Linux System Engineer Internship Jobs in Washington

Nightwing provides technically advanced full-spectrum cyber, data operations, systems integration and intelligence mission support services to meet our customers' most demanding challenges. Our capabilities include cyber space operations, cyber defense and resiliency, vulnerability research, ubiquitous technical surveillance, data intelligence, lifecycle mission enablement, and software modernization. Nightwing brings disruptive technologies, agility, and competitive offerings to customers in the intelligence community, defense, civil, and commercial markets. Nightwing is seeking a highly skilled Linux Systems Engineer to design, deploy, optimize, automate, and support large-scale Linux infrastructure supporting secure networking and remote-access services. This role is ideal for an engineer with deep expertise in Linux networking, policy-based routing, kernel performance tuning, infrastructure automation, and modern VPN technologies including WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IPSec. The successful candidate will collaborate closely with network engineering, systems administration, and platform engineering teams to deliver highly available, secure, and scalable infrastructure solutions in mission-critical environments. Primary Responsibilities Linux Infrastructure Engineering * Design, deploy, administer, and maintain enterprise Linux environments.
* Develop standardized operating system configurations and hardened baseline builds.
* Perform operating system upgrades, patch management, lifecycle maintenance, and performance optimization.
* Troubleshoot complex operating system, networking, and application issues.
Advanced Network Engineering Design and implement advanced routing architectures utilizing: * Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
* Multiple routing tables
* Route maps and traffic steering
* Source-based and destination-based routing
* Multi-homed network environments
Configure and troubleshoot: * OSPF and static routing
* VLANs, LACP, and 802.1Q trunking
* Network namespaces
* VRFs
* NAT and firewall policies
Analyze and troubleshoot network traffic using: * tcpdump
* Wireshark
* iproute2
* nftables
* iptables
Linux Kernel Tuning & Performance Optimization Tune Linux kernel parameters for: * High-throughput networking
* Low-latency applications
* VPN gateway performance
* Large-scale concurrent connections
Optimize: * TCP/IP stack performance
* Network buffer sizing
* IRQ balancing
* CPU affinity
* NUMA awareness
* Memory management
Utilize performance analysis tools including: * perf
* sar
* vmstat
* iostat
* eBPF observability tools
* systemd performance metrics
VPN Engineering Design, deploy, and support secure VPN infrastructures using: * OpenVPN 2.6+
* WireGuard
* IPSec
Implement and support: * Site-to-site VPNs
* Remote-access VPNs
* Hub-and-spoke architectures
* High-availability VPN clusters
* Dynamic routing across VPN overlays
Responsibilities include: * Troubleshooting encryption, routing, MTU, and performance issues
* Implementing modern cryptographic standards and VPN hardening best practices
Configuration Management & Automation Develop and maintain Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) solutions using SaltStack. Create and maintain: * Salt States
* Pillars
* Custom modules
* Orchestration workflows
Automate: * System provisioning
* Configuration deployment
* Compliance enforcement
* VPN deployments
* Security baseline management
Integrate SaltStack with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure monitoring platforms. Required Qualifications: Current Top-Secret Clearance with SCI Eligibility Technical Experience * 5+ years of Linux Systems Engineering experience
* 3+ years of advanced Linux networking experience
* 3+ years of VPN engineering experience
* 3+ years of SaltStack administration and automation experience
Operating Systems Strong hands-on experience with: * Debian Linux
* Ubuntu Linux
Networking Expertise Demonstrated expertise with: * Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
* iproute2
* Routing tables and policy rules
* Linux bridges
* Bonding and teaming
* VLANs
* VRFs
* Network namespaces
* Dynamic routing protocols
* High-availability networking architectures
VPN Expertise Strong practical experience with: * WireGuard
* OpenVPN 2.6+
* IPSec
* PKI and certificate management
* TLS authentication
* Multi-site VPN topologies
* VPN performance tuning
Automation & Scripting Experience with: * SaltStack
* Python
* Bash
* Git
* CI/CD workflows Preferred Qualifications * Experience supporting cloud platforms including: * Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
* Amazon Web Services (AWS)
* Microsoft Azure
* Experience with container technologies: * Docker
* Kubernetes
* Experience supporting confidential computing environments
* Knowledge of CNSA-compliant cryptographic implementations
* Familiarity with eBPF-based observability and network diagnostics
* Industry certifications such as: * RHCE
* LFCE
* CCNP
* Equivalent advanced certifications Desired Skills * Exceptional troubleshooting and root-cause analysis capabilities
* Strong documentation and technical writing skills
* Ability to operate independently in mission-critical environments
* Experience designing highly available and fault-tolerant systems
* Security-first mindset with strong infrastructure design principles
* Excellent collaboration and communication skills At Nightwing, we value collaboration and teamwork. You'll have the opportunity to work alongside talented individuals who are passionate about what they do. Together, we'll leverage our collective expertise to drive innovation, solve complex problems, and deliver exceptional results for our clients. Thank you for considering joining us as we embark on this new journey and shape the future of cybersecurity and intelligence together as part of the Nightwing team. Nightwing is An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age or any other federally protected class.