IT Operations Technical Lead

Axle • Frederick, MD

5d • Hybrid

About The Position

Axle is seeking an IT Operations Technical Lead to oversee and optimize hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with ITIL-based operations, automation, and incident management. The ideal candidate brings deep Linux expertise and a focus on reliability, scalability, and modern workloads like AI/ML.

Requirements

• Must have 5+ years of experience leading operations team with hands-on experience in driving operational process improvements and technological advancements.
• Proven experience implementing and operating within ITIL frameworks
• Must have 10+ years of hands-on Unix/Linux experience that includes specific technical experience with CentOS / Red Hat systems administration support for large scale distributed environments
• Hands-on experience with incident management, patching, system hardening, and production support
• Experience building and maintaining golden images and standardized environments
• Strong scripting/automation skills (e.g., Python, Bash, PowerShell or similar)
• Experience with configuration management and automation tools (Ansible, Terraform, Puppet, Chef, or similar)
• Strong understanding of networking fundamentals (DNS, TCP/IP, firewalls, load balancing)
• Experience with monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Nagios, Splunk, ELK, Prometheus, Grafana)
• Must have Cloud Build-Out or Migration experience in at least one of the following providers Amazon AWS, Google GCP and Microsoft Azure
• Must have 2+ years with CI/CD and automation tools such as Terraform, Ansible, Chef, Puppet, Jenkins, GitHub
• Experience supporting AI/ML workloads or data-intensive platforms
• Familiarity with GPU-based compute environments (e.g., NVIDIA GPU instances)
• Must be willing to learn new technologies, adopt and adapt to emerging technologies or needs from a project to a project
• Knowledge of security best practices and compliance frameworks such as NIST 800-53, FedRAMP, FISMA etc. are preferred

Nice To Haves

• Certifications such as ITIL, Linux, AWS, Azure, or Kubernetes (CKA/CKAD) is preferred
• Networking certifications (CCNA/CCNP) are a plus

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage IT operations aligned with ITIL processes including Incident, Problem, Change, and Release Management
• Provide hands-on leadership in managing Linux and Windows environments across cloud and on-premises infrastructure
• Own and drive incident response, root cause analysis, and service restoration for mission-critical systems
• Design, build, and maintain golden images, patching strategies, and system hardening standards
• Lead patch management and vulnerability remediation programs ensuring compliance and system integrity
• Develop and implement automation solutions using modern approaches including Vibe Coding (AI-assisted development) to accelerate operational efficiency and reduce toil
• Support and optimize infrastructure for AI/ML workloads, including provisioning, scaling, and performance tuning
• Manage and maintain GPU-enabled environments and instances for high-performance computing and machine learning use cases
• Oversee and optimize infrastructure monitoring, logging, alerting, and observability frameworks
• Manage and mentor a team of systems engineers; provide technical guidance and performance oversight
• Collaborate with architecture, security, and development teams to improve reliability, scalability, and operational efficiency
• Support hybrid environments including cloud platforms and on-premise data centers
• Ensure proper documentation, runbooks, SOPs, and operational readiness
• Stay abreast of new technologies in your areas but not limited to US Federal Standards, NIST Publications, cloud computing & deployment, site reliability engineering, security standards and compliance best practices etc.

Benefits

• 100% Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage for Employees
• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays
• 401K match up to 5%
• Educational Benefits for Career Growth
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Healthcare (FSA), Parking Reimbursement Account (PRK), Dependent Care Assistant Program (DCAP), Transportation Reimbursement Account (TRN)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed