Linux & Data Center Systems Administrator

The Linux & Data Center Systems Administrator is responsible for the administration, availability, security, and ongoing maintenance of Linux-based systems, virtualization platforms, and physical data center infrastructure.

The role combines Linux system administration, virtualization, hardware management, troubleshooting, automation, patching, backup operations, and hands-on data center activities. The position works closely with infrastructure, network, security, and other IT teams to maintain reliable and secure production environments.

Key Responsibilities:

Linux Systems Administration

• Administer and maintain Linux operating systems across production and non-production environments.

• Troubleshoot operating system, application, performance, storage, networking, and service-related issues.

• Perform Linux OS installation, configuration, upgrades, and lifecycle management.

• Manage OS patching, security updates, and remediation activities.

• Configure and maintain system services, packages, repositories, users, permissions, and access controls.

• Manage backup and recovery procedures for Linux systems.

• Perform backup validation and support system recovery when required.

• Develop and maintain automation and operational scripts using Bash and Python.

• Automate repetitive administration, maintenance, monitoring, and troubleshooting tasks.

• Investigate system logs and identify root causes of infrastructure incidents.

• Apply Linux security best practices, system hardening, and vulnerability remediation.

• Support capacity, performance, and availability management of Linux servers.

• Maintain technical documentation, operational procedures, and troubleshooting guides.

Virtualization Administration

• Administer and maintain virtualization environments based on KVM and VMware ESXi.

• Provision and configure virtual machines.

• Configure virtual CPU, memory, storage, networking, and other VM resources.

• Troubleshoot hypervisor, virtual machine, storage, networking, and performance issues.

• Perform hypervisor installation, configuration, maintenance, and upgrades.

• Manage host and VM lifecycle activities.

• Support patching and security updates of virtualization infrastructure.

• Monitor virtualization infrastructure availability, health, capacity, and resource utilization.

• Support migration, recovery, and maintenance activities involving virtual machines and hypervisor hosts.

• Participate in troubleshooting incidents affecting virtualized services and infrastructure.

Data Center & Hardware Administration

• Administer and maintain physical server infrastructure, primarily Dell and HPE hardware.

• Install, configure, provision, and decommission physical servers.

• Perform hardware troubleshooting and coordinate replacement of failed components.

• Manage server firmware, BIOS, drivers, and hardware-related patching.

• Perform firmware and software patching/repatching of new and existing hardware.

• Configure and manage server remote management interfaces such as Dell iDRAC and HPE iLO.

• Monitor physical server health, hardware alerts, temperatures, power usage, and component status.

• Diagnose server hardware issues involving CPU, memory, storage, RAID, networking, power supplies, and other components.

• Work with data center services and support teams during hardware installations, replacements, maintenance, and infrastructure changes.

• Perform rack-level activities including server installation, cabling, power connectivity, and hardware replacement.

• Work with Power Distribution Units (PDUs) and related power infrastructure.

• Perform remote and local power management of servers and infrastructure equipment.

• Monitor and control power consumption within the data center environment.

• Support power planning and capacity management for racks and infrastructure.

• Maintain accurate records of physical infrastructure, server configuration, and hardware lifecycle.

• Coordinate with vendors and data center providers for hardware support and replacement activities.

Troubleshooting & Operations

• Provide operational support for Linux, virtualization, and physical server infrastructure.

• Troubleshoot incidents from the operating system through the virtualization and hardware layers.

• Perform root cause analysis for recurring infrastructure issues.

• Participate in infrastructure maintenance and planned change activities.

• Support production incidents and service restoration activities.

• Work with networking, storage, security, application, and data center teams to resolve cross-platform issues.

• Implement preventative actions to improve infrastructure stability and availability.

Security & Patch Management

• Maintain secure configuration of Linux systems and virtualization infrastructure.

• Apply security patches, firmware updates, and vulnerability remediation.

• Support security hardening according to organizational standards.

• Review operating system and infrastructure vulnerabilities and coordinate remediation.

• Ensure privileged access and administrative permissions follow security requirements.

• Support security audits and provide infrastructure-related technical information when required.

• Strong Linux system administration and troubleshooting skills.

• Experience with Linux patch and package management.

• Experience with backup and recovery operations.

• Bash and Python scripting and automation

• Linux security and system hardening.

• Experience administering KVM and VMware ESXi virtualization environments.

• Virtual machine provisioning and troubleshooting.

• Physical server administration.

• Experience with Dell and HPE enterprise servers.

• Hardware troubleshooting and component replacement.

• Experience working in data center environments.

Preferred Knowledge

• Configuration management and automation tools such as Ansible.

• Infrastructure monitoring and alerting systems.

• Centralized logging and log analysis.

• Enterprise backup solutions.

• SAN/NAS and enterprise storage concepts.

• Linux networking and firewall configuration.

• TCP/IP, DNS, routing, VLAN, and network troubleshooting.

• VMware vCenter.

• High-availability and clustering concepts.

• IT-based incident, problem, and change management processes.