Associate System Administrator Jobs in Massachusetts

Why choose between doing meaningful work and having a fulfilling life? At MITRE, you can have both. That's because MITRE people are committed to tackling our nation's toughest challenges-and we're committed to the long-term well-being of our employees. MITRE is different from most technology companies. We are a not-for-profit corporation chartered to work for the public interest, with no commercial conflicts to influence what we do. The R&D centers we operate for the government create lasting impact in fields as diverse as cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense, and enterprise transformation. We're making a difference every day-working for a safer, healthier, and more secure nation and world. Our workplace reflects our values. We offer competitive benefits, exceptional professional development opportunities for career growth, and a culture of innovation that embraces adaptability, collaboration, technical excellence, and people in partnership. If this sounds like the choice you want to make, then choose MITRE - and make a difference with us. Mission Computing, R800, is a new division being established to accelerate how MITRE turns technical possibility into mission capability. We're bringing together supercomputing, AI services, secure lab and cloud infrastructure, and modern engineering tooling, all organized as a front-line function that shapes how teams across MITRE build, experiment, and deliver. The AI and Mission Enablement department is the applied AI and services adoption arm of Mission Computing. Its role is to make MITRE's AI and mission platform investments practical for mission work: giving staff usable paths to approved tools, workflows, reusable patterns, data integrations, development environments, hands-on experimentation, and high-touch technical support. The department helps teams move beyond isolated experiments into secure, repeatable ways of using platforms and computing environments in all aspects of their work. As Mission Computing stands up, AI and Mission Enablement will sit between infrastructure and practice. The department will work with platform teams, mission users, laboratories, Enterprise Technology, Information Security Services, and AI communities across MITRE to standardize how capabilities are discovered, integrated, taught, supported, and scaled across approved data and security environments. Its work is to make AI and platforms easier to learn, easier to trust, easier to connect to MITRE workflows, and easier to apply responsibly to mission problems. Lab Services is the group that turns specialized labs, on-premises platforms, hardware environments, secure infrastructure, and compliance requirements into a reliable operational foundation for a mission-centric MITRE. Roles & Responsibilities: MITRE's AI and Mission Enablement Department is seeking an Associate System Administrator to join the Lab Services group and provide hands-on IT support for MITRE's lab environments. Working alongside senior system administrators, lab users, and technical teams, the Associate System Administrator will help deploy, configure, patch, monitor, troubleshoot, and sustain Windows and Linux systems, virtual machines, user access, hardware, and supporting lab infrastructure. This role offers an opportunity to build technical expertise while helping maintain reliable, secure, and compliant environments that support mission-focused research and engineering. Roles and responsibilities include: * Provide day-to-day Windows and Linux system administration support for MITRE R&D lab environments.
* Deploy, configure, patch, monitor, and troubleshoot lab workstations, servers, and virtual machines.
* Support user account and access requests, including local and centralized identities, permissions, and basic access troubleshooting.
* Perform basic Windows and Linux support, including user environments, SSH, package installs and updates, logs, and common configuration issues.
* Acknowledge, categorize, triage, and document incoming tickets and requests; escalate complex issues to senior staff as needed.
* Support lab and data center activities, including rack and console setup, KVM support, cable management, inventory updates, and hardware troubleshooting.
* Monitor system health, backups, and operational status; perform basic troubleshooting and communicate issues, risks, and status clearly. Basic Qualifications: * Typically requires less than 1 year of related experience with a related Bachelor's degree, or equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
* Experience with one or more of the following: Windows operating systems, Linux such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Rocky Linux, or Ubuntu, general system administration tasks, shell scripting, PowerShell, Python or other.
* Ability to lift up to 50 lbs and provide hands-on support in lab and data center environments.
* Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a Secret U.S Government issued Security Clearance within one year of hire. Per the U.S. Government's eligibility requirements, you must be a U.S Citizen to be considered for a security clearance.
* Ability to work a minimum of 4 days per week on-site in McLean, VA or Bedford, MA. Preferred Qualifications: * 1-2 years of related experience, or an equivalent combination of related education and work experience.
* Experience administering or supporting virtualized Windows and Linux systems; VMware ESX/ESXi
* Experience supporting lab, research, engineering, or other dynamic technical environments.
* Familiarity with patching, system monitoring, backup and restore operations, ticketing, asset inventory, and operational documentation.
* Basic scripting or automation experience using Bash, PowerShell, Python, or similar tools.
* Familiarity with Veeam or other backup tools, centralized identity/access environments, or configuration management practices.
* Knowledge of FIPS-199, NIST SP 800-53, NIST SP 800-171, DISA STIGs, CMMC, or related security/compliance frameworks is a plus.
* Ability to work independently and as part of a team, communicate clearly with users and senior technical staff, and support occasional travel if needed. This requisition requires the candidate to have a minimum of the following clearance(s):
None This requisition requires the hired candidate to have or obtain, within one year from the date of hire, the following clearance(s):
Secret Salary compensation range and midpoint:
$79,200 - $99,000 - $118,800 Annual Work Location Type:
Onsite It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Commitment to Non-Discrimination All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local or international law. MITRE intends to maintain a website that is fully accessible to all individuals. If you are unable to search or apply for jobs and would like to request a reasonable accommodation for any part of MITRE's employment process, please email for general support and for intern positions. This service is for individuals requiring reasonable accommodation requests. Please note that vendor solicitations will not receive a reply. Benefits information may be found here . Copyright © 1997-2026, The MITRE Corporation. All rights reserved. MITRE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. Material on this site may be copied and distributed with permission only.