Systems Administrator

The Tactical Defense Systems Group drives innovation in air defense to enhance U.S. Air Force operations. We design, develop, and test specialized instrumentation and prototype systems through flight, field, and laboratory campaigns using highly instrumented aircraft and advanced ground systems. Our work addresses critical challenges in air vehicle survivability, electronic countermeasure development, and testing infrastructure, delivering precise answers to Air Force partners. Join us to tackle meaningful challenges and drive innovation in national security in a dynamic mission-driven environment.

Position Description

Group 108 is seeking an IT Systems Administrator III to support end users, high‑performance computing environments, and both classified and unclassified processing systems. As a Systems Administrator III in Group 108, you will administer and secure Linux and Microsoft Windows desktop and server environments (including Windows 11 and current enterprise Linux distributions).

You will be responsible for the support, installation, maintenance, repair, and upgrade of computer and network equipment; reviewing and testing new hardware and software applications; and making purchase recommendations. You will design and implement scripts and automation tools (such as Ansible) to perform configuration management, compliance enforcement, and monitoring of systems and networks. You will collect and process capability requirements from technical research staff to inform and provide IT support to new and ongoing research by improving data storage, backup and recovery, network bandwidth throughput, and service application installation and management.

This role requires a cybersecurity mindset and regular collaboration with enterprise IT and cybersecurity teams to ensure systems remain compliant with evolving security and information‑assurance policies. You will maintain regular contact with these enterprise teams to interpret and implement cybersecurity policy changes, rapidly reconfigure systems as needed, and report and remediate performance and security issues. Domestic travel to field sites (<10% per year) may be required.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, maintain, and upgrade Linux (Red Hat and Ubuntu) workstations and servers, and Windows 11 PCs
• Provide troubleshooting to a group of approximately 75 staff for hardware, OS, and application issues; manage user accounts, group policy, and permissions via Active Directory and LDAP
• Administer data-storage solutions, backup schedules, and disaster-recovery procedures; validate backup integrity and perform restoration testing
• Evaluate new hardware and software, conduct proof-of-concept testing, and generate purchase recommendations
• Participate in efforts that enhance research compute capacity, storage scalability, and network performance; utilize system-monitoring and performance-analysis tools
• Work closely with enterprise IT and cybersecurity teams to ensure systems and services comply with current cybersecurity and information-assurance policies; support audits, remediation activities, and policy-driven configuration changes
• Produce documentation and knowledge-base articles for technical staff and end users on systems and services

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Information Systems, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field or equivalent experience (4 years or more)
• Minimum 4 years of IT systems administration experience supporting enterprise environments
• Eligible to obtain and maintain a SECRET level DoD security clearance (if not already)
• Willingness to obtain TS/SCI clearance
• Work on-site 80% of the time
• DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II, at a minimum Security+ certification (candidate will need to obtain within 6 months if they currently do not possess this certification)

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with RMF and derivative processes (DoD 8510, JSIG, ICD-503, CNSSI 1253.)
• Familiarity with relevant government security regulations (NISPOM, JSIG, ICD503, TEMPEST.)

Hiring Range: $95,700 - $126,700

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including—but not limited to—the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate’s experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work-life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT-funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work-life balance options
• ... and much more!

Please visit our Benefits page for more information. As an employee of MIT, you can also take advantage of other voluntary benefits, discounts and perks.

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.

Requisition ID: 43001

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