UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer

GD Information Technology • Bethesda, MD

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

GDIT is seeking a UNIX/Linux/Solaris Engineer to support NIH CIT’s HSS program. The role involves maintaining the stability, security, and performance of mission-critical systems running Solaris (Zones/LDOMs) and Red Hat Linux on VMware. A key aspect of the role is applying automation to reduce manual tasks and modernize systems where it enhances reliability, security, and customer outcomes.

Requirements

• BS/BA or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years administering Oracle Solaris (Zones/LDOMs) and/or Red Hat Enterprise Linux at scale, including OS patching and change execution in regulated environments.
• Hands-on with ABE-based Solaris patching, rollback, and vendor bundle planning; experience adjusting to non-monthly patch cadences.
• Practical experience with Puppet and Ansible for UNIX automation (playbooks/modules), plus strong shell scripting (bash/ ksh ).
• Familiarity with VMware-hosted Linux operations and coordination with platform teams.
• Operational monitoring and security tooling: SL1, Tenable, Tripwire, Splunk; host-level firewall management and security policy enforcement (e.g., password lifecycles).
• Proven use of ServiceNow (CAB/change templates; incident/RCA) and on-call processes via XMatters .
• Strong documentation habits (SOPs/runbooks with screenshots) and collaborative posture with customers and cyber teams.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Public Trust.

Nice To Haves

• Designed Ansible-first automation to replace legacy tools (e.g., Oracle Ops Center) for Solaris patch management; integrated automation outputs with ServiceNow tasks/approvals.
• Experience upgrading Oracle OEM and validating monitoring/administration flows during cutover.
• Familiarity with CIS controls and practical hardening for UNIX/Linux (file integrity, SSH posture, logging, firewall ).
• Capacity to coach customers on reliable application monitoring (SL1 hooks or customer tools like SiteScope) while keeping OS monitoring/alerting clean.

Responsibilities

• Operate and administer Solaris and Red Hat estates: Solaris—administer Zones and Logical Domains (LDOMs); manage OS lifecycle, patching, and hardware (Oracle platforms such as T-series where applicable). Red Hat—administer RHEL systems virtualized on VMware (in partnership with the Windows/VMware team).
• Drive Solaris patching using Alternate Boot Environments (ABE)—build, patch, and reboot into ABEs on standard cycles (e.g., 3rd Friday for non-prod, 4th Friday for prod) with rapid rollback capability if needed. Adapt to Oracle’s revised patch cadence (security bundles every ~6 weeks, with potential interim bundles) and plan out-of-band updates when required by vulnerability severity.
• Maintain Red Hat patching via Puppet, ensuring customer-managed servers also receive monthly OS updates.
• Lead the transition off Oracle Ops Center (EOL/waiver ends Dec 31) toward Ansible (preferred) or Puppet playbooks for Solaris patch automation; author playbooks/modules and operational runbooks for the new process.
• Support upgrade from Oracle OEM 13.5 to 24 AI and ensure monitoring/administration workflows remain reliable during and after the migration.
• Configure and consume SL1 monitoring for OS/hardware health (CPU/memory/filesystems) and notifications; coordinate with DCOB (operations management) for platform configuration as needed.
• Triage security alerts from Tenable scans and follow-on tickets in Tripwire (file integrity) and Splunk (log-based anomalies such as SSH attempts); enforce host-level firewalls and raise network blocks when needed.
• Implement account policies (e.g., password expiration changes) safely across environments; validate changes in non-prod first to avoid service impact.
• Solaris—own root and full OS/hardware administration; grant sudo for customer application operations. Red Hat—support both managed (GDIT administers OS; customers manage apps) and customer-managed servers (customers hold root; GDIT ensures OS patching and provides consulting on request).
• Use ServiceNow for change and incident management; adhere to CAB approvals and standard change windows; deliver post-incident RCA where applicable.
• Participate in XMatters on-call rotations (15-minute acknowledge; tiered escalation), coordinating with NOC bridge during enterprise events (e.g., DNS or network issues).
• Maintain SharePoint-hosted SOPs/runbooks (with screenshots) covering patch orchestration (ABE), rollback, automation playbooks, OEM upgrade steps, SL1 alerting, and security/vulnerability remediation workflows; align with weekly UNIX–security syncs and customer meetings.

Benefits

• variety of medical plan options, some with Health Savings Accounts
• dental plan options
• a vision plan
• a 401(k) plan offering the ability to contribute both pre and post-tax dollars up to the IRS annual limits and receive a company match
• full flex work weeks where possible
• a variety of paid time off plans, including vacation, sick and personal time, holidays, paid parental, military, bereavement and jury duty leave
• short and long-term disability benefits
• life, accidental death and dismemberment, personal accident, critical illness and business travel and accident insurance

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior