Systems Engineering - Systems Engineer Sr

Senior Systems Engineer
Business Technology – Systems Engineering | WoodmenLife Location: Hybrid (Omaha, NE) Must reside in the Omaha metropolitan area Reports To: Manager, Systems Engineering
Why You'll Love This Role
WoodmenLife is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer who is passionate about designing, supporting, automating, securing, and modernizing enterprise infrastructure platforms. This role provides the opportunity to work across a highly diverse technology stack while helping drive the future of WoodmenLife's infrastructure and cloud strategy.
You'll play a critical role in supporting OpenShift, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), AIX-hosted application environments, secure file transfer services, disaster recovery capabilities, and enterprise automation initiatives. You'll also be a key contributor to WoodmenLife's Azure modernization journey, helping prepare and transition enterprise workloads to cloud-enabled platforms.
This position is ideal for a senior-level engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges, driving automation, improving resiliency, and partnering with cross-functional teams to deliver scalable and reliable solutions.
At WoodmenLife, you'll be part of a highly experienced engineering team while gaining exposure to cloud transformation initiatives, platform engineering, automation, security, and enterprise-scale infrastructure modernization.
About the Team
The Senior Systems Engineer is part of the Systems Engineering team within Business Technology, a group of 10 senior-level engineers responsible for supporting both traditional on-premises infrastructure and modern cloud-based environments.
This team partners closely with Application Development, Cloud Engineering, Information Security, Operations, Architecture, Disaster Recovery, and Business stakeholders to ensure critical enterprise systems remain secure, reliable, resilient, and prepared for future modernization initiatives.
Role Summary
The Senior Systems Engineer serves as a senior technical contributor responsible for administering, supporting, automating, securing, and modernizing critical enterprise infrastructure platforms.
This role provides operational and engineering ownership across OpenShift, RHEL, AIX-supported applications, secure file transfer services, TLS certificate management, disaster recovery capabilities, and infrastructure automation. The position also supports Azure readiness and modernization efforts by helping assess, prepare, migrate, and support enterprise workloads as WoodmenLife continues its cloud transformation journey.
What You'll Do
Platform Administration & Operational Support

Administer and support enterprise OpenShift clusters hosting critical business applications
Perform monthly patching and maintenance activities across OpenShift and RHEL environments
Implement security-related changes and maintain compliance with enterprise standards
Monitor platform health and proactively identify operational risks and performance concerns
Troubleshoot infrastructure and application issues in partnership with development teams
Provide production support for business-critical systems and services
Support infrastructure modernization and Azure readiness initiatives

RHEL & Application Administration

Administer and maintain Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) servers supporting enterprise applications
Perform system hardening, patching, and ongoing maintenance activities
Support and troubleshoot enterprise applications running on Linux platforms
Provide administration and support for JBoss, Tomcat, Solr, and RabbitMQ environments
Coordinate with application teams and support partners to maintain service continuity
Assist with migration readiness and modernization planning efforts

AIX Application Support

Support AIX-hosted application environments including Ingenium and Lawson
Monitor filesystem utilization and manage capacity planning activities
Perform Lawson user administration and access management tasks
Coordinate with application owners and support teams to maintain operational stability
Document application dependencies and recovery requirements

Automation, CI/CD & Configuration Management

Develop and maintain Puppet-based configuration management and CI/CD processes
Automate operating system configuration, application deployment, and installation activities
Create scripting and automation solutions that improve operational efficiency and consistency
Support infrastructure standardization through repeatable engineering practices
Help establish automation patterns that support hybrid and cloud-enabled environments

Secure File Transfer Administration

Design, build, and support secure B2B file transfer solutions using Bash scripting
Administer and manage GPG and SSH keys used to secure transfer processes
Automate scheduling and execution of secure file transfer jobs
Troubleshoot transfer failures and improve reliability and security
Document dependencies and support modernization initiatives related to data exchange platforms

TLS Certificate Management

Maintain TLS certificates across OpenShift and RHEL platforms
Ensure timely certificate renewals and secure endpoint configurations
Support enterprise security and compliance requirements
Incorporate certificate management best practices into cloud-enabled environments

