Junior Systems Administrator

Location: Ridgecrest, California, United States Department: Saalex Openings

Saalex is seeking a Junior Systems Administrator in Ridgecrest, CA. Saalex is an Engineering and Information Technology Services company with a focus on Test Range Operations and Management, Engineering and Logistics Services, Data Analytics and Business Intelligence Services and Information Technology Services.

Position Type: Part-Time

Salary: $36.00-$38.00 Hourly (depending upon experience)

Work Location: Full-time onsite at China Lake, CA.

About the Opportunity

Are you an experienced Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) looking for high-impact technical work paired with the flexibility of a part-time schedule?

At Saalex Solutions, we support vital Department of Defense tactical training systems and test range capabilities. We are actively seeking a Senior Red Hat & Cloud Systems Administrator—while targeting a Senior, motivated Journeyman-level professionals with the right mindset, strong technical foundation, and drive to grow are strongly encouraged to apply!

In this role, you will help maintain, automate, and modernize mission-critical systems across hybrid enterprise environments—bridging on-premise high-performance Linux enclaves with AWS cloud architectures. This position offers the ideal blend of high technical autonomy, cutting-edge DevSecOps tooling, and a flexible 20–25 hour workweek.

Why You’ll Love Working With Us

True Work-Life Flexibility: Guaranteed 20–25 hours per week with adaptable scheduling around core operational windows.

Alternate Fridays Off (9/80 Schedule): Enjoy standard three-day weekends every other week.

Modern Tooling & Autonomy: Drive technical solutions across AWS cloud infrastructure, modern CI/CD pipelines, and infrastructure-as-code automation.

Direct Mission Impact: Support real-time systems essential to naval air warfare test ranges and national defense readiness.

Continuous Growth & Mentorship: Full sponsorship for DoD cyber credentials, technical training, and professional development units (CEUs) to help you advance your career.

Key Responsibilities

As our Linux and Cloud systems resource, you will perform hands-on administration, hardening, and automation across both classified and unclassified environments:

Enterprise Linux Administration: Deploy, configure, and administer multi-distribution Linux environments (primarily Red Hat Enterprise Linux [RHEL], CentOS, and Ubuntu) supporting real-time servers, lab environments, and field engineering workstations.

AWS Cloud Engineering: Support, deploy, and maintain scalable AWS infrastructure utilizing VPC, EC2, EBS, S3, IAM, CloudWatch, RDS, and EFS.

Infrastructure as Code & Automation: Automate routine provisioning, configuration, and deployments using Ansible, Terraform, or AWS CloudFormation.

System Hardening & Compliance: Apply DISA Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs), evaluate Nessus/ACAS scan findings, and remediate vulnerabilities in alignment with DoD Risk Management Framework (RMF) controls.

CI/CD & DevSecOps Enablement: Support and maintain continuous integration/continuous deployment pipelines (GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, AWS CodePipeline) to enable reliable, secure software releases.

Performance & Network Tuning: Proactively monitor server health, perform root-cause analysis on system alerts, and troubleshoot network routing (TCP/IP, DNS, firewalls, and load balancing).

Identity & Access Management: Administer user accounts, role-based privileges, and group security policies in accordance with DoD and Navy cybersecurity directives.

Agile Collaboration: Participate in Agile/Scrum sprint coordination, providing dependable infrastructure and deployment support to software developers, test engineers, and cyber leads.

Other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Required

Operating System Certification: Active Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) or Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE).

Cybersecurity Baseline (DoD 8140 / 8570 Compliant): Active DoD 8570/8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., CompTIA Security+ CE, CCNA Security, CySA+, or equivalent).

Cloud & Automation Exposure: Practical experience with core AWS services (VPC, EC2, S3, IAM) and scripting/automation tools (Bash, Python, Ansible, or Terraform).

Security Hardening: Familiarity with DISA STIGs, SCAP compliance tools, and vulnerability remediation.

Less than 3 years in a technical discipline or a BA/BS

Performs testing duties under the oversight of senior staff with a high drive to learn advanced testing methodologies, design review processes, and systems integration.

Desired

AWS Certified Solutions Architect or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator.

Hands-on experience with containerization technologies (Docker, Podman, Kubernetes/OpenShift).

Prior experience supporting Navy/DoD test range facilities (NAWCWD China Lake / Point Mugu or similar SSA environments).

Familiarity with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence) or enterprise Git repositories.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline with less than 3 years.

Security Clearance

Must possess an active Secret clearance with the ability to gain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance. Requirements to obtain a clearance include US Citizenship, security investigation, etc.