Targeted Job-Search Plan · Dice.com · Strictly 100% Remote

100% remote Linux & Ansible roles on Dice — the live shortlist and how to work the board

IBM + Red Hat alumnus 10+ yrs Linux sysadmin Deep Ansible automation Active Secret · US citizen 100% remote — no exceptions W2 or C2C
Pulled live from Dice 2026-07-08 · postings expire within days — apply fast

Bottom line

On Dice, filtered to Workplace = Remote, your profile has real, live inventory right now. Cleared Ansible hero (re-verified 2026-07-07): Radyant Inc DevSecOps/Tooling Engineer — Ansible + Terraform + K8s + CI/CD + DevSecOps, 100% remote, W2 or independent, 12 months, explicit clearance-or-federal-experience bar, now 13 days old. Five Rivers Analytics / Akima — Cloud Platform Engineer (3efe695b, added 2026-07-04, re-verified 2026-07-07, 6 days old, $170,000–$185,000/yr FT, Active Interim Secret + ability to obtain TS required, RHEL enterprise + Ansible config automation + K8s/EKS + Terraform + Docker + AWS + DoD NIST 800-53/STIGs — "Remote in North Charleston SC," no stated geo-restriction; verify 100% remote with recruiter; updated 5 hours before pull) — main card; highest posted salary on board if genuinely remote. Stefanini Automation Developer (87e70872) re-verified live 2026-07-07 (updated 33 min before pull), $95–100/hr Contract Independent, Ansible 5+ yrs required — "Remote in Richmond VA" with no stated geo-restriction, verify 100% remote with recruiter. REDLEO SOFTWARE INC Linux Vulnerability Remediation Engineer (d4fdc815) re-verified live (now 6 days old, 100% remote FT, RHEL 7/8/9/10 + Chef/Ansible). System One SRE (7a5d1ed5, Ansible+Terraform+AWS, Public Trust, W2/C2C, 100-week term) re-verified live (now 14 days old). VIVA USA DevOps (5599f0e0, $53–58/hr W2) now 17 days old — bench; still live but apply-or-drop threshold reached. ⚠ General Dynamics Lead DevSecOps (d1b04082, $212,500–$287,500/yr) re-verified live but 10–25% travel stated — still disqualified from main list. ⚠ Expired 2026-07-06: AgreeYa Solutions OpenShift Platform Engineer (dc817f97 — 410 Gone, removed from bench). ⚠ Expired 2026-07-07: Prohires Systems Engineer II (e8f102bf — 410 Gone, removed from bench); NCI Information Systems Cloud Engineer original listing (a834b62d-1d38 — 410 Gone); NCI replacement listing (a834b62d-128d) DISQUALIFIED: occasional travel to gov facilities + Virginia-area geographic preference — not truly remote. New bench 2026-07-07: Arnex Solutions LLC — Automation Engineer (96521049, posted today, FT W2, Ansible AAP 5+ yrs + Python 5+ yrs + Bash 10+ yrs, 100% remote no travel, no clearance, DOE — near-identical skill profile to Stefanini main card; FT vs. contract). Bench (added 2026-07-05, still travel-disqualified): Metova Federal Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (28c4b7da, Ansible preferred + IaC, FT remote — DISQUALIFIED: 10% travel to DoD CONUS sites). Bench (added 2026-07-04): HonorVet Technologies InfoSec Vault Engineer (02c8ac27, $100–102/hr W2 Contract, 6 months, Ansible + HashiCorp Vault Enterprise + Azure + Terraform + Python/Bash, no clearance, fully remote — Vault-primary role, strong IaC overlap). Defense Unicorns (6f611b4b, Active Secret + 10–25% travel — still disqualified). Note: ASM Research (Secret + 100% remote + Ansible core) expired 2026-06-28 — high-fit listings go fast on Dice.

