About the group:

Cognizant’s Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services Practice (CIS), is all about accepting digital transformation by driving core modernization holistically across layers. We help customers transform infrastructure and workplace to meet the constantly evolving needs of the digital era. Our broad approach delivers key results for our customers by achieving cloud driven modernization and workplace and operational transformation to own the business in a secure setting. *Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future* Role: Linux Patching SME

Location

Toronto , ON ROLE SUMMARY

The Linux Patching Tower Lead (Onshore) is the primary Linux interface to client L2/L3 and application owners during Canada hours. This role owns the end-to-end Linux patch lifecycle across a 63,000+ node estate of RHEL, Oracle Linux, and Ubuntu systems — driving Ansible/AAP and Red Hat Satellite-based patch execution, kernel errata management, EOL/EOS tracking, and compliance reporting while coordinating application-owner sign-off and weekend change windows. ROLE IN THE OPERATING MODEL

Tower/pod lead and SME for Linux patching — primary Linux interface to client L2/L3 and application owners during Canada hours and weekend windows Owns Linux tower compliance reporting to the Patch Service Lead Coordinates app-owner sign-off post-patching; manages escalation to client Linux L2/L3 within agreed SLTs Operates as Linux execution layer under client direction; baseline/image engineering remains client L2/L3 owned KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Plan and execute OS patch cycles for RHEL, Oracle Linux, and Ubuntu via Ansible/AAP, Red Hat Satellite, and YUM/DNF Manage kernel updates, errata and package updates, live patching where applicable, and reboot orchestration with service validation Run pre-flight readiness checks — disk space, repository connectivity,



snapshot/backup validation — and execute Dev→Prod wave progression Track kernel currency, CVE backlog, and EOL/EOS posture; maintain compliance and update CMDB Coordinate application-owner sign-off and change-window adherence; manage Tenable/Qualys compliance tracking Perform first-level remediation, RCA, and rollback (package downgrade/snapshot revert); maintain KEDB Own Linux tower compliance reporting and present KPIs to the Patch Service Lead for governance reviews Coordinate with client NOC during weekend change windows; escalation to Linux L2/L3 within agreed SLTs TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE SCOPE

Execute OS patch cycles for RHEL, Oracle Linux, and Ubuntu via Ansible/AAP, Red Hat Satellite, and YUM/DNF Manage kernel and errata updates, live patching where applicable, and service-validated reboot orchestration Run pre-flight readiness (disk, repo connectivity, snapshots/backups) and wave execution Dev→Prod Track kernel currency, CVE backlog, and EOL/EOS; update CMDB compliance posture Perform RCA and rollback — package downgrade or snapshot revert; maintain KEDB entries Author and submit RFC/CAB documentation for Linux patch waves; coordinate maintenance window scheduling Generate Linux tower compliance reports for cycle governance; coordinate app-owner sign-off SKILLS, TOOLS & COMPETENCIES

Primary Skills

OS Expertise

RHEL 7/8/9, Oracle Linux, Ubuntu LTS, Kernel/errata management, systemd, YUM/DNF Patch Tools

Ansible/Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), Red Hat Satellite (Foreman/Spacewalk), YUM/DNF, Live patching (kpatch) Automation

Ansible playbook authoring,



Bash/Shell scripting, Python scripting, Cron/at scheduling ITSM & Vuln

ServiceNow (Change/CMDB), Tenable, Qualys, RFC/CAB lifecycle, KEDB management Observability

Splunk, Dynatrace, Moogsoft, PagerDuty Secondary Skills

Container/host patching awareness and configuration management (Ansible roles, Puppet/Chef awareness) Cloud Linux fundamentals — Azure Linux VMs, AWS EC2 (RHEL/Ubuntu) Shell and Python scripting for patch automation CERTIFICATIONS

Mandatory

ITIL 4 Foundation Preferred (one or more)

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) or Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) — mandatory preference Red Hat Certified Specialist in Ansible Automation (EX407/EX374) Red Hat Certified Specialist in Satellite/Patch Management — strong plus Oracle Linux or CompTIA Linux+ acceptable NICE TO HAVE

Experience patching large Linux estates (30,000+ nodes) using Satellite/Foreman Live kernel patching (kpatch/ksplice) operational experience Financial services Linux patching experience with regulatory compliance requirements WORK MODEL & COMMITMENT

Hours Canada business hours + weekend change window coverage Shift Model Hybrid onshore; scheduled maintenance and weekend patch windows On-Call Yes — weekend patch cycles and zero-day CVE response Language English (mandatory) Compensation

We are offering between $60,000 – $85,000. Cognizant will only consider applicants for this position who are legally authorized to work in Canada without requiring employer sponsorship, now or at any time in the future. Disclaimer

The salary, other compensation, and perks information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law. *Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future*

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📌 Linux Patching SME (Winnipeg)
🏢 Cognizant
📍 Winnipeg