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

Build and support recovery capabilities for critical enterprise systems
Develop and maintain restoration, recovery, and testing procedures
Participate in disaster recovery planning, validation, and testing efforts
Identify resiliency gaps and recommend improvement opportunities
Support future-state disaster recovery strategies aligned with Azure and hybrid cloud environments

Infrastructure Modernization & Azure Readiness

Participate in enterprise infrastructure modernization initiatives
Assist with dependency mapping, system assessments, and migration readiness activities
Partner with cloud, infrastructure, application, and security teams on modernization efforts
Support migration planning and post-migration operational readiness
Identify opportunities to improve automation, monitoring, resiliency, and supportability

Collaboration & Technical Leadership

Serve as a senior technical resource across supported platforms and services
Lead or support complex troubleshooting and high-severity incident resolution
Collaborate across infrastructure, development, cloud, operations, and security teams
Promote automation, standardization, and operational excellence
Create and maintain technical documentation, dependency maps, and recovery runbooks
Mentor peers and contribute to knowledge sharing across the engineering team

Tools & Technologies

Red Hat OpenShift
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
AIX
Puppet
Bash Scripting
JBoss
Apache Tomcat
Solr
RabbitMQ
SFTP
GPG
SSH
TLS Certificate Management
CI/CD Tooling
Microsoft Azure

What You Bring
Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree strongly preferred
8+ years of overall IT experience
5+ years of hands-on systems engineering, platform administration, or infrastructure support experience
Strong experience administering OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) environments
Experience supporting enterprise applications hosted on Linux and AIX platforms
Experience with configuration management and automation tools such as Puppet
Strong Bash scripting and process automation experience
Experience managing SFTP, GPG, SSH key administration, and secure file transfer services
Experience managing TLS certificates and secure endpoint configurations
Experience supporting disaster recovery planning, documentation, and testing
Experience participating in infrastructure modernization, migration readiness, or cloud transformation initiatives
Strong troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills
Excellent communication and collaboration abilities
Ability to work independently and effectively across technical and business teams

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting large-scale enterprise Linux environments
Experience administering OpenShift in production environments
Experience supporting Azure migration or cloud modernization initiatives
Experience supporting enterprise insurance or financial services environments
Experience participating in on-call support rotations

Scope & Impact

Support critical enterprise platforms that power key business applications
Influence infrastructure strategy, automation, resiliency, and modernization initiatives
Serve as a key technical resource for OpenShift, Linux, automation, and platform engineering efforts
Drive operational efficiencies through automation and standardization
Help shape WoodmenLife's transition toward cloud-enabled and Azure-hosted infrastructure solutions

Career Growth
This role offers opportunities to advance into:

Cloud Engineer
Platform Engineer
Infrastructure Architect
Platform Architect
Technical Leadership and Enterprise Modernization Roles

Leadership Insight from the Hiring Manager
"I am a people-first leader who balances genuine care and support with clear expectations and accountability. I work to create an environment where people feel valued, empowered to take ownership, and connected to the broader purpose behind their work. By removing obstacles, encouraging open communication, recognizing contributions, and investing in each person's development, I build high-performing teams that deliver reliable results while helping people become more capable, confident, and prepared for future opportunities."
WoodmenLife offers a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive benefits package. More information about our benefits can be found at: https://www.woodmenlife.org/careers/home-office/benefits/
As part of WoodmenLife's employment process, candidates will be required to complete a criminal background check, credit check (where required for position), fingerprint check (where required for position), drug screen, and reference checks. Any offer of employment will be contingent upon successfully passing the above.
WoodmenLife is welcoming to all regardless of background and beliefs. We respect every associate's unique perspective and contribution. We are committed to creating an environment that values differences and provides opportunities for growth, leadership, and service. This includes providing equal opportunity in recruitment, employment, promotion, training, and community outreach.
APPLICANTS WITH DISABILITIES SHOULD ADVISE THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION IF SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS ARE NEEDED.
Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society (WoodmenLife) is an Equal Opportunity Employer.