Systems Administrator 3

Job Summary: Candidate will be part of a team responsible for the deployment, installation, and maintenance of the Persistent Cyber Training Environment (PCTE); a Department of Defense cyber training environment/cyber range.

Responsible for the installation, configuration, verification, and maintenance of a host of COTS and GOTS software applications in a virtualized and containerized environment. Leveraging existing skills and program documentation, perform racking and stacking of equipment, cabling, provisioning, bare metal installation of OSes/hypervisors, provisioning of storage, configuration of virtualized networking, deployment of containers, merging of CI-CD artifacts, implementation of security policies and STIGs in conformance with existing type based ATO, and testing and validation of deployed solutions to ensure operability of all components.

Additional duties include ingesting documentation and knowledge from various sources and teams to generate mature and concise documentation for the installation of complete systems and individual updates (which may be composed of configuration changes, various COTS or GOTS software, or installation/replacement/refresh of hardware components and their associated configuration and integration).

May be responsible for conducting site surveys (travel required), identifying viability of existing infrastructure, identifying deficiencies, and providing customer facing briefings to report findings and status.

May be required to assist in troubleshooting and performing root cause analysis in the event of a patch, component, device, or system failure.

Comprehensive skill sets and complete knowledge of all HW and SW is not required coming into this position. However, the candidate must be sufficiently experienced in several of the associated technologies and be a fast learner with a proven ability to independently identify, troubleshoot, and resolve problems. Reach back support will be available within the immediate team, across the broader PCTE teams, and vendors and developers.

Required: Demonstrated experience in a technically demanding environment with the ability to execute in a hands-on role while maintaining the overall installation schedules. Able to work with a large team of engineers setting up complex software and hardware for data center and cloud environments. The ability to learn new technologies quickly and apply that knowledge in the field installing, configuring, troubleshooting, and testing the system software. The ability to apply critical thinking in the resolution of complex interdependent problems. The ability to apply empathy, compassion, and emotional intelligence when addressing issues encountered.

• Must be skilled with Linux system administration
• Must have a functional knowledge of VMware vCenter
• Must be detail oriented and able to create and follow complicated instructions to install, configure and validate the environments
• Must be capable of troubleshooting components when unexpected results are encountered
• Must be able to utilize and create command line tools and scripts for automation, administration, data collection and reporting. This job requires the ability to create, test, debug, deploy, and maintain scripts and other automation tools.
• Able to learn how to install and validate custom software in an environment with many interdependences.
• Must be a self-starter in a fast-paced environment and able to work with a range of engineers holding a diverse set of skills at differing levels of experience.
• Must be able to prioritize multiple tasks, projects, and demands.
• Must be able to analyze real world problems and implements solutions according to corporate guidelines and procedures, and industry best practices.
• Be sensitive and flexible to the needs and requirements of the customer.
• Effective interpersonal and communications skills.
• Professionally deliver information via tools such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Visio, Jira, Confluence, Slack, Email, etc.
• Must be a U.S Citizen.
• Must be capable of obtaining a U.S. Top Secret/SCI Clearance.
• Ability to solve technical problems involving a variety of interdependent software and hardware platforms.
• Excellent communications skills and the ability to work well in a team environment.
• Ability to interact with vendors/users/customers and developers to understand needs, limitations, operational requirements, and changes which may impact installation and testing activities, examine any relevant change implementation, then report the changes to leadership.

Travel: The position may require up to 10% travel time.

Physical: Must be able to lift, stack, carry, install objects up to 45lbs. Must implement appropriate team lift procedures for objects over 45lbs.

Required Skills: The ideal candidate will have experience and an intermediate to advanced understanding of at least one of the subject areas listed below:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Load Balancers/Network Boundary Solutions: F5
• Storage: NetApp ONTAP

Desired Skills: The ideal candidate will have experience and an intermediate to advanced understanding of at least three of the subject areas listed below:

• Networking: switching/L2, routing/L3, firewalls, VPN, VLANs, VXLANs, etc.
• Virtualization: VMware vSphere 6.5, 6.7, or 7.0
• Software defined networks: VMware NSX-V, or NSX-T
• Containers: RedHat OpenShift, VMware Tanzu, or Kubernetes
• Configuration Management: Git or GitLab
• Out of Band Management: HP iLO or Dell iDRAC
• RedHat Services: IDM, SSO, or Satellite
• Automation: Ansible, Chef, Puppet, PowerShell Desired State, or similar
• Cyber Security: ACAS, Tenable, HBSS, Elastic, STIGs, SCC, etc.
• Certificate Management: PKI

Required Education/Experience: Bachelors degree in a technical discipline such as IT, computer science, systems or software engineering from an accredited college or university and three (3) years of relevant work experience.

IAT Level II or greater. Security+, CISSP or other equivalent certification required within six months of hire.

Other Requirements: Please note that pursuant to a government contract, this specific position requires U. S. Citizenship status and a SECRET security clearance, with an ability to obtain a TOP SECRET security clearance. Security Clearance requirements will be specified in the Government's Task Order.

COVID-19 vaccinations or booster requirements and testing are subject to the status of the federal contractor mandate and customer site requirements; testing is at the cost of the employee.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. The above is intended to describe the general contents of and requirements for the performance of this job. Other tasks, responsibilities, and duties will be required as assigned.

Cole Engineering Services, Inc. has been, and is fully committed to equal employment opportunity. Equal Employment Opportunity will remain a fundamental principle, where we seek to recruit the very best candidates. CESI actively seeks to recruit and does not discriminate in employment without regard to gender, race, color, religious creed, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability and/or protected veteran status.