Systems Administrator II

ALEX is seeking an experienced Linux-focused System Administrator (Level 2) to support a mission-critical program within the Intelligence Community at Fort Meade, MD. This is an on-site position in a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) environment. The successful candidate will be responsible for the day-to-day administration, security compliance, and operational health of complex Linux-based infrastructure spanning virtualized environments, container platforms, and classified networked systems.

The SA Level 2 operates with a high degree of independence and serves as a technical authority on Linux systems engineering, PKI/cryptographic policy enforcement, storage management, IP networking, and security compliance. This role carries significant responsibility for System Security Plan (SSP) maintenance, STIG implementation, and supporting Secure Telephone Equipment/Network (STE/STN) infrastructure within a heavily regulated RMF/NIST framework.

Key Responsibilities

Linux Systems Administration

• Administer, configure, harden, and maintain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Rocky Linux, and/or CentOS Stream server environments.
• Apply and maintain DISA STIG configurations using OpenSCAP and other SCAP-compliant tooling; remediate findings from automated scans.
• Manage system performance tuning, patch management (yum/dnf), software package management, and OS lifecycle operations.
• Configure and manage system services, daemons, scheduled tasks, logging (rsyslog/journald), and audit frameworks (auditd)
• Provide Tier 1 and Tier 2 application support and general troubleshooting across all Linux-based systems.

Compliance - SSP, RMF, and STIG

• Support ongoing System Security Plan (SSP) development, maintenance, and compliance activities in accordance with NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 controls.
• Conduct and document Risk Management Framework (RMF) activities including control implementation statements, POAM tracking, and continuous monitoring.
• Perform and respond to vulnerability assessments; coordinate CVE remediation and ensure timely patching.
• Maintain system authorization boundaries, support activities, and coordinate with the ISSO/ISSM.
• Enforce DoD crypto policies including FIPS 140-2/140-3 mode configuration.

STE/STN Support

• Install, configure, and maintain Secure Telephone Equipment (STE) and Secure Telephone Network (STN) infrastructure.
• Coordinate STE/STN provisioning, moves, adds, and changes (MACs) with communications and security personnel.
• Troubleshoot STE/STN connectivity and interoperability issues.
• Maintain accurate inventory and documentation for all STE/STN endpoints.

PKI, TLS, and Cryptographic Management

• Manage DoD PKI operations including certificate issuance, renewal, revocation, and trust store management.
• Configure and maintain TLS/SSL for system services and applications.
• Administer hardware security modules (HSMs) and software-based key management systems where deployed.
• Apply and enforce system crypto policies to ensure FIPS compliance across all managed systems.

Containers and Cloud Environments

• Deploy, operate, and maintain containerized workloads using Docker and/or Podman.
• Administer Kubernetes or OpenShift container orchestration clusters within classified/air-gapped environments.
• Manage container image pipelines including base image hardening, vulnerability scanning, and approved image registries.
• Support lifecycle management of containerized applications.

Virtualization

• Administer VMware vSphere/vCenter environments including ESXi host management.
• Manage KVM/QEMU-based virtual environments on Linux hosts.
• Coordinate capacity planning and resource optimization across virtualized infrastructure.

Storage Management

• Administer NAS and SAN systems; manage LUN provisioning, zoning, and multipath I/O.
• Operate and maintain Ceph distributed storage clusters.
• Configure and manage LVM, RAID arrays, and filesystem operations.
• Implement and verify data-at-rest encryption requirements.

IP Networking and Firewall Management

• Configure and manage host-based firewalls (firewalld, iptables/nftables) on Linux systems.
• Configure and manage host-based firewalls (firewalld, iptables/nftables) on Linux systems.
• Troubleshoot TCP/IP networking issues including routing, DNS, DHCP, VLAN segmentation.
• Interface with network engineers on firewall rule changes and ACLs.