Senior System Administrator

System Administrator - Level III

Location: Columbia, MD
Employment Type: Full-time
Experience Level: Senior (9+ years)
Security Clearance: Active TS/SCI with polygraph required

Position Overview

Description: You will support CNO Capabilities as a senior System Administrator and technical contributor responsible for sustaining and evolving a high-performance operational IT environment. This is not a ticket only administrator role. We are looking for someone who takes ownership of systems, documents with precision, builds strong relationships, and actively looks for ways to improve how engineers work every day. This role requires a forward leaning professional who enjoys working directly with users, optimizing workflows, and building repeatable processes that make future efforts faster and more efficient.

Responsibilities:

• Install, configure, and maintain high performance compute hardware, including NVIDIA H100, H200, and B300 class accelerator platforms.
• Uninstall and relocate existing equipment to a government data warehouse while ensuring configuration integrity and proper tracking.
• Lead installation and sustainment efforts for new and legacy hardware within the warehouse environment.
• Document installation procedures, configurations, and lessons learned to create repeatable, scalable deployment playbooks.
• Develop strong working relationships with onsite System Administrators at the warehouse to streamline troubleshooting and escalate priorities when mission timelines require it.
• Identify gaps in onsite support coverage and recommend improvements to reduce downtime and response time.
• Partner directly with contract engineering teams to optimize system performance and user workflows.
• Maintain detailed technical documentation, diagrams, and standard operating procedures with a level of clarity that allows another engineer to step in seamlessly.

• Support virtualization efforts and contribute to long term IT modernization strategies.
• Adapt as mission requirements evolve, including future support for AWS, cloud integrations, and Large Language Model infrastructure.

Skills Requirements:

• Strong Linux systems administration experience in operational environments.
• Experience installing and maintaining GPU accelerated or high performance compute systems, particularly NVIDIA enterprise class hardware.
• Demonstrated ability to document technical processes clearly and professionally.
• Experience working within structured data center or warehouse environments.
• Familiarity with virtualization technologies and hypervisors.
• Ability to troubleshoot hardware and software issues across networked systems.
• Strong communication skills and experience interacting directly with mission users.
• Proven ability to operate independently while coordinating effectively with distributed support teams.

Nice to Haves:

• Forward leaning mindset with enthusiasm for improving user experience.
• Comfort working hands on with hardware in a warehouse environment.
• Relationship builder who understands that mission success depends on strong coordination with onsite support teams.
• Flexible and growth oriented, with interest in expanding into cloud, AWS, and LLM support over time.
• Commitment to building documentation and processes that make tomorrow's installs faster than today's.

Benefits & Total Compensation

Compensation & Retirement

• Highly competitive base salary
• Performance-based bonus opportunities
• Employee referral bonus program (up to $10,000 per referral)
• 401(k) and Roth retirement plans with up to 10% profit-sharing contribution

Paid Time Off & Leave

• 25 days of paid time off annually
• PTO buy-back program
• 11 paid holidays annually (with flexible scheduling options)
• 3 additional paid site closure days per year
• Paid bereavement leave
• Paid parental leave:
  • 8 weeks childbirth leave for birthing parent
  • 4 weeks bonding leave for all parents (birth or adoption)

Health & Insurance

• 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and eligible dependents
• Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (medical, dependent care, limited purpose)
• Company-paid basic life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability coverage

Education & Professional Development

• Unlimited company-funded training courses and industry conferences
• Education assistance and continuing education support
• Up to 5 paid training days per year

Additional Benefits

• Company-provided apparel
• Regular company-sponsored events, including family-friendly gatherings and social events
• Annual holiday celebration

Benefits are subject to change based on contract and organizational policies.

Additional Information

• This position requires work to be performed on-site in a secure environment
• Candidates must maintain an active security clearance
• U.S. citizenship may be required based on contract requirements

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability.