Principal/Sr. Principal Linux Systems Administrator

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Global Operations Security is seeking a well-qualified Lead Linux Systems Administrator to join its dynamic team of technical professionals in Morrisville, NC.  The selected candidate will be required to work on-site, full-time, at our Morrisville, NC facility. Roles and responsibilities will include but not be limited to the following:

• Perform as primary Lead Linux Systems Administrator for a large, classified government contract(s).

• Maintain efficient operations of the entire IT infrastructure including severs, desktop, and networking equipment. 

• Communicate effectively with all stakeholders in written and verbal formats. 

• Ensure necessary IT projects are completed independently or assigned to others as necessary.

• Obtain and analyze internal and external customer requirements and recommend equipment and software as needed. 

• Implement system enhancements that will improve the performance, reliability and security of the system including installing, upgrading/patching, monitoring, problem resolution, and configuration management.

• Manage backup infrastructure then provide backup and recovery services

• Manage virus protection on a routine basis as directed by policy.

• Maintain security audit and logging information on all classified networked and standalone computers as directed by the Cyber Security team.

• Create and maintain user and computer accounts and modify file permissions as directed by policy.

• Develop and maintain technical processes and procedures as needed.

This position may be filled at Level 3 or Level 4, depending on the qualifications outlined below.

Basic Qualifications for Level 3:

• Associate’s degree with 7 years of experience, or a Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of experience, or a Master’s degree with 3 years of experience; a High School diploma or equivalent with 9 years of experience may be considered in lieu of a completed degree.

• Experience operating under and managing systems within current applicable information systems compliance standards.

Technical abilities

Experience maintaining Classified Linux environments in effective operations to include:

• Experience installing and managing RedHat Linux in a server environment.

• Prior experience of installing RedHat patches in engineering environment.

• Experience installing, configuring, and maintaining computer hardware in a networked environment.

• Experience implementing STIGs (Security Technical Implementation Guides) on Linux systems.

• Advance Linux troubleshooting experience in an engineering environment.

• Ability to support top tier helpdesk tickets.

• Prior experience of migration on prem to cloud – AWS or Azure.

• Supporting golden image creation, deployment, and underlying infrastructure.

• Experience deploying vulnerability scanning tools and remediation.

Clearance and access

• Currently active Top Secret/SCI security clearance and polygraph required; maintaining the required security clearance will be a condition of continued employment.

• Special Access Program (SAP/SAR) clearance; maintaining a SAP/SAR clearance will be a condition of continued employment.

Non-Technical abilities and certifications

• Currently valid Security+CE, CASP, CISSP, or similar DoD 8570 security certification; certification must be maintained as a condition of continued employment.

• Experience leading a technical team of IT professionals.

• Experience mentoring junior level IT professionals.

• Experience giving technical presentation to technical and non-technical attendees.

• Experience providing surge support to other programs as needed.

• Active vendor-based IT certification.

• Ability to travel as needed.

• Ability to lift equipment weighing up to 40 pounds

• Ability to work after hours and weekends as needed

Basic Qualifications for Level 4:

• Associate’s degree with 11 years of experience, or a Bachelor’s degree with 9 years of experience, or a Master’s degree with 7 years of experience; a High School diploma or equivalent with 13 years of experience may be considered in lieu of a completed degree.

• Experience operating under and managing systems within current applicable information systems compliance standards.

Technical abilities

Experience maintaining Classified Linux environments in effective operations to include:

• Experience installing and managing RedHat Linux in a server environment.

• Prior experience of installing RedHat patches in engineering environment.

• Experience installing, configuring, and maintaining computer hardware in a networked environment.

• Experience implementing STIGs (Security Technical Implementation Guides) on Linux systems.

• Advance Linux troubleshooting experience in an engineering environment.

• Ability to support top tier helpdesk tickets.

• Prior experience of migration on prem to cloud – AWS or Azure.

• Supporting golden image creation, deployment, and underlying infrastructure.

• Experience deploying vulnerability scanning tools and remediation.

Clearance and access

• Currently active Top Secret/SCI security clearance and polygraph required; maintaining the required security clearance will be a condition of continued employment.

• Special Access Program (SAP/SAR) clearance; maintaining a SAP/SAR clearance will be a condition of continued employment.

Non-Technical abilities and certifications

• Currently valid Security+CE, CASP, CISSP, or similar DoD 8570 security certification; certification must be maintained as a condition of continued employment.

• Experience leading a technical team of IT professionals.

• Experience mentoring junior level IT professionals.

• Experience giving technical presentation to technical and non-technical attendees.

• Experience providing surge support to other programs as needed.

• Active vendor-based IT certification.

• Ability to travel as needed.

• Ability to lift equipment weighing up to 40 pounds

• Ability to work after hours and weekends as needed

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with VMWare implementation, migration, and maintenance.

• Experience with NetApp and/or Nutanix implementation, migration, and maintenance.

• Experience with system design and architecture.

• Experience with communicating with executive leadership.

ESSysAdmin

Salary Range: $86,300 USD - $129,500 USD

Salary Range 2: $107,000 USD - $160,400 USD

Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The health and safety of our employees and their families is a top priority. The company encourages employees to remain up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. U.S. Northrop Grumman employees may be required, in the future, to be vaccinated or have an approved disability/medical or religious accommodation, pursuant to future court decisions and/or government action on the currently stayed federal contractor vaccine mandate under Executive Order 14042 https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO/AA and Pay Transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for most positions.