We are seeking a highly skilled and mission-oriented Lead System Administrator with at least 3-5 years' experience to join our enterprise IT operations team located in the Hampton Roads area, VA. In this critical role, you will be responsible for leading a team in provisioning, installing, configuring, operating, and maintaining system hardware, software, and related infrastructure. You will play a key part in ensuring that system hardware, operating systems, software systems, and related procedures adhere to organizational values and rigorous security standards.
Position Summary:
The ideal candidate possesses exceptional leadership skills along with robust technical expertise in system infrastructure administration combined with a proactive approach to security compliance, automated configuration management, and system monitoring. Working in a collaborative environment, you will sustain infrastructure health, participate in technical research and development to enable continuing innovation, and guarantee the high availability and security of essential defense and enterprise networks. Candidates must demonstrate excellent self-motivation and punctual attendance while working within a highly dynamic environment
Key Responsibilities:
Infrastructure Maintenance & Operations: Administer, monitor, and maintain physical and virtual servers, operating systems, and enterprise storage solutions to ensure baseline operational efficiency and minimum downtime.
Security & Compliance: Apply Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) to operating systems, applications, and network devices. Maintain a robust security posture in alignment with the Risk Management Framework (RMF).
Vulnerability Management: Perform regular vulnerability scans, analyze results, and execute timely system patching, remediation, and mitigation strategies against recognized security threats.
Automation & Configuration Management: Develop, test, and implement automated scripts and workflows using tools like PowerShell, Ansible, and Jenkins to streamline system provisioning, deployment, and configuration baselines.
Backup & Disaster Recovery: Manage enterprise-wide backup and recovery procedures, routinely testing data integrity and failover systems to safeguard critical operational workloads.
Technical Support & Documentation: Provide Tier III system administration support to isolate and resolve complex technical infrastructure issues. Draft and maintain precise system topology documentation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and configuration logs.
Required Qualifications
Citizenship: Must be a United States Citizen.
Security Clearance: Must possess and maintain an active Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance.
Certification: Must hold a current DoD 8570.01-M Information Assurance Technical (IAT) Level II certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+ CE, CySA+, CCNA Security, GSEC, or SSCP). As well as the current AZ-900 and Network+ certifications.
Location: Position is physically located in the Hampton Roads area, VA (on-site or hybrid as required by operational parameters).
Experience: Minimum of 3-5 years of progressive experience in system administration, managing enterprise infrastructure, server operating systems (Windows/Linux), or virtualized environments.
Preferred Qualifications
Core Technical Certifications: Possession of CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications.
Cloud Certifications: Active Microsoft AZ-900 Certified
Security & Framework Familiarity: Strong operational familiarity with DISA STIGs, Risk Management Framework (RMF) processes, automated vulnerability management platforms (such as ACAS/Nessus), and federal compliance frameworks.
Automation & DevOps Tools: Hands-on experience developing automation or configuration-management routines using PowerShell, Ansible, Jenkins, and version control repositories like Bitbucket.
Working Environment
This is a 100% on-site role. Remote or hybrid work arrangements are not available for this role.
Preferred Work location
Norfolk, Virginia facility.
Shift days/hours
Required to work schedules that extend to evenings, nights, weekends, and occasional holidays.
NGEN
Original Posting:
September 16, 2026
Pay Range:
Pay Range $87,100.00 - $157,450.00
The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline only and not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.
