Linux Infrastructure Engineer

Linux Infrastructure Engineer

About Northern Light

Northern Light provides the world's most sophisticated machine learning-powered competitive intelligence platform for market research. For over 25 years, we've been helping Fortune 1000 enterprises make smarter, faster, and more informed decisions through our award-winning SinglePoint knowledge management platform. Our clients include global leaders across technology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and life sciences who depend on us to transform fragmented data into strategic clarity.

We're an employee-owned company that takes pride in our compulsive drive to provide exceptional client support. We wake up each day ready to tackle the challenges of knowledge management and we never stand still. Our recent innovations include generative AI capabilities, machine learning insights, and advanced competitive intelligence automation.

About the Role

Northern Light is seeking an experienced Linux Infrastructure Engineer to take hands-on ownership of our Linux-based infrastructure. In this role, you’ll be responsible for operating, maintaining, and evolving a mission-critical environment that runs on a mix of bare-metal and virtualized systems in our private colocation datacenter.

This is a highly technical, hands-on position for someone who enjoys working close to the hardware, values operational excellence, and thrives in environments where reliability, security, and scalability matter.

What You’ll Do

Operate and maintain a Linux infrastructure of ~70 HPE DL360 Gen9/Gen10 bare-metal servers and ~150 virtual machines

Administer RHEL-based systems (primarily Oracle Linux 9), including installation, patching, upgrades, and security hardening

Support virtualization platforms, including:

VMware (5 nodes, ~100 VMs), with potential future migration to Red Hat OVE

KVM-based virtualization supporting Kubernetes workloads (~50 VMs)

Perform on-site datacenter operations in a private six-rack cage, including racking, cabling, labeling, hardware replacement, and decommissioning

Maintain and administer core infrastructure services such as:

Mail relay (Sendmail)

DNS (BIND)

SFTP (ProFTPd)

LDAP-backed authentication and authorization

Package repository mirroring (Foreman)

Centralized automation and orchestration (Ansible Automation Platform)

On-prem GitLab Premium for version control and CI/CD

Develop and maintain standard operating procedures covering:

Inventory management (NetBox)

Monitoring, alerting, and observability (LogicMonitor)

Incident response and root-cause analysis

Vulnerability and patch management (Tenable One)

Backup, recovery, and disaster recovery (Veeam)

Participate in incident response, scheduled maintenance, and post-incident reviews

Collaborate with vendors, service providers, and internal engineering, security, and operations teams

Support secure, compliant infrastructure that enables product delivery and business needs

What We’re Looking For:

BS or MS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Technology, or equivalent practical experience

7+ years of industry experience, including 3+ years in Technical Operations or System Administration roles

Strong Linux systems engineering experience in production environments, including high-availability and redundant architectures

Deep expertise with RHEL-based distributions (Oracle Linux strongly preferred)

Hands-on experience with bare-metal servers and datacenter operations (racking, cabling, inventory, hardware lifecycle)

Experience supporting VMware and KVM-based virtualization platforms

Working knowledge of automation and configuration management (Ansible, infrastructure-as-code concepts)

Experience with monitoring, backup and disaster recovery, vulnerability management, and compliance-focused operations

Familiarity with container technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes

Solid understanding of networking fundamentals and experience collaborating with network teams (switches, firewalls, load balancers)

Strong troubleshooting, documentation, and cross-team collaboration skills

On-site presence required at a private colocation facility in Somerville, MA

Datacenter work may involve elevated noise levels and variable temperatures

Limited after-hours or weekend maintenance and incident response (historically ~3–5 times per year)

Physical Requirements

Ability to remain stationary approximately 50% of the time

Ability to move around office and datacenter environments

Frequent computer use and communication with employees, vendors, and partners

Occasional lifting, pushing, or pulling of equipment up to 50 lbs

Occasional standing, walking, climbing, bending, and working in confined spaces

Work authorization requirements:  

Must be authorized to work in the United States (unfortunately, we cannot sponsor visas).

What We Offer:

Benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).

Holiday and Paid time off.

Parental leave.

Life and disability insurance.

Remote flexibility and a supportive team culture.

Opportunity to work with top global brands and cutting-edge AI solutions.

Job Type: Full-Time

Location: Boston/Somerville area, with shared on-site presence required between the office and a Somerville-based colocation data center

Why Join Northern Light

Join a company shaping the future of competitive and market intelligence.

Work with a collaborative, high-performing team that values creativity, experimentation, and measurable results.

Competitive salary, benefits, and professional growth opportunities.

Opportunity to build something from the ground up.

Regular team offsites and opportunities for cross-functional collaboration.

Working at Northern Light
Northern Light is based in Boston. Northern Light is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Northern Light is an E-Verify participant. 
 
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.