Platform DevOps Administrator in Falls Church, Virginia at A1Fed

The Platform DevOps Administrator is a security-focused infrastructure professional responsible for securing, automating, maintaining, and supporting enterprise Linux and COTS application environments.

This role emphasizes security compliance, vulnerability remediation, platform automation, patching, middleware administration, and production operations. A primary measure of success is the ability to convert recurring operational and security tasks into controlled, repeatable Ansible automation while maintaining the stability and availability of 24×7 production systems.

The ideal candidate has strong Linux administration skills and experience with STIG compliance, CVE/KEV remediation, PKI, SSL/TLS certificates, Apache, JBoss, RabbitMQ, Node.js, and enterprise COTS platforms. The individual must be capable of independently troubleshooting and resolving technical and security issues with minimal supervision.

Primary Responsibilities

Platform Security & Vulnerability Management

• Maintain secure Linux, middleware, web server, and COTS environments.
• Implement and remediate systems against DISA STIG baselines.
• Review vulnerability scan results and remediate CVEs and CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs).
• Coordinate patching activities based on severity, exploitability, and operational impact.
• Investigate security incidents and perform root cause analysis.
• Support compliance with NIST security standards and controls.
• Maintain secure platform configurations and provide remediation evidence when required.
• Manage PKI and SSL/TLS certificates, including installation, renewal, troubleshooting, and validation.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity teams to address findings and implement corrective actions.

DevOps & Automation

• Develop, maintain, and execute Ansible playbooks and roles for system administration, patching, security hardening, and vulnerability remediation.
• Utilize Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) to manage infrastructure automation.
• Automate Linux patching, security baseline enforcement, configuration validation, and recurring remediation activities.
• Create reusable automation for standardized platform configurations.
• Troubleshoot failed automation jobs and deployments.
• Maintain version-controlled automation code and documentation.
• Identify opportunities to replace manual processes with repeatable automation.

Linux Administration

• Install, configure, secure, patch, upgrade, and troubleshoot Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) environments.
• Support RHEL 6, 7, 8, and 9.
• Administer users, permissions, services, file systems, scheduled jobs, and system configurations.
• Troubleshoot operating system, networking, performance, storage, and application issues.
• Support backup, recovery, and disaster recovery activities.
• Monitor platform health, availability, performance, and security.

Middleware, Web Server & COTS Administration

• Administer Apache HTTP Server, JBoss, RabbitMQ, Node.js, and COTS application environments.
• Apply patches, upgrades, security updates, and configuration changes.
• Analyze vendor security advisories and determine applicability.
• Troubleshoot integrations between applications, middleware, Linux systems, and supporting infrastructure.
• Maintain SSL/TLS configurations for supported services.

Virtualization & Containers

• Support Linux workloads running in virtualized and containerized environments.
• Understand resource allocation, networking, storage, availability, and security considerations for virtual machines and containers.
• Assist in troubleshooting virtualization- and container-related platform issues.

Production Operations & ITIL

• Support 24×7 production environments.
• Respond to incidents, alerts, service requests, and operational issues.
• Follow ITIL practices for Incident, Problem, Change, Configuration, and Service Request Management.
• Document incidents, resolutions, and corrective actions.
• Adhere to established change management processes.
• Coordinate effectively with infrastructure, cybersecurity, application, network, database, and customer teams.

Independent Operations

• Analyze and resolve security and operational issues with minimal supervision.
• Research unfamiliar technologies and technical problems.
• Prioritize work based on risk and business impact.
• Own incidents through resolution and escalate when appropriate.
• Communicate technical issues and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Recommend automation and process improvements.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Linux administration, DevOps, platform administration, middleware administration, or infrastructure operations.
• Active Public Trust clearance or higher (or prior federal background investigation).
• Strong hands-on experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).
• Experience with Ansible and Ansible Automation Platform (AAP).
• Experience implementing and remediating DISA STIG requirements.
• Experience analyzing and remediating CVEs and security vulnerabilities.
• Knowledge of the CISA KEV Catalog and vulnerability prioritization.
• Familiarity with NIST security standards and controls.
• Experience managing PKI and SSL/TLS certificates.
• Experience administering Apache HTTP Server.
• Experience supporting JBoss, RabbitMQ, Node.js, or similar middleware platforms.
• Experience patching operating systems, middleware, and applications.
• Understanding of virtualization and container technologies.
• Experience supporting production environments, including monitoring, backup, incident response, and ticket management.
• Understanding of ITIL principles.
• Strong troubleshooting, documentation, communication, and customer-service skills.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting federal government or other highly regulated environments.
• Experience automating STIG compliance and security baselines using Ansible.
• Experience automating CVE/KEV remediation.
• Experience with vulnerability scanning and compliance tools.
• Experience supporting enterprise COTS applications.
• Experience with VMware or similar virtualization technologies.
• Experience with Docker, Podman, Kubernetes, or OpenShift.
• Experience with centralized monitoring and logging platforms.
• Experience supporting high-availability, mission-critical environments.
• Experience participating in formal security incident response activities.

Core Technical Skills

Operating Systems

• Linux
• RHEL 6, 7, 8, 9

Middleware & Web Technologies

• Apache HTTP Server
• JBoss
• RabbitMQ
• Node.js

Automation

• Ansible
• Ansible Automation Platform (AAP)

Security

• DISA STIGs
• CVE Remediation
• CISA KEV
• NIST Controls
• PKI
• SSL/TLS
• Vulnerability Management
• Security Baselines

Platform Administration

• COTS Applications
• Patching
• Configuration Management
• Upgrades

Virtualization & Containers

• VMware
• Docker
• Podman
• Kubernetes
• OpenShift

Operations & Service Management

• Production Support
• Monitoring
• Backup & Recovery
• Incident Response
• ITIL
• Change Management
• Problem Management
• Configuration Management

Professional Skills

• Independent Problem Solving
• Customer Service
• Technical Documentation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration

Key Success Factors

• Strong security mindset.
• Ability to independently identify, troubleshoot, and resolve issues.
• Expertise in automating repetitive operational and security activities.
• Commitment to stable, secure, and highly available production environments.