solutions.

Must Have

Bachelor’s Degree and 14 years of relevant exempt experience; Master’s Degree and 12 years of relevant professional experience; Ph.D. and 9 years of experience.

One of the following may be used as an equivalent to Bachelor's Degree for Information Technology Related Positions Only:

• NNS Apprentice School graduate
• Navy Nuclear Power School (NNPS) graduate
• Associate's Degree or other formal 2 year program and 2 years of relevant exempt experience or 4 years of relevant non-exempt experience
• Military Paygrade E-5 or above military experience
• High School/GED and 4 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant exempt experience
• High School/GED and 8 years combined of Manufacturing, Shipbuilding, Trades, Military experience or other relevant non-exempt experience
• A relevant professional certification can be substituted for a Bachelor's Degree.
• •    Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.
  •    Technical Expertise: Expert-level knowledge of AIX, RHEL/Linux, VMware vSphere, automation, and configuration management.
  •    Leadership & Soft Skills: Demonstrated history of successful project leadership, exceptional problem-solving, and superior communication skills.

Nice to Have

Experience with Splunk: The ideal candidate should have hands-on experience with Splunk, including:
•    Configuring and managing Splunk indexes, including data retention, rotation, and archiving
•    Creating and managing Splunk dashboards, reports, and alerts to visualize and monitor machine-generated data
•    Writing and optimizing Splunk searches, including the use of Splunk Query Language (SPL) and regular expressions
•    Utilizing Splunk’s data ingestion capabilities, including configuring inputs, outputs, and forwarders
•    Implementing Splunk’s security features, such as authentication, authorization, and encryption
•    Troubleshooting Splunk issues, including data ingestion problems, search performance, and dashboard errors
•    Integrating Splunk with other tools and systems, such as SIEM systems, log management tools, and IT service management software
•    Experience with Splunk’s add-ons and apps, including the Splunk App for Enterprise Security and the Splunk Add-on for Linux
•    Familiarity with Splunk’s data models, including the Common Information Model (CIM) and the Splunk Data Model
•    Knowledge of Splunk’s clustering and distributed search capabilities, including configuring and managing indexer clusters and search heads
•    Experience with Splunk’s API and SDK, including using the Splunk REST API and the Splunk Python SDK to automate tasks and integrate with other systems. This revised requirement provides a more detailed and specific description of the Splunk-related tasks and responsibilities that the candidate should be familiar with.
 
Experience with Ansible Automation: The candidate should have hands-on experience with Ansible, including:
•    Creating and managing Ansible playbooks, roles, and templates to automate infrastructure and application deployment
•    Writing Ansible modules and plugins to extend Ansible’s functionality
•    Utilizing Ansible’s built-in features, such as variables, conditionals, and loops, to create dynamic and flexible playbooks
•    Managing and configuring Ansible inventories, including static and dynamic inventories
•    Implementing Ansible’s security features, such as encryption and authentication, to secure automation workflows
•    Troubleshooting Ansible playbook runs, including debugging and error handling
•    Integrating Ansible with other tools and systems, such as CI/CD pipelines, monitoring systems, and cloud providers
•    Experience with Ansible Tower or AWX, including creating and managing jobs, inventories, and credentials
•    Familiarity with Ansible’s best practices, including playbook organization, variable management, and testing
 
Experience with IBM AIX: The candidate should have hands-on experience with IBM AIX, including:
•    Installing, configuring, and managing AIX operating systems on IBM Power Systems hardware
•    Performing AIX system administration tasks, such as user management, file system management, and network configuration
•    Troubleshooting AIX system issues, including error analysis and resolution
•    Implementing AIX security features, such as access control, authentication, and encryption
•    Managing AIX storage, including LVM, JFS, and NFS
•    Utilizing AIX performance monitoring and tuning tools, such as nmon and topas
•    Experience with AIX-specific commands, such as smitty and smit
•    Familiarity with AIX virtualization technologies, such as WPARs and LPARs