Senior Linux Systems Engineer

About the Role

You will be a hands-on member of the global Systems team responsible for operating and evolving Cartrack's large-scale, multi-region Linux infrastructure spanning Africa, Europe, and Asia. The estate comprises 1,000+ Linux servers, hyperconverged compute, distributed databases, and container platforms - all supporting a 24/7 fleet telematics platform.

What You Will Do

Infrastructure & Virtualisation

. Provision, configure, and maintain bare metal and virtual machines on Nutanix AHV/Prism hyperconverged infrastructure across ZA, EU, and ASIA data centres

. Manage Proxmox virtualisation nodes and VM lifecycle

. Deploy and operate Docker containers and Kubernetes clusters (including Rancher-managed K8s)

. Implement and maintain Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and configuration management using Ansible, Puppet, or CFEngine

. Maintain OS standards across SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, Ubuntu LTS, and RHEL/CentOS fleets

Database Administration

. Administer large-scale PostgreSQL deployments - performance tuning, replication, patching, backup/recovery - across hundreds of database instances globally

. Monitor and optimise query performance respond to lock contention and capacity events

. Maintain database standards, schema migrations, and DR runbooks

Basic Networking (Server-side)

. Configure server network interfaces, bonding, VLANs, and static routes on Linux hosts

. Manage host-based firewalls (firewalld / iptables) and basic DNS resolution

. Liaise with the Network team for advanced firewall policy, routing, VPN, and switching requirements

Identity & Access Management

. Administer FreeIPA (Kerberos, PKI/CA, HBAC, sudo policy) and Samba AD / LDAP identity services

. Manage user and host enrolment, group policy, and SSH key distribution

Monitoring & Observability

. Operate and extend Zabbix monitoring across the full server estate

. Maintain Graylog centralised log management

. Perform capacity planning and periodic performance reporting make recommendations for upgrades

Messaging & Streaming

. Support Apache Kafka and RabbitMQ message queue infrastructure underpinning the comms engine and mswitch layers

CI/CD & Developer Tooling

. Maintain GitLab (primary, secondary, registry) and Jenkins CI infrastructure

. Collaborate with Software Engineers on pipeline design and deployment automation

Operations

. Enforce automated backup operations and validate recovery procedures

. Apply OS patches and security updates on a regular, scheduled basis

. Support the Zammad ticketing system and respond to escalated incidents

. Administer Zimbra mail infrastructure

. Contribute to GRC compliance activities tracked in Eramba

What You Bring

Essential

. 5+ years Linux system administration (SUSE, Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS)

. Hands-on Nutanix AHV/Prism administration - node management, storage pools, VM provisioning, cluster operations

. Solid PostgreSQL DBA skills - replication, PITR backup, vacuum tuning, connection pooling

. Configuration management experience - Ansible preferred Puppet or CFEngine also relevant

. Kubernetes and Docker - deploying, scaling, and troubleshooting containerised workloads

. FreeIPA / Samba AD / LDAP identity management and Kerberos

. Experience with Zabbix or comparable monitoring platforms

. Linux server networking fundamentals - bonding, VLANs, routing, firewalls/iptables

. Scripting proficiency - Bash Python advantageous

. Hybrid on-premises + cloud (AWS) environment experience

Advantageous

. Kafka and RabbitMQ operational experience

. GitLab administration and CI/CD pipeline development

. Graylog or ELK log management

. Proxmox virtualisation

. Eramba or other GRC tooling

. BS Computer Science or equivalent industry qualification

Personal Attributes

. Self-disciplined, reliable, and accountable

. Strong documentation and communication habits

. Comfortable operating across time zones in a globally distributed team

. Willingness to participate in on-call rotation