# Senior Linux System Administrator

**Company:** [Black Canyon Consulting](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/blackcanyonconsulting)
**Location:** Bethesda, MD
**Role:** DevOps / SRE
**Experience:** 7+ years
**Skills:** Linux, Centos, Puppet, Python, Bash, Perl, Ruby, Kubernetes, Openshift, Ansible, Git, AWS, GCP, TCP/IP
**Posted:** 2026-02-20

> 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.

## Job Description

## 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.

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**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/d922080a-01c6-4513-8416-cf54774ae714
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/d922080a-01c6-4513-8416-cf54774ae714