Senior Linux System Administrator

Role: Senior Linux System Administrator
Location: Raleigh, NC
Duration: 6 Months Contract (Possible Extension)

IRG Clients is seeking a Senior Linux (RHEL) System Administrator to support the implementation and operations of agency applications in an AWS/Hybrid cloud environment. This role is responsible for installing, configuring, securing, and maintaining Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems on AWS, ensuring high availability, performance, and system reliability across development, staging, and production environments. The position also includes on-call support during evenings and weekends.

Key Responsibilities         

• Install, configure, and maintain RHEL servers on AWS (EC2, S3, RDS, EBS, EFS, ELB, SSM)
• Perform OS patching, vulnerability management, image management, and system hardening
• Develop and maintain operational scripts using Bash/Python
• Manage users, permissions, RBAC, and sudo policies
• Monitor system performance, logs, backups, and troubleshoot issues proactively
• Support backup and recovery processes at the OS level
• Configure and maintain services such as Apache, nginx, Bind, MySQL
• Implement security best practices including encryption, key management, and least-privilege access
• Work with networking tools (iptables, IPVS, HAProxy) and analyze network traffic
• Collaborate with development and operations teams for deployment and stability
• Maintain system documentation and support Linux Satellite/Deployment Manager setup
• Experience with AWS storage (FSx, EBS, EFS, S3) and Terraform is a plus

Required Skills & Experience

• 3+ years of RHEL administration on AWS platforms
• 7+ years of OS patching, scripting (Bash/Python), and user account management
• 5+ years of monitoring, troubleshooting, Apache/nginx support, and automation tools (Ansible/Puppet/Chef/CloudFormation)
• Strong networking knowledge (VPC, DNS, HTTP, LDAP, SMTP, SNMP, VLAN, VPN, IPv4/IPv6)
• Experience with volume management (LVM, ZFS, NAS, Veritas)
• Expertise in AWS security controls, encryption, and vulnerability management
• Ability to scale environments through performance monitoring
• Linux certifications (RHCE/RHCT/LPIC) preferred