Linux Systems Administrator – Cloud & Distributed Systems, Lead Associate

Peraton•Laurel, MD

About The Position

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Cloud & Distributed Systems Engineer to support mission-critical, cloud-based data repositories serving users within a dynamic Intelligence Community environment This role operates in a dynamic, high-tempo operational environment where requirements evolve rapidly in response to global events. The selected candidate will administer and engineer large-scale Hadoop and Accumulo clusters, ensure system reliability and security, and collaborate across infrastructure, networking, and security domains to maintain continuous mission availability. This is not a traditional system administration role — it is a reliability-focused distributed systems engineering position operating on a scale. This position will provide after-hours on call/call in support. If you are a senior Linux administrator who operates confidently at scale and approaches systems with a reliability-first mindset, we encourage you to apply. Peraton offers enhanced benefits to employees working on this critical National Security program, which include heavily subsidized employee benefits coverage for you and your dependents, 25 days of PTO accrued annually up to a generous PTO cap and participation in an attractive bonus plan. #AJCM #PeratonRoyalMove Peraton Overview Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can’t be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we’re keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Requirements

7+ years of Linux systems administration experience
5+ years scripting (Bash, Python, or Perl)
5 years with BS/BA or 3 years with MS/MA
Experience supporting large-scale distributed systems across multiple clusters
Hands-on experience with Hadoop, Accumulo, and distributed storage technologies
Experience with Kubernetes and Docker
Familiarity with automation tools (Puppet, Ansible, Salt) and IaC (Terraform or CloudFormation)
Knowledge of monitoring platforms (Prometheus, Grafana, ELK, Splunk)
Understanding of networking fundamentals (VLANs, TCP/IP, load balancing)
Experience with high-availability design, storage architecture, and disaster recovery
System hardening and security compliance experience
Active TS/SCI clearance with current polygraph
Security+ (DoD 8570 compliant)
One of the following:
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
AWS DevOps Engineer – Professional
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Responsibilities

Administer and optimize enterprise Linux systems across large distributed clusters (60+ nodes, multi-rack deployments)
Monitor system health, performance, and reliability; troubleshoot complex hardware, software, network, and cloud issues
Support and tune Hadoop (HDFS/YARN) and Accumulo environments
Engineer monitoring, observability, and alerting solutions
Automate infrastructure using scripting and Infrastructure-as-Code
Patch, harden, and secure systems in compliance with security standards
Manage LDAP-based user accounts and core Linux services (DHCP, DNS)
Support Kubernetes-based containerized workloads
Participate in architecture discussions and cross-team engineering efforts
Contribute to incident response and root cause analysis