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Senior Systems Administrator (Linux/Cloud)

Penn State University

Reston, VAFull-time$96–182K/yrPosted 2mo agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$96–182K/yr
Location
Reston, VA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Security clearance, required

Job overview

Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory seeks a Systems Administrator for its Digital Engineering Department in Reston, Virginia. The role maintains high-performance computing systems and administers cloud tooling and applications. The administrator supports Linux systems, automation, and CI/CD pipelines; troubleshoots infrastructure and software issues; and may supervise staff. The position is fully onsite and requires U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain a government security clearance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Linux, requiredAnsible Scripting, requiredGitLab Pipelines, requiredSystems Administration, requiredTroubleshooting, requiredKubernetes, requiredOperating System Upgrades, requiredContainer Orchestration, requiredModeling and Simulation Applications, required

Qualifications

Secret-Level Clearance Eligibility, requiredBachelor's Degree or Equivalent Experience, required3+ Years Relevant Experience, required6+ Years Relevant Experience, requiredU.S. Citizenship, required

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Tuition Assistance

Full job description

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

  • CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

  • CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

  • If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

​

POSITION SPECIFICS​ We are searching for a Systems Administrator to join the Reston, VA location of the Digital Engineering Department in the Cyber, Modeling, and Simulation Division of the Information Advantage Office at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. You will maintain the integrity of various high-performance computing (HPC) systems including operating systems, physical servers/workstations, and applications; administer, install, and troubleshoot a variety of Cloud tooling and applications, perform systems maintenance tasks such as troubleshooting and performance evaluation as well as back-up and recovery; perform configuration changes to address customer needs; schedule, install, and test system software upgrades; monitor and maintain software licensing.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You will:

  • Install, configure, maintain, upgrade, and support systems and software with a focus on Linux (Red Hat), Ansible scripting, and GitLab pipelines
  • Develop plans, schedules, and requirements for deployment of systems
  • Create or improve existing scripts and tooling to aid in systems management
  • Diagnose, troubleshoot, and resolve server, workstation, and audio-visual (A/V) issues and/or respond to outages during normal working hours
  • Resolve service-related issues; determine immediate economic and financial consequences of an incident
  • Test and implement upgrades and patches to installed operating systems, software container orchestration platforms (Kubernetes), and modeling & simulation (M&S) applications
  • Maintain reliability of systems by monitoring, running tests, and troubleshooting
  • Monitor backups and plans for installed systems
  • Monitor, maintain, and execute automation processes and CI/CD pipelines
  • Evaluate and recommend new or existing system improvements and/or solutions
  • Create and maintain system documentation of our processes, procedures, plans, and configurations
  • May supervise staff members, including hiring, development, and performance management

Required Skills/Experience areas to include:

  • Ability to install, configure, maintain, upgrade, and support systems and software, with a strong focus on Linux (Red Hat), Ansible scripting, and GitLab pipelines
  • Skilled in diagnosing, troubleshooting, and resolving server, workstation, and audio-visual (A/V) issues, including responding to system outages during normal business hours
  • Proficiency in testing and implementing upgrades and patches for operating systems, Kubernetes-based container orchestration platforms, and modeling and simulation (M&S) applications
  • Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required

Your working location will be fully onsite, located in Reston, VA.

MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS If filled as IT Platform Administrator (ARL) - Senior Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree 6+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted Required Certifications: None If filled as IT Platform Administrator (ARL) - Advanced Professional, this position requires: Bachelor's Degree 3+ years of relevant experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience accepted Required Certifications: None

ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Intel Community (IC), and other federal government customers. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu.

BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.

Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL): Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply. SALARY & BENEFITS The salary range for this position, including all possible grades, is $96,120.00 - $182,400.00. This salary range includes an adjustment based on required geographic work location. Salary Structure - Information on Penn State's salary structure

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children. For more detailed information, please visit our Benefits Page.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

EEO IS THE LAW Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status. If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.

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How this job compares

Set against the 2,422 open Systems Administrator jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$96–182K/yr
  • Virginia median$97–161K/yr177 salary ranges
  • US median$95–149K/yr1,490 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $139K, is 7% above the Virginia median midpoint ($130K) — in the middle half of Systems Administrator salary ranges in Virginia.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 234 open Systems Administrator jobs in Virginia and 2,422 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Virginia
Experience
This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience; Systems Administrator postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (2,024 postings).
Education
347 of the 2,422 open Systems Administrator jobs (14%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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