Linux Infrastructure Engineer

Job Title: Linux Infrastructure Engineer- 01-5518**NO CTC- Please do not apply if you can't work directly for usMust be Local or willing to relocate to the Richmond, VA area from day one. Alternate weeks in Richmond VA office; other week remote. (5 days in office, 5 days remote, repeating). and as required for projects or operational support.Participation in after-hours maintenance, patching, upgrades, production support, and an on-call rotation. No 100% remoteRequired QualificationsBachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or Computer EngineeringAt least five years of hands-on enterprise Linux administration experienceDemonstrated experience with provisioning, configuration, maintenance, patching, upgrades, troubleshooting, vulnerability remediation, system hardening, and production support.Hands-on Ansible experience and proficiency with Bash, Python, or another relevant scripting language.Strong understanding of Linux networking, DNS, storage, filesystems, authentication, access controls, and package management.Experience working within formal incident, problem, change, and service-management processes; strong analytical, documentation, communication, and collaboration skills.Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, participate in scheduled maintenance windows, and support an on-call rotation.Soft skill requirements Strong communication skills both verbal and writtenAbility to lead, collaborate, or work effectively in a variety of teams, including multi-disciplinary teamsPreferred QualificationsRedHat Enterprise Linux, Ansible Automation Platform or Tower; Terraform; VMware; Azure, AWS, or GCP; Git and CI/CD; ServiceNow or Jira; SolarWinds, Prometheus, Grafana, or CloudWatch; Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, OpenShift, AKS, or EKS; Security+, cloud, or Kubernetes certifications; and experience supporting highly available, business-critical, or regulated infrastructure.High Level Project Overview:Position SummaryProvide hands-on administration and operational support for enterprise Red Hat Linux environments, with accountability for system reliability, availability, security, performance, and compliance. The contractor will support server provisioning, configuration, patching, vulnerability remediation, upgrades, troubleshooting, automation, and infrastructure lifecycle activities across production and non-production environments.The role requires experience as an Enterprise Linux Administrator, Ansible automation, enterprise patching, incident response, scripting, and production operations. The engineer will collaborate with application, database, network, cybersecurity, cloud, monitoring, and other infrastructure teams to support critical business systems and resolve complex technical issues.Core ResponsibilitiesLinux Administration and LifecycleAdminister, provision, configure, maintain, upgrade, and decommission physical and virtual Red Hat Enterprise Linux servers.Monitor health, capacity, availability, performance, and operational stability; troubleshoot storage, filesystems, services, processes, packages, networking, permissions, and access.Support operating system modernization, technology refresh, and lifecycle activities while maintaining approved operational, security, and compliance configurations.Patching, Vulnerability Management, and ComplianceExecute monthly patching, kernel and operating system updates, scheduled maintenance, and urgent out-of-cycle remediation using approved enterprise processes.Validate server health, application connectivity, and stability after maintenance; resolve package, repository, dependency, kernel, boot, and configuration failures.Remediate vulnerabilities and maintain procedures, records, evidence, and documentation supporting cybersecurity requirements and applicable SOX and NERC CIP controls.Automation and Infrastructure as CodeDevelop, test, maintain, and support Ansible playbooks, roles, inventories, templates, and workflows for provisioning, patching, configuration, compliance, and maintenance.Use Bash, Python, or similar scripting to reduce manual work and improve consistency; contribute to Infrastructure as Code using technologies such as Terraform.Maintain automation in approved source control and apply appropriate safeguards, validation, error handling, and controlled execution.Incident and Operational SupportDiagnose and resolve complex Linux incidents, service requests, and escalations, including high-priority production events and live troubleshooting calls.Perform root cause analysis and recommend corrective and preventive actions for issues involving performance, connectivity, DNS, storage, authentication, services, packages, and application dependencies.Create and maintain runbooks, troubleshooting guides, operational procedures, and technical documentation; participate in on-call support and planned maintenance.Security, Cloud, and Platform SupportApply Linux hardening standards and secure configuration practices; support access management, privileged-account controls, audits, evidence collection, and remediation activities.Support Linux systems across on-premises, VMware, and cloud environments, preferably Microsoft Azure or AWS, including compute, storage, networking, DNS, and identity dependencies.Provide operational support and cross-platform troubleshooting for containerized workloads and related infrastructure when required.Collaboration and Knowledge TransferCoordinate effectively across Infrastructure Operations, Cybersecurity, Application Support, Database, Network, Monitoring, and Cloud Engineering.Communicate technical issues, risks, status, and recommendations clearly; share knowledge, provide hands-on knowledge transfer, and participate in reviews, planning, change management, and continuous improvement.Required Years of Experience:5+ years of hands-on enterprise Linux administration experienceEducation:Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science or Computer EngineeringLocation = Richmond VA (parking not provided)Rate = $65-$73/hr a W2 contractLength = 1+ Years W2 Contract - Possible long term/extension for the right candidate