Linux Systems Engineer, Associate Level (Hybrid-eligible)

Requisition Id 12123 

Overview:  

As a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science national laboratory, ORNL has an extraordinary 80-year history of solving the nation’s biggest problems. We have a dedicated and creative staff of over 6,000 people! Our vision for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) is to cultivate an environment and practices that foster diversity in ideas and in the people across the organization, as well as to ensure ORNL is recognized as a workplace of choice. These elements are critical for enabling the execution of ORNL’s broader mission to accelerate scientific discoveries and their translation into energy, environment, and security solutions for the nation.

 

The Research and Development (R&D) Group within the IT Services Directorate at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is seeking qualified applicants for a Linux Systems Engineer position. The R&D Systems Engineering group exists to facilitate lab goals through systems engineering, integration, and support for the research community at ORNL. We run mid-range clusters, servers, workstations, and other services where science happens at the lab.

 

As a Linux Systems Engineer, you will have the opportunity to collaborate on the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program, performing Linux server and large storage system support. You will help maintain system health and provide system analysis to the customer, and document any work done in accordance with the customer’s direction. 

 

Major Duties/Responsibilities: 

• Troubleshoot various Linux server related issues.
• Provide NAS system support.
• Install and configure Red Hat Linux Server systems.
• Build out both physical and virtual systems.
• Engineer and provide consultation for custom system solutions.
• Manage, analyze, and tune VMware clusters.
• Work with developers to maintain customer applications.
• Perform system upgrades.
• Ensure backups are completed and assist in any recoveries if needed.
• Document all required work as required by customer.
• Provide advanced Linux Support as needed.
• Monitor system performance.
• Container administration.
• Install, configure, and maintain system software, both commercial packages and various freely available software (including Apache, MySQL, Postgres, PHP, ZFS, etc.).
• Patch both system and 3rd party vendor software to ensure security and stability. Monitor for patch releases and work with the customers and other admins to ensure the patches are applied in a timely manner.
• Provide consulting in both the selection and purchase of hardware and software.
• Ensure the secure and effective operation of computing systems through compliance with ORNL procedures and IT Internal Operating Procedures.
• Work with other system engineers and vendors to resolve both hardware and software issues.
• Work with local bargaining unit personnel on hardware installation and hardware repairs where it is outside the scope of a vendor.

 

All team members deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

 

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in computer science (or related field) and 2 years of system administration experience. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.

 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Excellent interpersonal skills suitable for user support, and the ability to work well with peer system engineers.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory.
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.
• Knowledge of Red Hat Linux operating systems.
• Experience managing monitoring infrastructure (e.g. Nagios).
• Experience with CI/CD support.
• Container administration experience:
  • 3 years of experience supporting VMware Clusters.
  • 2 years of experience supporting NAS storage systems.
  • 2 years of experience creating scripts using BASH and Python.
• Knowledge of open-source web application services, such as Apache and Nginx.
• Previous experience working in a government, scientific or other highly technical environment.
• Effective documentation skills are also desired.

 

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