Chef SysAdmin

Experience: 4.5years to 9years

Job Title: Chef SysAdmin

Job Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Chef Application candidate to join our infrastructure team. The ideal candidate will have a robust understanding of Chef, strong system administration skills, and extensive experience with DevOps tools and practices. This role requires expertise in automating and managing both Linux and Windows environments using Chef, as well as integrating Chef with other tools like Terraform for infrastructure provisioning and management. The candidate will be responsible for the full lifecycle of infrastructure automation, from designing and developing Chef Cookbooks and Recipes to implementing monitoring and observability solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Chef Infrastructure and System Administration:

- Design and Implementation: Architect, deploy, and manage Chef infrastructure to automate server configuration and deployment processes. This includes setting up Chef servers, workstations, and ensuring proper integration with version control systems like Git.

- Security Management: Implement security best practices within the Chef environment, including secure cookbook development, encrypted data bags, policies and role-based access control (RBAC) in Chef Automate.

- Environment Management: Manage multiple environments (development, staging, production) with Chef, ensuring that configurations are consistent and reproducible across all environments.

- System Administration: Provide system administration support for both Linux and Windows servers, ensuring they are configured, patched, and compliant with organizational policies.

2. Cookbook and Recipe Development:

- Custom Cookbook Creation: Develop and maintain custom Chef Cookbooks and Recipes to automate infrastructure tasks, such as application deployments, server provisioning, and configuration management.

- Testing and Validation: Implement automated testing for Chef Cookbooks using tools like Test Kitchen, ChefSpec, and InSpec to ensure code quality and functionality before deployment.

- Version Control: Utilize Git for version control of Cookbooks, and manage changes through branching, merging, and pull requests in collaboration with other team members.

3. DevOps Tools and Integration:

- CI/CD Integration: Integrate Chef with CI/CD pipelines using tools like Gitactions, Jenkins, or Azure DevOps to automate the testing and deployment of infrastructure changes.

- Collaboration Tools: Use collaboration and issue-tracking tools like Jira, Confluence, and Slack to manage tasks, document processes, and communicate effectively with the team.

- Containerization and Orchestration: Work with containerization tools like Docker and Kubernetes, integrating Chef for configuration management within containerized environments.

4. Terraform and Infrastructure as Code (IaC):

- Infrastructure Provisioning: Utilize Terraform to define and automate the provisioning of cloud resources in environments like VMWare, Azure, AWS.

- State Management: Manage Terraform state files, ensuring they are securely stored and consistently managed across teams.

- Modular Infrastructure: Develop modular Terraform scripts that can be reused across different projects and environments, improving the efficiency of infrastructure deployment.

5. Linux/Windows Server Management:

- Server Configuration: Manage the configuration of both Linux and Windows servers using Chef, ensuring they meet the required standards for performance, security, and compliance.

- Patch Management: Automate the patching process for servers, ensuring that they are regularly updated with the latest security patches and software updates.

- Performance Tuning: Monitor and tune server performance, addressing any issues that may arise from misconfigurations or resource constraints.

6. Networking and Security:

- Networking Knowledge: Apply basic networking principles to configure and troubleshoot network-related issues in Chef-managed environments. This includes understanding DNS, load balancing, firewalls, and VPNs.

- Network Automation: Utilize Chef to automate the configuration of network devices, ensuring consistent and secure network configurations across environments.

7. Image Lifecycle Management:

- Image Creation: Create and manage the lifecycle of machine images (different clouds), ensuring they are properly configured, optimized, and secure.

- Automation: Automate the creation, maintenance, and deprecation of images using Chef, ensuring that they are always up-to-date and aligned with organizational

standards.

- Versioning and Rollback: Implement versioning for machine images and maintain the ability to roll back to previous versions in case of issues.

8. Configuration Management and Compliance:

- Configuration Management: Implement configuration management practices using Chef to ensure that all servers are consistently configured and compliant with organizational policies.

- Compliance Automation: Use Chef InSpec to automate compliance checks and ensure that all systems meet regulatory and internal security standards.

- Audit and Reporting: Generate and manage reports on configuration drift, compliance status, and other key metrics using Chef Automate.

9. Monitoring and Observability:

- Chef Automate Monitoring: Implement monitoring and observability practices for Chef Automate, ensuring that all Chef operations are running smoothly and any issues are promptly addressed.

- Alerting and Incident Management: Set up alerts and dashboards using tools like splunk, NewRelic, Prometheus, Grafanato monitor the health of the Chef infrastructure and respond to incidents in real-time.

- Log Management: Manage and analyze logs generated by Chef, using tools like Splunk or ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) to gain insights into system performance and issues.

Required Skills and Experience:

Technical Skills:

- Chef: Extensive experience with Chef, including infrastructure management, Cookbook/Recipe development, and Chef Automate.

- DevOps Tools: Proficiency with DevOps tools such as Jenkins, Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible, and others, with a focus on integrating Chef into the DevOps pipeline.

- Terraform: Strong experience with Terraform for managing cloud infrastructure as code.

- Linux and Windows: In-depth knowledge of both Linux and Windows server administration, with experience managing them using Chef.

- Networking: Basic understanding of networking concepts, including TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, VPNs, and firewalls.

- Image Management: Experience with creating and managing server images including automation and lifecycle management.

- Configuration Management: Proven experience with configuration management using Chef, ensuring consistency across environments.

- Monitoring and Observability: Experience with monitoring tools and practices, specifically for Chef Automate and related infrastructure.

Soft Skills:

- Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot complex issues and provide effective solutions.

- Collaboration: Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a remote, distributed team environment.

- Documentation: Strong documentation skills, with the ability to create clear and concise technical documentation and procedures.

Preferred Qualifications:

- Certifications: Relevant certifications in Chef (e.g., Certified Chef Developer), Terraform, or other DevOps tools.

- Cloud Platforms: Experience with major cloud platforms such as VMware, AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud.

- Scripting: Proficiency in scripting languages like Python, Ruby, or Bash for automation tasks.

- Continuous Learning: A commitment to continuous learning and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies.