Principal Engineer II (Linux team)

ICON is a global healthcare intelligence and clinical research organisation united by a mission to bring new medicines and treatments to patients faster.

As a values-driven organisation, integrity, collaboration, agility, and inclusion are at the heart of how we work and interact with each other, customers, patients and suppliers.

Overview

We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Engineer II to join our Linux team, and to provide senior technical leadership in designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise-grade Linux platforms. This role is critical to maintaining the reliability, scalability, and security of infrastructure that underpins business-critical services. The successful candidate will bring deep expertise in Linux systems,IBM Spectrum Scale (GPFS), Red Hat OpenShift/Kubernetes, OpenShift AI and VMware, and will play a key role in driving innovation, operational excellence, and platform modernization.

This role is ideal for a seasoned Linux engineer who thrives in complex environments and is passionate about building resilient, scalable platforms. As a Principal Engineer II, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the infrastructure strategy while acting as a trusted technical leader for mission-critical initiatives.

• This is an Office Hybrid role with 60% office-attendance (3 times a week) in our HQ in Leopardstown, Dublin 18.May require participation in an on-call rotation.
• Occasional off-hours work for maintenance or incident response.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical lead for business-critical projects, owning architecture, design decisions, and successful delivery.
• Design, implement, and maintain highly available, scalable Linux environments across on-premises and virtualized platforms.
• Administer and optimize IBM Spectrum Scale (GPFS) for high-performance, distributed storage and data management.
• Deploy, manage, and enhance container platforms using OpenShift/Kubernetes, and OpenShift AI, ensuring secure and efficient application delivery.
• Manage and optimize virtualized infrastructure leveraging VMware technologies.
• Ensure system stability, performance, availability, and data integrity across all Linux-based infrastructure.
• Develop and implement security hardening standards, ensuring compliance with organizational and industry best practices.
• Lead troubleshooting and root cause analysis for complex system and performance issues in distributed environments.
• Drive automation initiatives using scripting and infrastructure-as-code to improve efficiency and reduce operational risk.
• Collaborate with application, DevOps, security, and infrastructure teams to align platform capabilities with business needs.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, best practices, and documentation.
• Mentor and provide technical guidance to engineers, fostering skill development and knowledge sharing.

Required Qualifications

• Extensive experience in Linux system engineering and administration (e.g., RHEL, CentOS, or equivalent).
• Proven expertise with IBM Spectrum Scale (GPFS), including design, deployment, and performance tuning.
• Proven experience with OpenShift, Kubernetes and OpenShift AI, including cluster management and container orchestration.
• Experience in using VMware environments.
• Deep understanding of system performance tuning, monitoring, and capacity planning.
• Experience implementing security hardening, patching strategies, and compliance frameworks.
• Strong scripting and automation skills (e.g., Bash, Python, Ansible, Terraform).
• Solid networking knowledge (TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, firewalls).
• Strong understanding of disaster recovery and contingency planning.
• Experience with high-availability architectures.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and Platform Engineering practices.
• Knowledge of enterprise monitoring and logging tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana, ELK stack and Solarwinds).
• Relevant certifications (e.g., RHCE, RHCA, OpenShift, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex technical projects and influence architectural decisions.
• Strong written and verbal presentation and communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Key Competencies

• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• Leadership mindset with the ability to drive initiatives and mentor teams.
• Proactive approach to continuous improvement and innovation.
• Ability to perform effectively in fast-paced, high-impact environments.

Employment with ICON is contingent upon having the legal right to work in the country where the role is based.

Rewards & Benefits

ICON offers a competitive and comprehensive total rewards package designed to support your health, wellbeing, and career development.

Benefits may include:

• Competitive base salary and performance related incentives
• Health and wellbeing programmes including medical, dental, and vision coverage where applicable
• Retirement and pension plans
• Life assurance and disability coverage
• Employee assistance programmes and wellbeing resources
• Learning and development opportunities through structured training and career pathways

Benefits may vary depending on role and location.

Visit our careers site to read more about the benefits ICON offers.

Inclusion and Accessibility

ICON is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

If you require reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process, please let us know or submit a request here.

Are you a current ICON Employee? Please click here to apply