Telecom Network Administration Jobs in Silver Spring, MD

About the Job

Illuminate provides analytic and cyber solutions enabling critical decisions from vast data sources. As a

Systems Engineer, you will be a core member of a US-based operations team responsible for building,

maintaining, and improving the hardware and software solutions that underpin national security missions.

Day to day, this role is grounded in CONUS-based systems engineering — installing, configuring, and

maintaining Linux-based infrastructure, integrating and testing custom solutions, remediating issues, and

collaborating closely with internal development and engineering teams to continuously improve

operational effectiveness. You will work alongside expert international developers and application

engineers as part of a technically rigorous, mission-focused team.

Approximately once a quarter, you will accompany the customer on OCONUS deployments as part of a

small team, supporting in-field installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting of custom solutions at

customer sites. You will work closely with the customer throughout the pre-deployment planning process

and serve as a trusted technical resource in the field. Due to the sensitive nature of the customer

environment, candidates must be comfortable operating with professionalism and discretion in close

coordination with government personnel.

Why Illuminate

At Illuminate, you won’t be maintaining routine IT infrastructure. You’ll be building and sustaining systems

that directly enable national security decisions — and periodically seeing that work validated in the field

alongside the customer. This is a small, high-trust team where technical depth is valued, collaboration is

genuine, and the mission is real. If you’re looking for an environment where your systems engineering

skills are put to meaningful use and your contributions are visible, this is it.

What Success Looks Like

At 90 days, a successful hire is fully onboarded, independently handling CONUS-based systems work

across the full installation and commissioning workflow, and has established strong working relationships

with both the internal team and the customer. They understand the environment, the standards, and what

it takes to operate in a sensitive customer context.

At 12 months, they are a trusted and reliable member of the team — contributing to pre-deployment

planning, serving as the go-to resource for troubleshooting and issue remediation, and representing

Illuminate credibly in customer-facing settings both CONUS and in the field. They are someone the team

and the customer count on.

Responsibilities

Systems Engineering & Maintenance (Primary)

• Install, configure, and maintain Linux-based systems infrastructure, including server components,

virtual servers, and custom hardware and software solutions.

• Perform integration and testing of systems and solutions to validate performance against mission

requirements.

• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware and software issues, running diagnostics, documenting

problems, prioritizing resolutions, and assessing risk.

• Design, test, and implement process and systems automation capabilities to improve overall

operational effectiveness and performance.

• Collaborate with internal development and engineering teams to relay findings, support issue

remediation, and contribute to capability development.

• Assist with OEM-level design and development of internal solutions to meet customer

requirements.

Customer Deployment Support (Quarterly)

• Work closely with the customer during pre-deployment planning to prepare for in-field installation

and commissioning activities.

• Accompany the customer on OCONUS deployments as part of a small team, supporting

installation, commissioning, and troubleshooting of custom solutions at customer sites.

• Operate professionally and with discretion in sensitive customer environments, serving as a

trusted technical resource in the field.

• Create and maintain installation guides, as-built documentation, and field reports.

Core Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Information Systems, Engineering, Mathematics, or a

related field (or equivalent experience).

• 3–5+ years of Linux / Unix system administration experience (RHEL / Rocky / CentOS).

• 2+ years of direct experience in integration and testing, data analysis, or capability development.

• Demonstrated experience troubleshooting and resolving complex hardware and software issues

in operational environments.

• Ability to work closely with government customers in sensitive environments with professionalism

and discretion.

• Ability to obtain medical clearance to support international travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Understanding of mobile telecom network architectures and related hardware, software, and

protocols.

• Experience working directly with development teams to resolve software and hardware problems

and applying patches.

• Strong knowledge of networking protocols including TCP/IP, NAT, routing, and switching.

• Experience analyzing logs, stack traces, and debug libraries.

• Proficiency in Python, Bash, and SQL databases.

• Experience with Linux firewall and VPN configuration.

Illuminate provides government agencies, commercial enterprises, and network operators with the data, services, and technology that helps them protect the information that surrounds us all and extract real value from it. We combine decades of cyber, intelligence and telecommunications expertise with innovative collection and analysis tools to deliver timely, actionable insight that our customers use to make fast, informed decisions.