Linux Automation Engineer at Peraton
Linthicum, MD
$104,000–$166,000from the description
Jul 5, 2026
Linthicum, MD
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A Linux system administration role supporting a DoD customer, focused on provisioning and maintaining RHEL and Ubuntu servers across both connected and air-gapped networks. Day-to-day work involves writing Ansible playbooks, managing Kubernetes clusters, configuring network and storage services, and investigating service disruptions. Suits experienced Linux administrators with an active Top Secret/SCI clearance and a Security+ certification.
Senior level · 5+ years · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
“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 $125,654 (middle half $96,394–$162,956). 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 role is classified as 15-1244 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators) because the primary day-to-day work is operating and administering Linux servers, Kubernetes clusters, and connected services on existing infrastructure — not building or shipping new software. However, the Ansible Playbook development and IaC work (Terraform) introduce a meaningful software-development signal, making 15-1252 a credible runner-up.
The degree requirement is marked None because the JD explicitly accepts '4 years of relevant experience or specialized training in lieu of a Bachelor's degree,' making the degree substitutable.
Total experience minimum is 5 years (Bachelor's + 5 years path), which is the most common path stated; the Master's + 3 years path is an alternative.
Active TS/SCI eligibility is a hard gate ('Must be a U.S. Citizen and have an active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility').
Active CompTIA Security+ certification is listed under Basic Qualifications and treated as a hard gate.
Ansible is listed as the preferred CaC tool under Required Technical Qualifications ('Expertise with Configuration as Code (CaC) tooling, Ansible preferred') — the expertise itself is required; Ansible is the named preferred tool and is treated as a hard gate with no named alternative.
RHEL is listed as a hard gate alongside Ubuntu; Ubuntu is captured as an alternative since both are explicitly named as the managed platforms.
Kubernetes, Terraform, DISA STIGs/NIST 800-53, Splunk/Grafana/SolarWinds, GitHub/GitLab, and NFS all appear under 'Preferred Technical Qualifications' and are marked accordingly.
Grafana and SolarWinds are listed as alternatives to Splunk since the JD presents them as interchangeable monitoring tool examples ('tools such as Splunk, Grafana, and SolarWinds').
Requires a TS/SCI 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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