The split is clear: cleared remote roles on Dice are full-time W2 at ~$100–130K+Dice · verified cleared remote roles (2026-06-28)Take2 Consulting FT Active Secret $120–130K/yr; Leidos FT Active Secret 100% remote $92,300–$166,850/yr. Cleared W2 contract premium over commercial track consistently runs $15–40K/yr.
dice.com/job-detail/273ce99c…
; commercial Ansible/Linux contracts run $42–87/hr W2 or C2CDice · verified live listings (2026-06-29)Innovative IT Sys Admin Linux+Ansible W2 $42–52/hr; Brilliant Infotech Ansible W2-or-C2C $60–65/hr; GDH DevSecOps (Active TS required) W2/C2C $83–87/hr.. Your clearance is wasted on the commercial track — lead with it on the cleared roles where it's worth a $15–40K premium.

The 100%-remote trap to dodge: some Dice roles tagged "Remote" actually require you to live near a site — e.g. an Ansible role that's remote only if you're "within 60 minutes of a Federal Reserve office."Dice · Brilliant Infotech (primary, verified)Verbatim residence restriction despite "Remote" tag.
dice.com/job-detail/dd4a3b7e…
Read the residence line on every "remote" post before you invest time.

① Live Dice leads ranked by fit = detail page verified today

Re-verified live on 2026-07-08. New main card: Calance — Senior Infrastructure Automation Engineer (00da2f95, posted today 18 hours ago, $90–105/hr Contract W2, Ansible+Terraform+Python+Linux+CI/CD, no clearance, no geo-restriction — added as card 5). Radyant Inc DevSecOps/Tooling Engineer (36ddaa8f) re-verified live (14 days old), BEST MATCH hero. Five Rivers Analytics / Akima Cloud Platform Engineer (3efe695b, 7 days old, $170K–$185K FT, Active Secret/TS, RHEL+Ansible+K8s+Terraform+DoD — updated 8 hours before pull). Stefanini Automation Developer (87e70872) re-verified live (6 days old, updated 1 min before pull, $95–100/hr Contract Independent, Ansible 5+ yrs required; "Remote in Richmond VA" — verify 100% remote with recruiter). REDLEO SOFTWARE INC Linux Vulnerability Remediation Engineer (d4fdc815) re-verified live (now 7 days old, 100% remote FT, RHEL 7/8/9/10 + Chef/Ansible). System One SRE (7a5d1ed5) moved to bench — still live (15 days old) but demoted from main cards; now on bench. Brilliant Infotech geo-tether (dd4a3b7e) still geo-tethered, fake-remote example. ⚠ Expired 2026-07-08: Arnex Solutions LLC old listing (96521049) — Job Not Found; HonorVet Technologies InfoSec Vault Engineer (02c8ac27) — 410 Gone. New bench 2026-07-08: Arnex Solutions LLC new listing (cb7a2253, posted today, FT W2, Ansible AAP 5+ yrs + Python 5+ yrs + Bash 10+ yrs + YAML/Jinja2 + Linux/Unix + IaC, 100% remote no travel, no clearance, DOE — same skill set as expired 96521049; replacement posting; apply before this one moves); AgreeYa Solutions new OpenShift Platform Engineer (977d90a4, posted 2 days ago, updated 3 hours before pull, W2/C2C, 12 months, OpenShift+Ansible+Terraform+Bash/Python/Go+Linux, remote/home-based, no clearance, no geo-restriction); System One Python Automation Engineer (3f91aa8d, $70–90/hr W2/C2C/Independent, posted 1 day ago, Ansible+Python+DevSecOps+Palo Alto Prisma Cloud, fully remote); System One SRE (7a5d1ed5, W2/C2C, Ansible+Terraform+AWS, Public Trust clearance, 100-week term, no rate posted — moved from main cards). Bench (added 2026-07-05, still travel-disqualified): ⚠ Metova Federal — Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (28c4b7da, FT remote, Active Secret preferred, Ansible preferred + IaC — DISQUALIFIED: 10% travel to DoD CONUS sites). Defense Unicorns (6f611b4b, Active Secret + 10–25% travel — still travel-disqualified). GDH DevSecOps (f6b35854, Active TS required), GDH Linux Admin (0de05b2f), IT First Source Ansible & PowerShell Developer (e13075a0), Tandym Tech Cyber Security Engineer (5c4325a3), General Dynamics Lead DevSecOps (d1b04082, still travel-disqualified) all re-verified live 2026-07-08.

DevSecOps / Tooling Engineer BEST MATCH verified

Radyant Inc. · 100% Remote · Contract (W2 or Independent) · 12 months
Rate not posted (DOE)
100% Remote · no travel Ansible — explicitly required CI/CD + Kubernetes + Terraform Clearance OR prior federal agency experience US citizen required

Top cleared Ansible match — re-verified 2026-07-07 (13 days old): CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI), Ansible, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, Python, Bash, AWS/Azure/GCP, security scanning (SAST/DAST/SCA) — "need security clearance OR prior experience with federal agencies" + U.S. citizenship requiredDice · Radyant Inc. (primary, verified 2026-07-06)Contract W2 / Independent, 12 months. Fully remote, no travel required. Ansible + Jenkins/GitLab CI + Docker + Kubernetes + Terraform + Python/Bash + AWS/Azure/GCP + SAST/DAST/SCA tools. "Need security clearance OR prior experience with federal agencies." U.S. citizenship required. Rate: Depends on Experience.
dice.com/job-detail/36ddaa8f…
. The clearance bar is "OR prior federal experience" — your active Secret immediately outranks every non-cleared candidate, and your IBM + Red Hat federal history gives you both angles. The previous hero (ASM Research, Secret + 100% remote + Ansible core) expired 2026-06-28 — this remains the closest live cleared match. At this skill level (Ansible + K8s + Terraform + DevSecOps) W2 contracts typically run $70–90/hr — negotiate from that floor since no rate is posted.

Apply on Dice →

Linux Vulnerability Remediation Engineer verified

REDLEO SOFTWARE INC. · 100% Remote · Full-Time · No Travel
Rate not posted (DOE)
100% Remote · No Travel Required RHEL 7/8/9/10 — core expertise required Ansible automation — required (Chef/Ansible) Vulnerability remediation + Qualys scanning No clearance required · 6–10 yrs exp

Posted 6 days ago (2026-07-01) — re-verified live 2026-07-07: RHEL 7/8/9/10 enterprise infrastructure, vulnerability remediation, Qualys scanning, "automation experience with Chef and/or Ansible in production" required, Bash + Ruby scripting — 100% remote, no travel, FTDice · REDLEO SOFTWARE INC. (primary, verified 2026-07-06)Full-Time. 100% Remote, No Travel Required. RHEL 7/8/9/10 enterprise server expertise, vulnerability remediation and patch management, Qualys scanning, Chef and/or Ansible automation in production, Bash and Ruby scripting. 6–10 years of strong hands-on RHEL experience required. No clearance mentioned.
dice.com/job-detail/d4fdc815…
. Your 10+ years RHEL administration + IBM + Red Hat background is an exact match for the experience bar — this role is squarely in your wheelhouse. No clearance premium here, but the RHEL depth + Ansible production automation requirement means you walk in with every stated qualification. REDLEO is a staffing company — expect a recruiter call; negotiate rate at screen (comparable commercial RHEL/Ansible FT roles run $90–110K on the coasts). No rate posted, so anchor high.

Apply on Dice →

Cloud Platform Engineer verified

Five Rivers Analytics / Akima LLC · "Remote in North Charleston, SC" · Full-Time · verify 100% remote
$170,000–$185,000/yr
Remote in North Charleston SC — no stated geo-restriction; verify 100% with recruiter RHEL enterprise — explicitly required (DoD environments) Ansible — configuration automation required K8s/EKS + Terraform + Docker + AWS Active Secret + ability to obtain TS required DoD NIST 800-53 · STIGs · CI/CD · DevSecOps

Highest posted salary on today's board — posted 6 days ago (2026-07-01), re-verified live 2026-07-07 (updated 5 hours before pull): RHEL enterprise Linux admin (DoD environments preferred), Ansible configuration automation, Kubernetes/EKS, Terraform, Docker, AWS, CI/CD, DoD security frameworks (NIST 800-53, STIGs) — $170K–$185K/yr FT; "Active Interim Secret Clearance with Ability to Obtain TS" requiredDice · Five Rivers Analytics / Akima LLC (primary, verified 2026-07-06)Full-Time, $170,000–$185,000/yr. "Remote in North Charleston, SC, US" — no geo-restriction stated; verify 100% remote with recruiter. RHEL enterprise Linux (DoD preferred), Ansible config automation, Kubernetes/EKS, Terraform, Docker, AWS, CI/CD, NIST 800-53, STIG compliance, DevSecOps. Active Interim Secret Clearance required + ability to obtain TS as condition of employment. U.S. Citizenship required. Updated 4 hours before pull.
dice.com/job-detail/3efe695b…
. Your Active Secret exceeds the "Interim Secret" bar and puts you ahead of candidates still in-process — you're immediately hire-ready for the clearance requirement. RHEL enterprise + Ansible automation + DoD compliance (STIGs, NIST 800-53) maps exactly to your IBM + Red Hat + federal experience profile. Flag to confirm before applying: (1) Is "Remote in North Charleston SC" truly location-agnostic? No geo-restriction language found in the listing, but the city tag is worth a call to verify. FT salary of $170K–$185K is worth the confirmation call.

Apply on Dice →

Automation Developer verified

Stefanini · "Remote in Richmond, VA" · Contract Independent · verify 100% remote
$95–$100/hr
Remote in Richmond VA — no stated geo-restriction; verify 100% with recruiter Ansible 5+ yrs required (playbooks, roles, Galaxy, AAP) Python 3.x 5+ yrs · Bash/Shell 10+ yrs Contract Independent · W2 preferred per recruiter No clearance required

High-rate confirmed live — posted 2026-07-02, re-verified 2026-07-07 (updated 33 min before pull): Ansible playbooks, roles, Galaxy, Ansible Automation Platform (AAP), Python 3.x 5+ yrs, Bash/Shell/Unix 10+ yrs, sed/awk/grep, Git, Infrastructure as Code principles — $95–100/hr Contract IndependentDice · Stefanini (primary, verified 2026-07-06)Contract Independent, $95–100/hr. Listed as "Remote in Richmond, VA, US" — no geo-restriction explicitly stated in listing. Ansible 5+ yrs: playbooks, roles, Galaxy, AAP. Python 3.x 5+ yrs. Shell/Bash 10+ yrs. Text processing (sed, awk, grep). Git. IaC principles. "W2 candidates preferred" note from recruiter despite Contract Independent type — clarify at outreach.
dice.com/job-detail/87e70872…
. The skill bar is an exact match: Ansible is the core requirement (5 yrs, AAP-level), Python 3.x and deep Bash are mandatory — your 10+ yrs Linux + deep Ansible automation hits every line. Highest posted rate on today's board by a wide margin. Flag to confirm: (1) Is "Remote in Richmond VA" truly location-agnostic? (2) The listing says "Contract Independent" but recruiter note says "W2 preferred" — resolve employment type before screen. Apply today; this will move fast at that rate.

Apply on Dice →

Senior Infrastructure Automation Engineer verified

Calance · 100% Remote · Contract W2 · No travel
$90–$105/hr
100% Remote · no geo-restriction stated Ansible — required Terraform + CI/CD pipeline + IaC Linux systems + Python + PowerShell No clearance required · Contract W2

Brand new today (posted 18 hours ago, updated 6 hours before pull) — verified live 2026-07-08: Ansible, Terraform, PowerShell, Python, Linux systems engineering, Windows Server engineering, CI/CD pipeline development, Infrastructure-as-Code methodologies — Contract W2, $90–105/hr, fully remote, no travel stated, no geo-restrictionDice · Calance (primary, verified 2026-07-08)Contract W2, $90–105/hr. Listed as "Remote" with no geographic restriction or city tag. Ansible + Terraform + PowerShell + Python + Linux systems engineering + Windows Server engineering + CI/CD pipeline development + IaC. No clearance required. Posted 18 hours ago; updated 6 hours before pull.
dice.com/job-detail/00da2f95…
. Explicit W2 posted rate — no negotiation ambiguity. Your 10+ yrs Linux automation + deep Ansible + Terraform + CI/CD hits every stated requirement. The $105/hr ceiling is the highest posted W2 rate on today's contract board. Calance is a US staffing firm; expect a recruiter screen within 24 hours of applying. Fresh postings with explicit hourly rates at this level move fast — apply today.

