IT Platform Engineer Senior

Job Description SummaryThis position is available within the University of Maryland’s Division of Information Technology (DIT).
The Senior Platform Engineer is a member of the Enterprise Linux Services team. This position is responsible for all aspects of IT system administration, enabling the University's research, teaching, and academic units to excel in their work. Working collaboratively with other Enterprise Linux Services staff, Platform Engineering, and other operational departments, this role functions as a proactive administrator who can also solve complex IT problems.
This person will need a strong background in DevOps principles, automation, system architecture, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux/Ubuntu in physical, virtual, and cloud environments. They should understand architecture fundamentals and utilize automation technologies like Puppet, Ansible, Satellite, GitLab, and AWS CloudFormation. Using these tools, this person will deploy OS patches, provision new machines, manage configuration states, deploy new cloud resources, and troubleshoot existing on-prem and cloud deployments, ensuring maximum uptime and service stability.
**This position is considered essential and may be required to work at the normal work location or an alternative location during a major catastrophic event, weather emergency, or other operational emergency to help maintain the continuity of University services.**
**May be required to work evenings, nights, weekends, or different shifts for extended periods.**
Physical Demands: The employee is also occasionally required to lift and carry materials up to 50 pounds in weight. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit and talk and listen. The employee is occasionally required to walk and use hands to operate computers, objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
Licenses/Certifications:
-RHCSA/RHCE or equivalent Linux industry-standard certifications.
-AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate or equivalent industry-standard cloud platform certifications.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

Experience: Four (4) years of professional experience implementing and managing enterprise solutions.

Other: Additional work experience as defined above may be substituted on a year-for-year basis for up to four (4) years of the required education. Strong written and oral communication skills
 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, & ABILITIES:

Knowledge of all aspects of software and cloud infrastructure.

Knowledge of various enterprise solutions.

Skill in oral and written communication. 

Skill in the use of office productivity software such as Office 365 or Google Workspaces.

Ability to lead presentations with small to medium-sized groups

Able to organize and provide direction to junior staff members

Ability to bridge the gap between team manager and team members on technical topics.

Ability to effectively manage workload and delivery assignments on time.

Additional Job Details

Preferences:

• Experience administering Ubuntu or other Debian-based Linux distributions in enterprise environments
• AWS Management experience (I.E., Instance deployment, CloudFormation template development, Stack updates/change-sets, AMI creation, etc.) with AWS Certified Solutions Architect
• Experience with programming in at least one (1) high-level language such as Perl, Nodejs, Ruby, or Python
• Experience with automation workflows using CI/CD pipelines such as GitLab CI/CD
• Ability to install, modify, integrate, and configure commercial and open-source software applications and utilities
• Ability to design, build, and maintain automated workflows that use Generative AI, and to embed Large Language Model (LLM) capabilities into existing DevOps pipelines, monitoring platforms, and enterprise applications in ways that are secure, reliable, and measurably useful.
• Strong understanding of network security, firewall configurations, and securing applications in cloud and on-premises environments
• Working experience in administering containerization technologies, particularly Docker, in support of maintaining critical enterprise applications.
• Knowledge of client/server computing techniques, distributed systems management concepts, and computer communications
• Strong Linux administration background in virtualized (Hyper-V and AWS) and physical environments
• In-depth knowledge of DevOps concepts and CI/CD automation, with hands-on experience using at least one related tool (e.g., Puppet, Ansible, Chef, GitLab CI, etc).
• Skilled in designing and implementing systems to support infrastructure provisioning and management, while adhering to best practices in version control and automation
• Demonstrated experience in designing, deploying, and supporting Linux-backed solutions while adhering to industry-standard best practices
• Excellent problem-solving, attention to detail, multitasking, communication, and complex troubleshooting skills are required to work in this challenging and dynamic environment
• Effective written and verbal communication skills. Must assist, guide, and share information with technical and non-technical personnel
• Must be able to work well with others in a cooperative work environment
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 and greater management experience in a professional setting
• Ability to gather project requirements, develop detailed project plans, schedule and execute the project tasks

Additional Information:

Please note that all positions within the Division of Information Technology (DIT) have an in-person component with expected time in our College Park, MD location per week. Telework is not a guaranteed work arrangement.

Visa Sponsorship Information:

• DIT will not sponsor the successful candidate for work authorization in the United States now or in the future.
• F1 STEM OPT support is not available for this position.

Required Application Materials: Applications missing the materials below will NOT be considered

• Resume
• Cover Letter 
• List of Three References

Best Consideration Date: November 20, 2026

Posting Close Date: November 27, 2026

Open Until Filled: N/A

Job RisksNot Applicable to This Position

Financial Disclosure RequiredNo

DepartmentDIT-EE-Platform Services

Worker Sub-Type Staff Regular

Salary Range$132,240.00-$158,688.00

Background Checks

Offers of employment are contingent on completion of a background check. Information reported by the background check will not automatically disqualify anyone from employment. Before any adverse decision, the finalist will have an opportunity to provide information to the University regarding disclosable background check information. The University reserves the right to rescind the offer of employment or otherwise decline or terminate employment if the information reported by the background check is deemed incompatible with the position, regardless of when the background check is completed.

Employment Eligibility

The successful candidate must complete employment eligibility verification (on Form I-9) by presenting documents that establish identity and work authorization within the timeframe required by federal immigration law, and where applicable, to demonstrate renewed employment authorization.  Failure to complete employment eligibility verification or reverification within the timeframe set forth by law may result in suspension or termination of employment.

EEO Statement

The University of Maryland, College Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment. Please read the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Statement of Policy.

Title IX Non-Discrimination NoticeResources

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