Cloud System Administrator (Annapolis Junction, MD)

**Active TS/SCI w/Polygraph REQUIRED** Please do not apply if you do not currently possess this level of clearance.

Telework: None

Position Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled Senior Cloud & Distributed Systems Engineer to support mission-critical, cloud-based data repositories serving thousands of Intelligence Community users.
This role operates in a dynamic, high-tempo operational environment where requirements evolve rapidly in response to global events. The selected candidate will administer and engineer large-scale Hadoop and Accumulo clusters, ensure system reliability and security, and collaborate across infrastructure, networking, and security domains to maintain continuous mission availability.
This is not a traditional system administration role - it is a reliability-focused distributed systems engineering position operating at scale.

Education & Experience
Minimum 3 years experience administering large distributed systems (as defined above)
7 years Linux systems administration experience
5 years scripting experience
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field highly desired o May substitute for two (2) years of experience

Primary Responsibilities
Monitor system health, performance, and reliability across large, distributed clusters
Troubleshoot and resolve complex hardware, software, network, and cloud platform issues
Perform root cause analysis (RCA) and contribute to post-incident reviews
Maintain and optimize large-scale Hadoop and Accumulo environments
Administer and maintain distributed storage systems
Engineer and improve monitoring, observability, and alerting frameworks
Participate in architecture and engineering design discussions
Create and maintain automation scripts and Infrastructure-as-Code deployments
Patch, upgrade, and harden systems in accordance with security compliance standards
Administer LDAP-based user and group accounts
Maintain hardware inventory and asset tracking
Provide after-hours on-call support in a mission-driven environment
Interface with hardware, network, infrastructure, and security teams

Required Technical Qualifications
Linux Systems Administration (7+ Years)
Deep understanding of Linux operating systems and internals
User and group account management (LDAP)
Configuration and administration of DHCP, DNS, and TFTP
System patching, upgrades, and security hardening
Performance tuning and resource optimization

Experience supporting large distributed systems consisting of:
Multiple clusters
Clusters spanning at least three racks
Minimum of 60 nodes per site

Experience with:
Hadoop (HDFS, YARN tuning)
Accumulo (tablet balancing, performance optimization)
Cassandra, Scality, Swift, Gluster, Lustre, GPFS, Amazon S3, or comparable technologies

Cloud & Container Technologies
Kubernetes orchestration services (CKA-level knowledge preferred)
Docker containerization and image management
Helm charts and cluster configuration
StatefulSets and persistent volume management
Cloud-based storage architectures

Automation & Infrastructure as Code
5+ years scripting in Bash, Python, or Perl
Experience with configuration management tools:
o Puppet
o Ansible
o Salt
Infrastructure as Code:
o Terraform or CloudFormation
CI/CD pipeline integration and Git-based workflows

Observability & Reliability Engineering
Experience implementing and managing monitoring solutions such as:
o Prometheus / Grafana
o ELK / OpenSearch
o Splunk
o Cloud-native monitoring platforms
Design and tuning of alerting frameworks
Experience defining and supporting SLAs/SLOs
Incident response participation and documentation
Capacity planning and performance analysis

Networking & Infrastructure
Understanding of VLANs, port channel bonding, and Layer 2/Layer 3 interactions
TCP/IP troubleshooting
Load balancing (F5, HAProxy, NGINX)
Firewall rule management
Network performance analysis

Storage & High Availability
RAID and storage architecture knowledge
Object storage optimization
Data replication and backup strategies
Multi-site failover and disaster recovery (DR) planning
RPO/RTO considerations
Active/Active or Active/Passive cluster design

Security & Compliance
System hardening (STIG implementation preferred)
Vulnerability scanning tools (e.g., ACAS/Nessus)

RMF familiarity
Security logging and audit compliance
Experience operating in TS/SCI environments

Required Certifications
Active TS/SCI clearance with current polygraph
Security+ (DoD 8570 compliant)
One of the following certifications is required:
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate
AWS DevOps Engineer - Professional
Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

Operational Environment
Mission-critical cloud repositories supporting thousands of users
High-tempo, operationally responsive environment
Daily interaction with infrastructure, hardware, and security teams
Requirements shift in response to world events and mission needs
Emphasis on automation-first operations and continuous improvement

Ideal Candidate Profile
The successful candidate:
Thinks like a reliability engineer, not just a system administrator
Automates repetitive processes and improves operational maturity
Remains calm and analytical during high-impact incidents
Understands distributed systems behavior at scale
Communicates effectively across technical domains
Thrives in mission-driven, dynamic environments

Salary: $200,000 - $250,000 annually

Excellent benefits package including 25 days PTO, 11 paid holidays, 100% employer-paid healthcare for employees and dependents - available day 1, 8% 401(k) employer match - immediate vesting.

Disclaimer: The salary range provided is an estimate based on current market conditions and may be adjusted based on factors such as experience, skills, and qualifications. The final salary offer will be determined after a thorough review of the candidate's background and alignment with the role. Please note that this range is subject to change and should be considered as a guideline rather than a definitive figure.

Shield Consulting Solutions is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.
This is a full time position