Apply on Dice →

Ansible Automation Engineer verified

Brilliant Infotech · "Remote" · Contract — W2 or C2C
$60–$65/hr
W2 or C2C — your flex Ansible-centric · 7+ yrs Not truly 100% remote — geo-tethered

Strong Ansible + W2/C2C flexibility, but it fails your 100%-remote bar: remote only "within 60 minutes of a Federal Reserve office"Dice · Brilliant Infotech (primary, verified)"Contract W2" and "Contract Corp To Corp," $60–65/hr, 7+ yrs. Ansible playbooks/roles/modules, Python/Bash, CI/CD, Linux/Unix, AWS/Azure. Residence restriction: within 60 min of a Federal Reserve office (Boston, NYC, Philly, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, KC, Dallas, SF). No travel.
dice.com/job-detail/dd4a3b7e…
in one of 12 cities. Only pursue if you live near one — otherwise it's the trap, not the target. Listed here as the worked example of "fake remote."

View on Dice →
Contract bench — same-day verified, truly remote

For W2/C2C volume while the cleared apps cook: ⚠ NEW 2026-07-08 — Arnex Solutions LLC — Automation Engineer (replacement) (cb7a2253, posted today, FT W2, Ansible AAP 5+ yrs + Python 3.x 5+ yrs + Bash 10+ yrs + YAML/Jinja2 + Linux/Unix + IaC, 100% remote no travel, no clearance, rate DOE — same skill set as expired 96521049; apply before this moves) · ⚠ NEW 2026-07-08 — AgreeYa Solutions — OpenShift Platform Engineer (977d90a4, posted 2 days ago, updated 3 hours before pull, Contract W2/C2C, 12 months, OpenShift+Ansible+Terraform+Bash/Python/Go+Linux, remote/home-based no geo-restriction, no clearance — different listing from expired dc817f97; financial-services enterprise) · ⚠ NEW 2026-07-08 — System One — Python Automation Engineer (3f91aa8d, $70–90/hr Contract W2/C2C/Independent, posted 1 day ago, Ansible+Python+DevSecOps+Palo Alto Prisma Cloud+automation, fully remote, no clearance; SOC/IR background desired) · System One — Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) (7a5d1ed5, moved from main cards 2026-07-08 — now 15 days old; still live; Contract W2/C2C, 100-week term, Public Trust clearance req, Ansible Automation Platform+Terraform+GitLab+AWS+Python/Bash, rate DOE — your active Secret exceeds the Public Trust bar; bench until age forces drop) · ⚠ Expired 2026-07-08 — Arnex Solutions LLC — Automation Engineer OLD (96521049 — Job Not Found; replaced by cb7a2253 above) · ⚠ Expired 2026-07-08 — HonorVet Technologies — InfoSec Vault Engineer (02c8ac27 — 410 Gone, removed from bench) · ⚠ Bench 2026-07-05 (travel-disqualified) — Metova Federal — Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (28c4b7da, FT Remote, Active Secret preferred, Ansible preferred + IaC + K8s + AWS + Security+/8570 IAT-II — DISQUALIFIED: 10% travel to DoD CONUS sites; revisit if travel drops) · Info Way Solutions — Senior SRE (Linux) (19922a8f — $50–60/hr W2/Independent/C2C, 12 months, fully remote no travel, 7+ yrs Linux, Ansible preferred, Python/Ruby automation, FedRAMP nice-to-have) · Visionary Innovative Technology Solutions — Linux Vulnerability Remediation Engineer (posted 2026-07-02, FT, 100% remote no travel, RHEL 7/8/9/10 + Chef/Ansible required, Qualys scanning, Bash+Ruby, no clearance, rate DOE; 24b5fa16 — near-identical skill profile to the REDLEO main card; apply to both if roles are distinct) · VIVA USA INC — DevOps Engineer (posted 2026-06-20, now 18 days old, $53–58/hr W2, 12 months, Ansible playbooks mandatory + K8s+Terraform+Rancher+Jenkins+GitLab+DevSecOps; 5599f0e0 — confirm pure remote before applying; apply-or-drop threshold passed) · REDLEO SOFTWARE INC — Automation / Orchestration / Security Engineer (posted 2026-07-01, FT, 100% remote no travel, Ansible/Itential/Aria Orchestrator (one required), Python, REST/JSON APIs, OAuth2/mTLS, SIEM/IAM/endpoint security, AWS/Azure/GCP, no