Principal Systems Engineer / Linux / Terraform / Remote

This full time remote opportunity (EST or CST required) is ideal for a Principal Systems Engineer looking to lead architectural direction across Linux infrastructure, virtualization, storage, identity, and automation. You will operate in a modern hybrid ecosystem spanning private cloud, VMware, and physical data center environments, with significant influence over platform evolution and engineering standards.

What makes this role exceptional is the opportunity to serve as a technical authority guiding system architecture, maturing automation practices, and driving improvements across infrastructure reliability, scalability, and security. This is a role for someone who excels in deep Linux engineering, enjoys mentoring mid level engineers, and wants the autonomy to shape next generation infrastructure strategy. You will gain exposure to advanced cloud integration, large scale automation, and enterprise grade storage and identity systems.

Required Skills & Experience

· 10+ years of overall infrastructure engineering experience
· 5+ years serving as a technical lead or architect
· Strong Linux expert (must be significantly stronger in Linux than Windows)
· Experience supporting large on-premises physical infrastructure, including:
– Data centers
– Bare metal servers
– Hybrid environments
· Experience with a private cloud platform (AWS strongly preferred)
· Deep VMware virtualization experience
· SAN/NAS storage solutions (NetApp preferred)
· Identity and directory services: Active Directory & Entra
· Automation & Infrastructure-as-Code tools:
– Ansible
– Terraform
– Bash/PowerShell/Perl/Python scripting
· Proven ability to lead technical decision-making and mentor junior/mid-level engineers

Desired Skills & Experience

· Networking fundamentals (LAN, routing, switching, IP, VPN, DNS, DHCP, VLANs, L2/L3)
· Disaster Recovery design and implementation
· Antivirus/Spyware administration
· General security concepts and best practices

What You Will Be Doing Tech Breakdown

· 80% Linux infrastructure, VMware, cloud, identity, and storage engineering
· 20% Automation & IaC (Terraform, Ansible, scripting)

Daily Responsibilities

· 70% Hands-on technical leadership and deep system engineering
· 10% Architectural planning, standards development, and documentation
· 20% Collaboration with cross-functional engineering teams and mentorship of junior staff