How to hire a linux administrator

How to hire a linux administrator, step by step

Here's a step-by-step linux administrator hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a linux administrator job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new linux administrator
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a linux administrator do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the linux administrator you need to hire. Certain linux administrator roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect linux administrator also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of linux administrators and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Linux Administrator	Description	Hourly rate
   Linux Administrator	Computer networks are critical parts of almost every organization. Network and computer systems administrators are responsible for the day-to-day operation of these networks.	$29-48
   Information Technology Administrator	An Information Technology (IT) administrator is a professional responsible for managing the day-to-day operation of an organization's IT systems and ensuring that the systems are running effectively. IT administrators must conduct consistent analyses of the computer system and install updates when needed... Show more	$24-50
   Network/Server Administrator	A Network Administrator ensures an organizations' network is operational and up to date. They solve problems that arise within computer networks, maintaining computer networks, interacting with clients, and consulting with them to determine their system requirements... Show more	$27-51

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Python
   • Windows
   • Linux Servers
   • Bash
   • Red Hat
   • OS
   • Centos
   • DNS
   • RHEL
   • Troubleshoot
   • Database
   • Unix
   • SAN
   • NFS

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage PGP/GPG encryption in FTP/SFTP scripts.
   • Manage TCP/IP packets and DHCP servers and resolving TCP/IP network access problems for the clients.
   • Manage entire network infrastructure, switches, firewalls, servers (configuration/installation), patch management, vendor relations.
   • Configure and manage splunk forwarders.
   • Develop bash scripts to automate system/build processing.
   • Work with Zen virtualization to manage virtual Linux operating systems.

   More linux administrator duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your linux administrator job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A linux administrator salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a linux administrator in Florida may be lower than in Maryland, and an entry-level linux administrator usually earns less than a senior-level linux administrator. Additionally, a linux administrator with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average linux administrator salary

   $79,996yearly

   $38.46 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level linux administrator salary

   $62,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average linux administrator salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$93,458	$45
   2	Maryland	$90,400	$43
   3	Virginia	$86,916	$42
   4	Washington	$85,916	$41
   5	Delaware	$84,747	$41
   6	North Carolina	$83,740	$40
   7	New Jersey	$82,401	$40
   8	Arizona	$82,259	$40
   9	Ohio	$82,180	$40
   10	Pennsylvania	$80,803	$39
   11	New York	$80,341	$39
   12	District of Columbia	$79,503	$38
   13	Indiana	$79,402	$38
   14	Illinois	$78,686	$38
   15	Georgia	$76,874	$37
   16	Texas	$76,721	$37
   17	Colorado	$74,155	$36
   18	South Carolina	$72,796	$35
   19	West Virginia	$72,068	$35
   20	Florida	$71,607	$34

   Average linux administrator salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Medline	$110,103	$52.93	3
   2	Avid	$109,588	$52.69	10
   3	OmniVision Technologies	$108,341	$52.09
   4	Children's Hospital Colorado	$105,372	$50.66	3
   5	TEKsystems	$105,170	$50.56	61
   6	Kforce	$105,051	$50.51	31
   7	Nabors Holding Company	$104,532	$50.26
   8	Highmark	$99,940	$48.05	105
   9	Addison Group	$99,855	$48.01	13
   10	Populus Group	$98,407	$47.31
   11	MaxLinear	$96,732	$46.51
   12	Corning Incorporated	$94,600	$45.48	3
   13	Avtech	$93,377	$44.89	8
   14	Compass Pointe	$93,274	$44.84
   15	BI WORLDWIDE	$90,953	$43.73
   16	Pace Inc	$89,681	$43.12
   17	Hired	$88,842	$42.71
   18	Booz Allen Hamilton	$88,737	$42.66	55
   19	Westinghouse Appliances Australia	$87,331	$41.99	5
   20	Capricorn Systems	$87,288	$41.97

4. Writing a linux administrator job description

   A linux administrator job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a linux administrator job description:

   Linux administrator job description example

   Job Title : LINUX Administrator Location : Trenton, NJ Duration : 5 Months (More Likely to Extend) Interview : In-Person only ** Hybrid** Job Description: The client is seeking a contractor resource to augment the Open Systems team which is part of ITO's Technical Services area. The resource will primarily support Linux/Unix infrastructure, enterprise backup and recovery, and distributed storage systems. The responsibilities span both on-premise and cloud infrastructures. RESPONSIBILITIES & QUALIFICATIONS: The selected contractor will have significant experience in the provisioning, installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and performance tuning of Linux-based operating systems (preferably RHEL) on a VMWare infrastructure platform. The resource will have experience with Red Hat system management and platform-tools Ansible Tower and Satellite, incorporating package management using RPM/YUM. They will possess the necessary experience to back up and restore Linux servers. The resource will be experienced with Infrastructure as Code (IaC) automation tools such as Ansible, Terraform, and AWS Cloud Formation. The selected resource will have significant experience in the planning, installation, configuration, and administration of enterprise backup and recovery solutions (preferably Commvault). The ideal candidate will have experience in managing all aspects of distributed enterprise storage. The environment includes IBM flash storage systems (preferably FS9200), Dell NAS, AWS S3, and EBS. Experience with managing Brocade SAN fabric and switches would be helpful. Experience with IBM Copy Service Manager (CSM) would also be helpful. Experience with provisioning and administration of cloud provider (CP) infrastructure and storage resources in a multi-cloud environment is preferred. The ideal candidate will also have experience installing, configuring, and administering Unix-based systems (preferably AIX) on IBM Power Systems. Familiarity with Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions such as Centrify and CyberArk is preferred. The selected resource may be required for off-hour production support. Desired Skills:

   • Linux administration
   • Enterprise backup and recovery administration
   • RHEL Satellite/Ansible Tower system admin
   • Enterprise storage / SAN administration
   • Automation scripting including IaC tools
   • Administration of cloud provider resources
   • Unix administration
   • Privileged access to management administration
   • IBM Copy Services Manager (CSM) admin

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find linux administrators for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your linux administrator job on Zippia to find and recruit linux administrator candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with linux administrator candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   If your interviews with linux administrator applicants aren't enough to make a decision, you should also consider including a test project. These are often the best, most straightforward, and least bias-prone ways of determining who will likely succeed in the role. If you don't know how to design an appropriate test, you can ask someone else on the team to create it or take a look at these websites to get a few ideas:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new linux administrator

   Once you've found the linux administrator candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new linux administrator first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a linux administrator?