Senior Linux System Administrator

Senior Linux System Administrator manages Linux infrastructure, automates tasks with scripting (Python, Bash, etc.), uses Puppet for configuration, troubleshoots complex issues, and supports developers at NCBI. Requires 7+ years Linux admin experience and strong automation skills.

About the job

Duties & Responsibilities

Develop and document standard operating procedures for systems provisioning, installation, upgrading, migration; host and service monitoring; configuration management; problem troubleshooting; and other systems administration aspects.
Manage and configure services, software, and hardware configurations.
Take direction from the team lead and work independently within a team-environment.
Mentor junior team members.
Learn new technologies and skills.
Develop and maintain custom tools in Python, Perl, Ruby, and Bash to automate managing the UNIX infrastructure.
Use Puppet to maintain thousands of physical and virtual Linux CentOS systems and associated applications.
Develop policies and procedures for standard systems administration tasks (packaging, OS installs, patch management).
Build open-source software from source code.
Document procedures, systems, services, and software. Provide ad-hoc training where appropriate.
Provide UNIX support to NCBI's internal developers and researchers.
Provide technical solutions to a wide range of problems and user requests through an established trouble ticketing system.
Troubleshoot, research, design, and implement solutions to complex systems problems while accounting for technical limits, overall cost, and security policies.
Assist with planning and implementation of major OS upgrade, deployments, and architectural changes.

Requirements

Willingness to learn new technologies and skills.
Significant experience in Linux Systems Administration (7+ years).
Comfortable with Unix command line tools.
Highly versed in Linux administration and best practices.
Fluent in programming/scripting skills for automation in at least two of Bash, Ruby, Python, and Perl.
General understanding of Linux internals (system calls, file systems, processes, etc).
General understanding of TCP/IP and related protocols (HTTP, FTP, NFS, etc…).
Comfortable working with users of varying levels of IT knowledge.
Experience with building open-source software from source code.
Able to work with minimum supervision on assigned tasks, and work with others both within and outside of the team.
Strong communication skills, especially with regards to documentation.

Bonus Points

Experience in a complex, dynamic, production, public-facing Linux environment.
Experience with OpenShift, Kubernetes, GKE, or similar technologies.
Knowledge of cloud technology such as AWS and GCP.
Experience with automated configuration management, such as Puppet (preferred), Ansible, Chef, bcfg2, CFEngine, etc.
Experience with version control (Git is preferred).
Experience supporting large web application environments and development.
Experience with enterprise network architectures.
Experience with monitoring, alerting, and observability tools.