Senior Systems Engineer (Linux)

GovCIO is currently hiring a highly experienced Senior Systems Engineer to support critical infrastructure modernization and platform engineering activities for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). This highly technical role focuses on designing, engineering, and maintaining secure, high-availability Linux enterprise architectures. This position will be located in Alexandria, VA, and will be a hybrid position.

The Senior Systems / Linux Engineer will serve as the core technical authority for enterprise Linux infrastructure and operating system security. Core responsibilities include:

• Lead the comprehensive engineering, technical planning, and execution of modernizing legacy infrastructure into scalable Linux-based enterprise architectures.
• Configure, optimize, and manage enterprise-grade Linux distributions, specifically Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), across hybrid cloud environments.
• Analyze and address all operating system performance, resource optimization, storage allocation, and kernel tuning implications.
• Architect and implement robust, high-availability Linux clusters, failover mechanisms, and automated backup strategies.
• Design and deploy automated configuration management scripts and infrastructure as code (IaC) to eliminate manual deployment steps.
• Develop the foundational infrastructure and secure pipelines required for seamless integration into enterprise data tools.
• Conduct technical root cause analysis, performance monitoring, and security hardening on active Linux systems and servers.
• Proactively identify architectural vulnerabilities during system migrations and design targeted engineering workarounds.
• Develop and maintain comprehensive technical documentation, deployment guides, and infrastructure topology diagrams.

High School with 9+ years (or commensurate experience)

Required Skills & Experience

• Certifications: DoD 8570 IAT Level II or higher (e.g., Security+ CE, CySA+) and a recognized Linux certification (e.g., RHCE, RHCSA).
• Deep technical proficiency in administrative engineering, configuration, and advanced troubleshooting of RHEL or similar enterprise Linux platforms.
• Hands-on engineering experience using advanced automation scripts (e.g., Ansible, Bash, Python, or Puppet) for systems orchestration.
• Proven experience implementing DISA STIGs and hardening enterprise Linux operating systems to meet federal security baselines.

Clearance Level: Must have an active Secret clearance  

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Prior experience supporting U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) software modernization programs.
• Direct experience utilizing or developing custom integrations and data connectors for the Collibra data governance platform.
• Familiarity with hosting, connecting, or optimizing Linux-based server environments that support the Collibra data governance platform.
• Advanced knowledge of Linux storage management (LVM, SAN, NAS) and network configuration (TCP/IP, routing, firewalls).
• Experience engineering virtualized environments (VMware vSphere) or cloud-hosted infrastructure (AWS, Azure).