Systems Engineer

Leidos is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to support the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) under the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Support Contract (ASC). This is a rare opportunity to apply your advanced systems engineering expertise to one of the most unique and mission-critical environments in the world.

As a senior member of the Information Technology & Communications (IT&C) Data Systems Team, you’ll design, deploy, and maintain critical Linux-based infrastructure supporting the core production systems for the USAP. This position may include temporary deployments to Antarctica, depending on operational needs and management discretion.

This position is expected to be funded on Oct 1, 2025, and there is approximately 1 year left on the Antarctic Support Contract.

The Challenge:

System Design & Implementation:

• Design, plan, and execute infrastructure projects aligned with USAP mission requirements, managing timelines, resources, and deliverables from initiation through completion.

• Analyze, specify, and document communications and systems requirements for distributed environments.

• Lead installation, configuration, migration, and upgrades across multi-platform systems (Linux, Windows, Hyper-V/VMware).

• Develop and maintain project documentation including architecture diagrams, configuration standards, and implementation plans.

Operations & Administration:

• Administer and maintain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems and services to ensure reliability, performance, and security.

• Manage containerized workloads and Red Hat OpenShift clusters.

• Perform backup and recovery operations, and monitor system performance using tools like Veeam and Elastic Stack.

• Maintain secure configurations aligned with DISA STIGs and other cybersecurity best practices.

• Document operational processes, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and troubleshooting guides to support consistent operations.

Automation & Tooling:

• Develop and execute automation using Ansible and Bash or Python scripts to improve system efficiency and reduce manual effort.

• Administer Ansible, Red Hat Satellite, and Git environments, maintaining version control and deployment consistency.

• Document automation workflows, change logs, and configuration baselines for auditability and knowledge sharing.

Project Management & Collaboration:

• Lead and coordinate cross-functional project teams, ensuring alignment between Architecture, Network Operations, Information Security, and Client Services.

• Facilitate and lead technical meetings, project reviews, and stakeholder updates to communicate status, risks, and decisions effectively.

• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation for project plans, requirements, and post-implementation reviews.

• Provide mentorship, peer reviews, and guidance to junior technical staff to promote professional development and technical excellence.

• Participate in a 24x7 support rotation and provide escalation-level troubleshooting and leadership during incident response.

What Sets You Apart:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with 4+ years of relevant experience (additional experience may substitute for degree).

• Proven expertise in Linux system administration, especially Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

• Demonstrated technical engineering design, implementation, and subject matter expertise supporting complex enterprise application deployments.

• Proven project management and execution experience, including planning, scheduling, and coordinating resources to deliver technical initiatives on time and within scope.

• Strong ability to lead technical meetings, drive discussions, and effectively communicate progress, risks, and solutions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Excellent documentation skills, with experience creating and maintaining detailed system architecture diagrams, procedures, and project artifacts.

• Proficiency in budget and time management for technical projects, ensuring efficient resource allocation and accountability.

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with a focus on customer service, collaboration, and cross-functional teamwork.

• Self-motivated with the ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and follow through on commitments.

Experience with:

• Virtualization platforms (VMware, Hyper-V)

• Red Hat OpenShift and container orchestration

• Bash/Python scripting and automation

• Git version control and CI/CD workflows

• Red Hat Satellite

• Ansible playbook development

• System security and patch management

• Elastic Stack or Splunk for system monitoring/log analysis

• MariaDB/MySQL administration

• BIND DNS Server administration

• Postfix Server administration

You May Also Have Experience With:

• Microsoft 365 / Azure environments

• Microsoft Windows Server administration (2012/2016/2019)

• PowerShell scripting

• Storage Area Networks (SAN) and HP server hardware

• Sensor or weather satellite data acquisition/processing systems

• IBM Maximo OpenShift deployment and management

Physical & Travel Requirements:

This position may require temporary deployment to Antarctica. If selected, you must:

• Successfully complete NSF-required physical and dental examinations

• Be able to work in remote and extreme environments under NSF safety protocols

Come break things (in a good way). Then build them smarter.

We're the tech company everyone calls when things get weird. We don’t wear capes (they’re a safety hazard), but we do solve high-stakes problems with code, caffeine, and a healthy disregard for “how it’s always been done.”

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.