System Administrator – SME (Cloud, Hybrid)

Responsibilities

Peraton is seeking an experienced System Administrator – Subject Matter Expert (SME) specializing in cloud and hybrid computing environments to support the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). In this senior-level role, you will serve as a key technical advisor and hands-on administrator across a complex hybrid infrastructure spanning on-premises data center environments and multi-cloud platforms including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Work location: Remote 

What You Will Do:

• Hybrid Systems Administration: Administer and maintain Windows Server and Linux/UNIX-based operating systems (Red Hat, Ubuntu, macOS, and comparable distributions) running on enterprise hardware including Dell, HP x86, and Oracle SPARC platforms across multiple physical data centers.
• Virtualization Management: Administer VMware vCloud, vSphere, vCenter, and Enterprise Plus virtualization environments; manage VMware Operations (vROPS) and Log Insight for performance monitoring, optimization, and troubleshooting; support System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) as needed.
• Cloud Administration & Optimization: Administer and optimize AWS environments (EC2, S3, CloudFormation, Application Migration Service, and related services); provide expert guidance on cloud and cluster computing architectures; research, evaluate, and deploy advanced cloud computing capabilities and large-data analytics solutions for the program.
• Migration & Modernization: Lead and support data integration and workload migration efforts from on-premises infrastructure to cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP); document migration paths, develop runbooks, and execute cutovers with minimal-to-no customer downtime.
• Storage & Backup/DR Administration: Administer NAS and SAN storage devices; manage enterprise backup software; implement and maintain Backup-to-Cloud replication and disaster recovery (DR) solutions to meet program continuity requirements.
• Architecture Advisory: Advise OCIO leadership and program stakeholders on cloud and hybrid computing architectures, system and memory management optimization across distributed platforms, and best practices for workload placement and resource utilization.
• Security & Patch Management: Apply OS, hypervisor, and application-level security patches to resolve vulnerabilities; maintain compliance with DOI/USGS security standards and Information Assurance Vulnerability Alert (IAVA) remediation timelines.
• Monitoring, Observability & Incident Response: Design and maintain operational monitoring dashboards (vROPS, Datadog, CloudWatch, or comparable tools) for CPU, memory, and storage utilization; troubleshoot and resolve performance and availability incidents across physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructure.
• DevOps & Automation Support: Leverage container and automation tooling (Kubernetes, Jenkins, Ansible, or comparable platforms) to support workload modernization, CI/CD pipeline operations, and infrastructure-as-code deployments.
• Documentation & Collaboration: Maintain accurate technical documentation including architecture diagrams, configuration records, migration plans, and runbooks; collaborate using Government-provided tools (Jira, Confluence, Microsoft Teams).

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications:  

• Bachelors degree and 10 years professional experience, or a Masters degree and 8 years professional experience, or an Associates degree and 12 years professional experience; or a high school diploma/equivalent and 14 years’ professional experience. 
• U.S. Citizenship required; must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Public Trust clearance; all work must be performed within the United States
• Extensive experience in systems administration across hybrid IT environments (on-premises + cloud).
• VMware Virtualization: Demonstrated expertise administering vCenter, ESXi/vSphere (6.x/7.x/8.x), vROPS, and VMware Log Insight in large-scale enterprise environments.
• AWS Cloud Services: Hands-on experience with EC2, S3, CloudFormation, and workload migration tooling (e.g., Application Migration Service); ability to design, deploy, and maintain cloud infrastructure supporting production workloads.
• Windows & Linux/UNIX: Proficiency administering Windows Server (2016/2019/2022) and Linux/UNIX environments (Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu) in enterprise or Federal settings.
• Enterprise Storage: Experience managing NAS, SAN, and enterprise hardware platforms from Dell, HP, NetApp, or comparable vendors.
• Backup & Disaster Recovery: Working knowledge of enterprise backup and replication solutions; experience designing or implementing Backup-to-Cloud and DR strategies.
• Multi-Cloud Environments: Familiarity with AWS, Azure, and GCP; ability to advise on workload placement, cost optimization, and architecture trade-offs.
• Identity & Access Management: Experience with Active Directory, Group Policy, PKI, and enterprise IAM.
• Zero-Downtime Operations: Demonstrated ability to perform zero-downtime upgrades, migrations, and hardware decommissions in production environments.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal skills; ability to produce technical documentation and present to technical peers and senior leadership.

Preferred Skills:

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Enterprise Architecture or a related technical field is strongly preferred
• AWS Certification: AWS Certified Solutions Architect (Associate or Professional) or equivalent AWS certification.
• VMware Certification: VMware Certified Professional (VCP-DCV or VCP-VCF) or equivalent VMware certification.
• Kubernetes & Containers: Experience with Kubernetes (on-premises, AWS, or bare metal) and container orchestration for production workloads.
• DevOps Tooling: Jenkins (CI/CD), Ansible (configuration management/automation), or comparable pipeline tools.
• Monitoring Platforms: Datadog, Splunk, Elasticsearch, or VMware Log Insight for enterprise observability.
• PaaS Platforms: Exposure to Pivotal Cloud Foundry or comparable PaaS platforms in enterprise or multi-cloud environments.
• Federal/USGS Experience: Prior support of USGS, DOI, or other Federal OCIO environments; familiarity with CHS (Cloud Hosting Solutions) infrastructure.
• Agile/Scrum: Professional Scrum Master (PSM) or comparable Agile certification; experience working in sprint-based delivery models.
• AI/Cloud-Native Capabilities: AWS Certified AI Practitioner, Google Generative AI credentials, or hands-on experience with cloud-native AI/ML services.
• Oracle on Linux: Experience with Oracle databases on KVM/Red Hat Linux or comparable enterprise database infrastructure.
• Team Leadership: Experience leading or mentoring junior technical staff in a professional IT environment.

Peraton Overview

Peraton is a next-generation national security company that drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world’s leading mission capability integrator and transformative enterprise IT provider, we deliver trusted, highly differentiated solutions and technologies to protect our nation and allies. Peraton operates at the critical nexus between traditional and nontraditional threats across all domains: land, sea, space, air, and cyberspace. The company serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies and supports every branch of the U.S. armed forces. Each day, our employees do the can’t be done by solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit peraton.com to learn how we’re keeping people around the world safe and secure.

Target Salary Range$112,000 - $179,000. This represents the typical salary range for this position. Salary is determined by various factors, including but not limited to, the scope and responsibilities of the position, the individual’s experience, education, knowledge, skills, and competencies, as well as geographic location and business and contract considerations. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. EEOEEO: Equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veterans, or other characteristics protected by law.