clearance; dfecdba0) · Tandym Tech — Cyber Security Engineer ($60–65/hr FT, fully remote, Linux+Windows+SIEM+patch mgmt, Ansible desired not required; 5c4325a3 — strong Linux+security overlap) · ⚠ General Dynamics (GDIT) — Lead DevSecOps Systems Engineer (d1b04082, $212,500–$287,500/yr FT W2, Ansible required — DISQUALIFIED: 10–25% travel stated; revisit if travel drops) · IT First Source — Ansible & PowerShell Developer (posted 2026-06-30, FT, fully remote no travel, 5+ yrs Ansible+PowerShell, Windows+Linux admin, no pay posted, no clearance; e13075a0 — Ansible is core but role skews Windows/PowerShell) · GDH — DevSecOps Engineer (posted 2026-06-29, $83–87/hr W2/C2C, Ansible+GitLab/Jenkins+Concourse+Terraform+AWS, fully remote; f6b35854 — requires Active Top Secret, not Secret; top cleared contract rate on bench) · GDH — Linux Administrator (Remote, $43–45/hr, W2/C2C, Ansible+Linux+multi-cloud, clearance-eligible + US citizen required; 0de05b2f) · INSPYR Solutions — System Administrator (Remote W2, $55–65/hr, 6 months, Linux RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu+Ansible+Python, SIEM+patch mgmt; c5ed133e) · Kainos Innovative Solutions — Senior OpenShift Platform Architect (Remote Contract W2, Ansible+Red Hat Linux+OpenShift+K8s+DevSecOps, rate DOE; b3bcd71b) · System One — AWS Cloud Platform Architect (Remote W2 only/no C2C, 100 weeks, Public Trust required, Ansible+Terraform+K8s+AWS, DOE; b73ba42e) · Sunrise Systems — X86 Compute Infrastructure Engineer (Remote W2/Independent, $65–80/hr, 12 months, Ansible+Linux+VMware+Dell x86; ecbca8d2) · Mitchell Martin — Systems Administrator/Engineer ($62.34–76.19/hr W2/C2C, Ansible+RHEL/CentOS/Ubuntu, 12 months; 8e22c3f0 — "Merrifield VA / hybrid setting" in fine print; confirm 100% with recruiter) · Spry Methods — DevSecOps Engineer (Top Secret required, Ansible explicit, Terraform+Docker+K8s+GitHub Actions, FT; a487217c — geo-ambiguous "Remote in Washington WA" / "On-site"; verify 100% remote) · Systems Staffing Group — OpenShift Platform Engineer (OpenShift+K8s+Ansible+Linux+Python/Bash+GitLab/CI/CD, W2, 12 months, 100% remote no travel; 2798f15a) · ⚠ Defense Unicorns — Platform Engineer (Secret + DoD 8570 IAT-II required, Ansible preferred, $123,250–$166,750 FT — FAILS 100%-remote bar: 10–25% travel; 6f611b4b — revisit if travel drops) · Innovative IT — Sys Admin Linux (Remote, W2/Independent, $42–52/hr, Ansible/RHEL/Docker; f3866762) · System One — Systems Admin / Cyber Security Engineer (2e12d6f6, Remote W2/1099, 24 weeks, Linux+Ansible+Python+Bash, cybersecurity hardening; no clearance, no C2C) · Take2 Consulting — Network Systems Engineer (FT, Active Secret required, $120–130K/yr, Red Hat Linux + network/SOC/Qualys/Zabbix — network-primary; "Vienna VA area preferred" is a soft geo; 273ce99c) · Leidos — Senior Network Security Engineer (FT, truly 100% remote, Active Secret required, $92,300–$166,850/yr — Ansible in toolkit but network-primary; partial fit; lead with clearance) · Radiance Technologies — Cloud Infrastructure Engineer (Remote, FT, DoD, Linux+SELinux+Ansible+K8s+Python/Bash — "ability to obtain TS/SCI"; 50975b06) · Note: Brilliant Infotech's $70–75/hr Senior Infrastructure Automation role has the same Federal Reserve geo-tether as the Ansible Engineer card below. Expired: Arnex old (96521049) — Job Not Found 2026-07-08; HonorVet Technologies (02c8ac27) — 410 Gone 2026-07-08; AgreeYa Solutions old OpenShift (dc817f97) — 410 Gone 2026-07-06; Ohm Systems SRE (a8e4afb1) — 410 Gone 2026-07-03; Info Way Solutions old listing (01095a5b) — 410 Gone 2026-07-03; ECCO Select (b88b5ca4) — 410 Gone 2026-07-02; Synergy Business Innovation (a177045a) — 410 Gone 2026-07-01. Find current listings via the saved search in §④.

