Senior UNIX/Linux Systems Engineer

Senior UNIX/Linux Systems Engineer

Radford, VA

At IPT Associates (IPTA), we enjoy solving real-world problems with technology. We work closely with our customers, teammates, experts, and partners to come up with practical solutions that make a difference. Whether it's a government or business organization, we focus on understanding the need and building something that works.

Our Team

At IPTA, everything starts with our people. We're big believers that when you invest in your team, great things happen. That's why we encourage learning, growth, and trying new things-even if you don't have all the answers yet.

Our culture is rooted in fierce determination, fearless integrity, and passionate service-but we also like to keep things collaborative, supportive, and down-to-earth.

We're looking for people who:

• Are curious and excited about technology
• Like solving problems and figuring things out
• Can take initiative but also enjoy working with a team
• Want to keep learning, growing, and challenging themselves

If you're someone who's eager to jump in, learn something new, and make an impact-you'll fit right in here.

Position Summary: You will join an established UNIX team in a mixed, growing Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Oracle Enterprise Linux, and Solaris environment. You will manage, maintain, deploy, troubleshoot, and support servers for several customers.

Key Responsibilities:

• Plan and implement new system hardware and software
• Write and maintain technical instructions, operating procedures, and policies
• Monitor and tune system performance, harden servers, and report on security and operational status
• Recommend enterprise improvements and manage new hardware and software integrations
• Write utilization reports that point out problems and fixes
• Support the lifecycle of datacenter equipment, including firmware version control and preventive maintenance
• Recommend, demonstrate, and roll out technologies that make the environment bigger, better, and more efficient

Required Qualifications:

• CompTIA Security+
• Computing environment certification (e.g., Red Hat), or the ability to get one within 30 days of starting
• Experience in computer science or IT
• Active Security Clearance Required
• 5+ years as a UNIX systems administrator or IT engineer, including automating tasks
• 3+ years of patch management, including applying security updates with yum and RPM
• 3+ years in complex network environments using VLANs and tools such as ifconfig, netstat, SSH, and telnet, and hardening systems with firewalld/iptables and hosts
• 3+ years managing large numbers of local users from the command line
• 3+ years creating and following SOPs for repeatable processes, disaster recovery, and common problem resolution
• 3+ years configuring and maintaining DNS, SFTP, SMTP, and NTP
• Strong interpersonal skills and a team-player attitude

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of basic and advanced SELinux management and configuration
• Experience with cybersecurity patch management, STIGs, SRGs, RMF, SCA-V, and Cyber Operational Readiness Assessments (CORA)
• Experience deploying large hardware and software upgrades across many sites spread over a wide area
• Experience with current and emerging network and infrastructure management technologies

Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred. Certifications: CompTIA Security+. Red Hat or equivalent computing environment certification.

IPTA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All employment decisions are based on individual merit, including qualifications, experience, performance, and business needs, consistent with applicable federal laws and federal contracting requirements. IPTA provides equal opportunity and utilizes merit-based principles to make employment-related decisions.

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