Senior Systems Engineer – Bluestaq Australia 

Senior Systems Engineer – Bluestaq Australia  
Location - Canberra | On-site, with occasional remote flexibility subject to project requirements 
Role Type - Full-Time or Contract 
 

Our purpose is to deliver mission critical technology solutions tailored for the Australian defence, government and national security sectors. We specialise in high security data systems, designed to meet Australia's evolving strategic and operational demands. If you are ready to turn your expertise into real world results, welcome to Bluestaq Australia. This is your opportunity to join a young but fast growing company in its formative years in Australia, building on our successful foundations in the United States.  

About the Role  
The Senior Systems Engineer will lead the design, deployment and maintenance of secure data management platform in defence environments. This role encompasses full system lifecycle management, user support and technical leadership to ensure secure, compliant and high performing IT operations in defence aligned environments.  

Reporting to the Bluestaq Australia leadership team, you will:  

• Architect and maintain a resilient Linux server environment, with demonstrated expertise in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)  
• Administer Active Directory, Group Policy, identity and access management (IAM) and network configurations  
• Configure and manage firewalls, routers and switches, including VLANs, DNS and IAM integration  
• Lead ongoing system maintenance, software installation, configuration, integrated testing and troubleshooting  
• Assist end users by addressing technical inquiries and resolving access or configuration issues  
• Oversee patch management, configuration compliance, change control and vulnerability mitigation  
• Implement system hardening in alignment with the ASD Essential Eight, Australian ISM and ACSC guidelines, and conduct regular audits  
• Liaise with internal teams and external stakeholders; provide technical updates and recommendations to leadership  
• Maintain production Kubernetes (K8s) clusters across multiple on-premises environments, encompassing tasks such as deployment, scaling, monitoring (using tools like Prometheus/Grafana), and troubleshooting for containerised applications.  
• Develop and maintain automation and scripting solutions (Ansible, Bash, PowerShell, Python) to streamline system operations, configuration management and security compliance  
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to team members, fostering a culture of continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and engineering excellence  

About You  
We're looking for an experienced IT professional passionate about secure systems in defence contexts. You'll thrive here if you enjoy technical leadership, problem solving, and contributing to meaningful missions. 

Essential Skills and Experience: 

• 8–10+ years of relevant experience in systems engineering or IT infrastructure, ideally in defence or government environments  
• Proven expertise in Active Directory and Linux system administration 
• Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and communication skills 
• Willingness to travel within Australia to customer and partner locations, including secure government or defence sites, and occasional travel to Bluestaq offices in the United States for collaboration or project work.  
• You must also be an Australian citizen, currently holding and able to maintain Australian Government NV2 security clearance.  

Highly Regarded Skills and Experience: 

• Relevant qualifications or equivalent hands-on experience 
• Networking experience (e.g., CCNA/CCNP level or practical equivalents in firewalls, routing, VLANs) 
• Experience with Kubernetes in on-premises environments 
• Proficiency in scripting (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python)  
• Leadership or mentoring in technical teams (or demonstrated potential to grow into this) 
• Familiarity with ASD Essential Eight or defence compliance 

Your Benefits  

• $160,000 – $200,000 per annum + superannuation + annual performance bonus  
• Private health cover allowance  
• Health/wellness allowance  
• Professional subscription  
• Salary sacrifice and salary packaging options  
• Additional 1 week of annual leave per year = 5 weeks per year  
• Other leave in accordance with the National Employment Standards and state long service leave legislation  

Join the Mission
If you're ready to engineer secure, sovereign capable technology, Bluestaq Australia offers you the chance to lead and innovate at the forefront of national defence and critical infrastructure. Together, we’ll tackle high stakes challenges, protect Australia's most vital data and build what’s next, securely, on-premises and at scale. 

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We encourage applicants of all backgrounds, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ and culturally diverse candidates.