Senior Unix/Linux Systems Administrator Clustering & Automation

Job Type: Contract 6+ months, high possibility of extension
Location: Chicago, IL Hybrid (Tuesday Thursday onsite expected)
Alternative Locations: Chicago, IL
Experience: 8+ years
Start: ASAP / upon clearance

The ideal candidate will have hands-on expertise with RHEL, Oracle Linux, Red Hat PCS clustering, Ansible, Linux automation, and enterprise storage technologies. This role will support large-scale infrastructure initiatives, including NFS/storage migrations and coordination with application teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer and support Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL 6/7/8/9) environments.
• Manage Oracle Linux and other Unix/Linux platforms.
• Configure, maintain, patch, and troubleshoot enterprise Linux servers.
• Support Red Hat PCS clustering and high-availability environments.
• Perform storage administration using ZFS, LVM, Veritas, SAN/NAS and related technologies.
• Support NFS/storage migration initiatives across approximately 200 application teams.
• Coordinate technical migration activities, schedules, and implementation plans.
• Work with application teams to evaluate migration options and resolve technical issues.
• Manage VMware vSphere environments supporting highly available infrastructure.
• Develop automation for Linux build, patching, configuration, and maintenance.
• Create and maintain Ansible playbooks and automation workflows.
• Develop system administration scripts using Bash/Bourne Shell, Python, Perl, or Java.
• Perform OS upgrades, security patching, backups, and configuration management.
• Monitor system health, performance, availability, and capacity.
• Participate in production releases, maintenance windows, and after-hours activities.
• Participate in a 24x7 on-call rotation.
• Troubleshoot complex infrastructure issues and drive problems through resolution.
• Create and maintain technical documentation, procedures, and implementation plans.
• Collaborate with infrastructure, application, security, and cloud teams.
• Provide technical leadership during migrations and infrastructure initiatives.

Required Skills

• 6 8+ years of Linux/Unix System Administration experience
• Expert-level Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
• Strong Oracle Linux experience
• Hands-on Red Hat PCS clustering
• Experience with Linux/Unix clustering
• Strong storage administration experience:
  • ZFS
  • LVM
  • Veritas
  • SAN/NAS
  • NFS
• Strong scripting experience with at least one:
  • Bash/Bourne Shell
  • Python
  • Perl
  • Java
• Hands-on Ansible experience, particularly for RHEL/OEL build and patch automation
• VMware vSphere experience
• Strong troubleshooting and production support skills
• Experience with enterprise-scale infrastructure environments
• Strong understanding of patching, backups, monitoring, and change management
• Bachelor's degree in IT, Computer Science, or related field, or equivalent experience

Preferred Skills

• Solaris administration
• Veritas InfoScale
• Oracle Clusterware
• Oracle Exadata
• Microsoft Azure
• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
• Zerto
• VMware certifications
• Red Hat certifications
• Azure Administrator or Oracle Cloud certifications
• Experience with RAID, SAN, NAS, and enterprise backup technologies
• Fortune 500 / large enterprise experience
• Financial services or other highly regulated enterprise experience

Behavioral Requirements

• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Strong technical troubleshooting and problem-solving skills.
• Comfortable leading technical discussions with peers and application teams.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Willingness to work extended hours and after-hours maintenance windows.
• Ability to participate in 24x7 on-call rotation.
• Results-oriented and able to drive assigned initiatives through completion