System Administrator, Linux

Description

The Linux System Administrator is responsible for the installation, configuration, maintenance, security, and performance of Linux-based servers and infrastructure. This role ensures system availability, reliability, and operational efficiency while supporting business applications, users, and IT initiatives.

This is a hybrid working role that requires 3 days onsite, in office, per week. 

Responsibilities

• Administer Linux servers and operating systems across development, test, and production environments.
• Monitor system health, performance, and availability.
• Perform operating system installations, upgrades, and patching.
• Implement and maintain security controls and compliance requirements.
• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware, software, and infrastructure issues.
• Manage user accounts, permissions, and authentication services.
• Maintain backup and recovery processes.
• Develop and maintain infrastructure automation solutions.
• Create and update technical documentation, procedures, and system diagrams.
• Participate in incident response, root cause analysis, and problem resolution.
• Support change management and system maintenance activities.
• Collaborate with application, network, security, and cloud teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field; or equivalent work experience.
• Relevant certifications preferred (RHCSA, RHCE, Linux+, LPIC, AWS SysOps, or equivalent).
• 3+ years of experience administering Linux operating systems in enterprise environments.
• Experience supporting physical, virtual, and cloud-hosted Linux servers.
• Experience with enterprise monitoring, backup, and security tools.
• Strong experience with Linux distributions such as:
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• Rocky Linux
• AlmaLinux
• Ubuntu
• SUSE Linux Enterprise

System Administration

• Installation, configuration, and maintenance of Linux servers.
• User and group administration.
• Filesystem management and disk provisioning.
• Service management using systemd.
• Performance tuning and system optimization.
• Patch management and operating system upgrades.

Scripting and Automation

Proficiency in:

• Bash shell scripting
• Python (preferred)
• Ansible or similar automation tools
• Ability to automate routine administrative tasks.

Networking

Understanding of:

• TCP/IP
• DNS
• DHCP
• SSH
• NFS
• LDAP
• VPN technologies
• Experience troubleshooting network connectivity issues.

Virtualization and Cloud

Experience with:

• VMware vSphere
• Hyper-V
• KVM
• AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
• Managing virtual machines and cloud infrastructure.

Security

Knowledge of Linux security best practices.

Experience with:

• SELinux/AppArmor
• Firewall configuration (firewalld, iptables, nftables)
• Vulnerability remediation
• Access controls and auditing
• Security compliance standards

Monitoring and Logging

Experience with monitoring and logging tools such as:

• Nagios
• Zabbix
• Splunk
• ELK Stack
• Prometheus
• Grafana

Storage and Backup

Knowledge of:

• RAID configurations
• LVM management
• SAN/NAS environments
• Backup and recovery procedures
• Disaster recovery planning

Preferred Skills

• Container technologies (Docker, Podman).
• Kubernetes or OpenShift administration.
• Configuration management tools (Ansible, Puppet, Chef).
• DevOps practices and CI/CD pipelines.
• Git version control.
• Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
• Enterprise directory services integration.
• Experience in highly available and clustered environments.

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical and troubleshooting abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and within a team environment.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Customer service and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Physical and Operational Requirements

• Ability to participate in on-call rotations and after-hours support.
• Ability to support maintenance windows during evenings or weekends as needed.
• Ability to lift and install server hardware when required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain any required security clearances.

Success Factors

A successful Linux System Administrator will:

• Maintain high system availability and uptime.
• Proactively identify and resolve issues before service impact.
• Automate repetitive tasks to improve operational efficiency.
• Ensure systems remain secure, patched, and compliant.
• Provide excellent support to users and technical teams.