Junior Systems Admin
New York, New York, United States of America
Contract
1 week ago
$25 USD
Key skills
PythonBashAnsibleOraclePrometheusGrafanaSplunkGitChange ManagementCommunication
About this role
Junior Systems Administrator - Linux & Server Virtualization
Long Island, NY
On-Site role
$30 - $40 per hour
ABOUT THE ROLE
Join the IT team of a leading fiber optic network provider as a Junior Systems Administrator in a full-time, entry-level role focused on Linux operations and server virtualization. This position is ideal for entry level candidates or early-career technologists eager to gain hands-on experience supporting enterprise server environments. You will assist with Linux server administration, virtual machine lifecycle tasks, monitoring, patching, and documentation, while learning the tools, standards, and procedures of a fast-paced infrastructure team. If you are curious, coachable, and ready to build real enterprise skills, this role offers structured growth, mentorship, and exposure to a high-availability environment where your work directly supports one of the region's most critical fiber networks.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
Long Island, NY
On-Site role
$30 - $40 per hour
ABOUT THE ROLE
Join the IT team of a leading fiber optic network provider as a Junior Systems Administrator in a full-time, entry-level role focused on Linux operations and server virtualization. This position is ideal for entry level candidates or early-career technologists eager to gain hands-on experience supporting enterprise server environments. You will assist with Linux server administration, virtual machine lifecycle tasks, monitoring, patching, and documentation, while learning the tools, standards, and procedures of a fast-paced infrastructure team. If you are curious, coachable, and ready to build real enterprise skills, this role offers structured growth, mentorship, and exposure to a high-availability environment where your work directly supports one of the region's most critical fiber networks.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Assist with day-to-day administration of Linux servers, including user access, services, packages, filesystems, logs, and basic troubleshooting.
- Support server virtualization activities such as provisioning, decommissioning, snapshots, resource checks, console access, and basic VM configuration under guidance from senior team members.
- Help monitor server health, capacity, availability, and performance using approved monitoring tools and established runbooks.
- Perform routine operational tasks including patching support, reboot coordination, log review, service validation, and post-maintenance checks.
- Document server configurations, support procedures, troubleshooting steps, and known issues in a clear and audit-friendly manner.
- Use basic scripting (primarily Bash and introductory Python) to automate repetitive tasks and improve operational consistency.
- Work with network, security, database, and application teams to support incidents, changes, and service requests.
- Follow change management, access control, backup, and incident response procedures.
- Participate in after-hours maintenance or on-call support as experience grows and business needs require.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, Engineering, or related field; relevant internship, co-op, lab, military, certification, or equivalent hands-on experience considered.
- 0-2 years of experience in Linux, server administration, virtualization, IT operations, help desk escalation, lab support, or infrastructure support.
- Foundational knowledge of Linux distributions (Oracle Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, or similar).
- Basic understanding of virtualization concepts (hypervisors, virtual machines, snapshots, templates/images, resource allocation).
- Basic networking awareness (TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, SSH, firewalls, VLAN concepts, troubleshooting commands).
- Comfortable using command-line tools (ssh, systemctl, journalctl, df, du, top, ps, grep, find, tar, curl, ping, traceroute, ncat/nc).
- Strong problem-solving mindset, attention to detail, and ability to follow documented procedures carefully.
- Clear written and verbal communication skills; ability to document work performed and escalate issues appropriately.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple priorities.
- Internship, coursework, home lab, or hands-on exposure to Linux servers or virtualized environments is a plus.
- Exposure to Nutanix AHV/Prism, VMware vSphere, Proxmox, KVM, Hyper-V, or cloud-based VMs is a plus.
- Introductory experience with Bash scripting, Python, Ansible, Git, or infrastructure automation is a plus.
- Familiarity with monitoring or log analysis tools (Nagios, Prometheus, Grafana, Splunk, or similar) is a plus.
- Relevant certifications (Linux+, LPIC-1, RHCSA, VMware VCTA, Nutanix Certified Associate, Network+, Security+) are helpful but not required.
- Full-time, entry-level opportunity to build real enterprise infrastructure skills at a leading fiber optic network provider-hands-on Linux and virtualization work from day one.
- Structured growth path across Linux administration, server virtualization, monitoring, and automation, with mentorship from an experienced infrastructure team.
- Exposure to a fast-paced, high-availability environment where your work directly supports one of the region's most critical fiber networks.
- Collaborative, cross-functional team culture that values curiosity, coachability, and a commitment to doing things the right way.