Senior Systems Administrator

Bigbear.ai

13h•Onsite

About The Position

BigBear.ai is seeking a Senior Systems Administrator to join a mission-focused engineering team supporting the sustainment, reliability, and security of two critical operating environments. This is a full-time, onsite role based in Washington, D.C., ideal for a hands-on technical leader with proven experience managing a team in a high-availability environment. You will combine deep Linux systems administration expertise with day-to-day people leadership—driving priorities, ensuring consistent execution, and developing administrators while keeping systems stable, secure, and mission-ready.

Requirements

Clearance: Active TS/SCI and CI Poly eligible (must be able to obtain/maintain)
Minimum 10 years of systems administration experience, with at least a portion of that experience in the last 2 years, and
Master’s degree in a systems administration-related field OR a Bachelor’s degree in a related field plus 2 additional years of senior experience (for a total of 10 years) in lieu of a Master’s degree
Demonstrated experience managing a team (e.g., assigning work, setting priorities, coaching, accountability for outcomes) in an operations/sustainment environment
Experience providing performance input/feedback and driving team execution through competing priorities
Experience administering Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7/8/9
Working knowledge of FIPS mode, SELinux, firewalld, fapolicyd, and core Linux administration
Ability to obtain a Privileged User Access (PUA) account
CompTIA Security+ or equivalent certification (required for privileged access eligibility)
Demonstrated proficiency administering Linux-based systems
Familiarity supporting Apache HTTPD and Apache Tomcat
Working knowledge of PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and OracleDB
Exposure to ecosystems that may include Java, JCE, Java Web Services, Hibernate, Spring, JavaScript, Apache Ant, and Apache Solr

Nice To Haves

Prior experience as a people manager for system administration, platform operations, or infrastructure teams (including hiring support, onboarding, and talent development)
Experience creating and managing on-call/coverage schedules and operational handoffs (as applicable)
Experience tracking and reporting team operational metrics (incident trends, backlog, system availability, risks/mitigations)
Proficient experience with cloud computing environments and operational best practices
Strong Linux administration depth (automation, hardening, troubleshooting at scale)
Proficient digital security experience (system hardening, compliance, access controls, audit readiness)
Working knowledge of SQL and strong Bash scripting/automation skills
Ability to debug Java web applications in partnership with development teams (logs, configs, runtime behavior, dependencies)

Responsibilities

Administer and sustain Linux-based operating environments supporting critical applications and services
Manage a team of systems administrators, including work planning, task assignment, prioritization, and quality control of deliverables
Provide coaching, mentoring, and technical guidance; support onboarding, skills development, and knowledge transfer across the team
Support people-management responsibilities such as performance feedback, goal setting, and contributing to staffing needs (interviews, hiring recommendations) as applicable
Plan and lead major technical activities (upgrades, patching, hardening, automation, performance tuning) and drive work through completion
Coordinate incident response, lead troubleshooting bridges as needed, and drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions to reduce repeat issues
Monitor system health, analyze trends, and troubleshoot complex issues across OS, web/application tiers, and databases
Implement and maintain security controls and configuration baselines (including FIPS mode, SELinux, firewall configurations, and access controls)
Support web/application infrastructure components such as Apache HTTPD and Apache Tomcat and troubleshoot service-level issues
Manage change execution by ensuring readiness (communications, approvals, rollback planning, validation, and post-change documentation)
Improve operational maturity through runbooks/SOPs, standardization, and automation to reduce operational toil and increase reliability
Serve as a technical expert across multiple assignments; ensure the team meets operational commitments and timelines