② How to work Dice for true 100% remote

Dice is the right board for this profile — highest volume of Ansible/RHEL contract and cleared roles, with W2/C2C clearly tagged. The trick is filtering hard and reading the fine print.

MoveHow
Lock the remote filter On any search, set Workplace Type = Remote. This is the URL param filters.workplaceTypes=Remote — bookmark searches with it baked in so you never see hybrid noise.
Verify "remote" on every detail page Dice's "Remote" tag is set by the poster and is often geo-tethered (e.g. the Fed-office role above). Open the detail page and Ctrl-F for "within," "onsite," "must reside," "local to." If it names a city, it's not 100% remote.
Run two streams in parallel Cleared stream: search Secret clearance Ansible + Remote → full-time W2, your clearance premium. Contract stream: search Ansible Linux + Remote + Contract → W2/C2C cash flow.
Set daily alerts & apply within 24h These postings expire in days (3 of the strongest from this search were already gone). Create Dice email alerts on both searches; the verified-fresh ones convert best.
Filter employment type Dice tags W2, Corp To Corp, Independent, Full-time explicitly. Since you're open to either, leave it wide — but know cleared roles skew FT/W2 and commercial Ansible skews C2C.

Keep ClearanceJobs running as a secondary stream for the cleared side — but per your call, Dice is the spine here.

③ What Dice is paying right now (100% remote, this week)

All figures are posted rates pulled from live Dice listings re-verified 2026-07-08 — not survey averages. Five Rivers Analytics / Akima Cloud Platform Engineer (3efe695b, $170K–$185K FT) remains highest posted salary on the board — Active Secret + RHEL + Ansible + DoD; verify remote. New today: Calance Senior Infrastructure Automation Engineer (00da2f95, $90–105/hr Contract W2) — highest posted W2 ceiling on the commercial contract track; Ansible+Terraform+Linux, no clearance, no geo-restriction. Stefanini Automation Developer (87e70872, $95–100/hr Contract Independent) remains a top rate — Ansible 5+ yrs required, re-verified live today. GDH DevSecOps ($83–87/hr, Active TS required) is the top cleared-contract rate. General Dynamics Lead DevSecOps (d1b04082, $212,500–$287,500/yr) re-verified live but disqualified for travel. Your target: $70–105/hr C2C or W2 on the contract track, or $110–140K+ full-time on the cleared/senior track (Akima at $170–185K raises the ceiling further).

