Linux Systems Administrator at Bowhead
Dahlgren, VA
$100,000–$115,000
Jul 15, 2026
Dahlgren, VA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A Linux Systems Administrator role supporting a Research, Development, Test and Evaluation environment at a government site in Dahlgren, VA. Day-to-day work covers server and clustered-system administration, software modifications to improve performance, application installation and license management, and hands-on troubleshooting across multiple interconnected systems. The role suits an experienced Linux admin comfortable with agile workflows, cross-team collaboration, and occasional travel for installations and testing events.
Mid level · 4+ years · Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV · Secret clearance · Full-time
Pay in the description: $100,000–$115,000
“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 $128,188 (middle half $100,819–$156,589). 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 (9)
The posting requires a current Secret clearance at time of hire, with eligibility to obtain Top Secret — classified as Secret since that is the hard gate for employment.
A High School Diploma is the minimum stated requirement; a Bachelor's degree is explicitly preferred, so the degree requirement is set to None (no hard degree gate).
HP and Dell hardware experience is listed as a single combined requirement ('HP and Dell systems'); emitted as one skill with Dell as an alternative since the JD treats them as a paired requirement rather than interchangeable options — note this is a judgement call.
Linux applications such as PTP, iRIG, Kickstart, Bash, UDEV, NMCLI, and GDM appear in the responsibilities/narrative section rather than a formal requirements block; Bash is elevated to required given the strong Linux admin context, while the others are marked preferred.
Network administration experience is explicitly called out as 'appreciated but not required,' confirming preferred status.
Prior DevOps/systems engineering experience is described as 'appreciated' and 'favored,' confirming preferred status.
The role is located in Dahlgren, VA, which falls within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV CBSA. Travel of 10–25% is required.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): DoD 8570/8140 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.
Read the full posting
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