Cyber Systems Administrator - Level 3
Northrop Grumman · Huntsville, AL
$98,900–$148,300from the description
Jul 13, 2026
Huntsville, AL
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A Principal Cyber Systems Administrator role supporting a missile defense program, focused on administering Linux (RHEL) and Windows systems in a classified, on-site environment. Day-to-day work involves systems administration, scripting, and security compliance, with preferred exposure to DevOps tooling, network infrastructure, and enterprise storage solutions. Suited to an experienced sysadmin holding an active Secret clearance and a DOD 8140 IAT Level II certification or higher.
Senior level · 5+ years · Remote · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $101,310 (middle half $79,725–$129,425). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (10)
The job posting explicitly states 'This is not a telework/remote position.' The caller has overridden this and directed that remote=true be set and no metro be inferred; this conflicts with the posting's own language and is noted here for the hiring manager's awareness.
The title is 'Principal Cyber Systems Administrator,' but the actual requirements (5 years total, 3 years Linux sysadmin) support a Senior-level role. The 'Principal' label appears to be an internal Northrop Grumman job family tier rather than a true org-wide technical authority designation.
Degree requirement: Bachelor's in STEM with 5 years OR Master's with 3 years. The minimum degree is set to Bachelor's as the lower-threshold path; the Master's path is an accepted alternative, not an additional gate.
DOD 8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., Security+ CE) is explicitly required as a hard gate. This is captured as a required skill rather than a degree/clearance field.
Scripting languages (Python, Perl, Bash, PowerShell) are listed together as interchangeable examples under a single requirement; Python is used as the primary name with the others as alternatives.
Active Linux certifications (Linux+, RHCSA, RHCE) are listed under Preferred Qualifications and are interchangeable; Linux+ is used as the primary name with RHCSA and RHCE as alternatives.
DevOps tools (Kubernetes, Nexus, Docker, GitLab) appear under Preferred Qualifications and are listed as examples ('such as'), so each is marked preferred.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): DOD 8140 IAT Level II.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Caller marked this a fully-remote role — scored against the national candidate pool.
Read the full posting
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