Linux/Ansible W2 contract (Innovative IT Sys Admin)$42 – $52/hr
Ansible automation W2/C2C (Brilliant $60–65, Mitchell Martin $62–76)$60 – $76/hr
Cleared DevSecOps contract, Active TS (GDH, posted 2026-06-29)$83 – $87/hr
Ansible Automation Developer (Stefanini, re-verified 2026-07-07 — verify remote)$95 – $100/hr
Cleared full-time, 100% remote (Take2: $120–130K · Leidos: $92–166K)$92 – $166K/yr
Cleared FT, DoD RHEL+Ansible (Five Rivers Analytics / Akima, verified 2026-07-06 — verify remote)$170 – $185K/yr
Your target band (Secret + 10yr + Ansible)$70–100/hr · or $110–140K
$40/hr$60$80$100+/hr

$70–100/hr C2C annualizes to roughly $145–208K at full utilization — but on C2C you carry your own benefits, taxes, and gap-time, so price above the W2 equivalent. The cleared full-time roles trade a bit of cash for stability + clearance maintenance. rates verified · annualization is illustrative

④ Certs & résumé keywords that win Dice callbacks

Dice is heavily ATS-driven — recruiters keyword-search the résumé database. Mirror the exact terms in the postings or you won't surface.

⚠ The highest-ROI move

CompTIA Security+ (CE) is the gating cert for cleared roles — most are tagged DoD 8570 / 8140 IAT Level II, which Security+ satisfies. The verified Innovative IT role also flat-out requires a Red Hat certification. If your RHCE/RHCSA are current and you hold Security+, put all three in the top third of the résumé; if Security+ is lapsed, that's a ~2-week fix worth doing before mass-applying.

Paste block — match the Dice ATS
Active Secret ClearanceUS CitizenSecurity+ CEDoD 8570 IAT IIRHCE / RHCSA AnsibleAnsible CoreAnsible Automation PlatformAAP / AWX / TowerPlaybooks / Roles / ModulesRHEL 8/9DNF / YUM / RPMRed Hat SatelliteJBoss / FuseDocker / KubernetesCI/CDJenkins / GroovyGit / GitLabPythonBashSELinuxSTIG / DISA STIGSCAPRMF / ATO / FISMAInfrastructure as Code
Gold = the gating terms recruiters filter on first · STIG/SCAP/RMF are the gov-Linux signals that separate you from commercial admins.

⑤ The 7-day Dice plan

  1. Today — apply to ASM Research
    The cleared + Ansible + 100%-remote bullseye. Apply first while it's live, then the cleared TOMORROW HIRE role if you'll flex toward RPA.
  2. Today — build the Dice profile + 2 alerts
    Complete the Dice profile with Active Secret + Open to Remote. Save two alerts: Secret clearance Ansible · Remote and Ansible Linux · Remote · Contract. Recruiters search this DB directly.
  3. Day 1–2 — confirm Security+ & Red Hat certs
    Cleared roles gate on Security+ (8570 IAT-II); commercial RHEL roles gate on a Red Hat cert. Make sure both are current and top-of-résumé. Schedule the exam now if Security+ lapsed.
  4. Day 2 — rewrite the résumé top third
    Lines 1–2: "Active Secret · US Citizen · Security+ CE · RHCE." Paste the §④ keyword block so the Dice ATS surfaces you. Quantify Ansible wins (hosts automated, hours saved).
  5. Day 3 — clear the bench, fast
    Apply to the verified contract roles (Innovative IT, Brilliant senior infra, GDH) for W2/C2C cash flow while cleared apps cook. Skip anything geo-tethered unless you live near the site.
  6. Day 3–5 — vet every "remote" before applying
    On each new alert hit, open the detail page and Ctrl-F "within / onsite / must reside / local to." Kill the geo-tethered ones. Protects your time for the real 100%-remote roles.
  7. Day 5–7 — work the recruiters + track it
    Respond fast to Dice recruiter InMails (cleared candidates get heavy inbound). Log every app in one sheet: company, Dice ID, date, recruiter, status. Re-pull both searches weekly — inventory turns over in days.