Senior Elastic Engineer with Security Clearance

Zachary Piper Solutions is seeking an experienced Senior Elastic Engineer to support a high-visibility federal modernization effort focused on migrating enterprise security logging and observability platforms from Splunk to Elastic. This position will support mission-critical infrastructure at Scott Air Force Base, IL , where the selected engineer will lead Elastic architecture, Kubernetes deployments, and custom data ingestion solutions within a secure DoD environment.

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise with the Elastic Stack, Kubernetes/ECK deployments, and designing scalable, production-grade logging and security platforms. SECRET CLEARANCE REQUIRED

Key Responsibilities
* Design, deploy, and maintain enterprise Elastic Stack environments supporting security logging, search, and observability.
* Lead migration efforts from Splunk to Elastic while ensuring minimal operational disruption.
* Build and implement custom data ingestion pipelines for enterprise security and operational data.
* Configure and manage Index Lifecycle Management (ILM) policies and data retention strategies.
* Deploy and administer Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) environments using Kubernetes operators.
* Optimize Elastic cluster performance, scalability, reliability, and availability across production environments.
* Troubleshoot complex Elastic infrastructure, Kubernetes, and distributed system issues.
* Support security-focused logging, SIEM integrations, and enterprise observability initiatives.
* Develop automation and operational best practices for Elastic platform administration.
* Maintain technical documentation, deployment standards, and operational procedures. Qualifications
* 7+ years of experience supporting Elastic engineering, platform engineering, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), or infrastructure engineering.
* Strong hands-on experience designing and administering enterprise Elastic Stack environments.
* Experience building custom data ingestion pipelines and managing large-scale logging platforms.
* Advanced Kubernetes experience with Elastic Cloud on Kubernetes (ECK) deployments preferred.
* Experience troubleshooting complex Elastic architectures and distributed environments.
* Ability to work onsite at Scott Air Force Base, IL.
* Active Secret Clearance required (Interim Secret or Interim Top Secret may be considered).
Nice-to-Haves
* Experience leading Splunk-to-Elastic migration projects.
* Experience supporting SIEM, security logging, and enterprise observability platforms.
* Familiarity with Kubernetes operators and containerized infrastructure.
* Experience supporting DoD, federal, or classified environments.
* Elastic certifications (Engineer, Security, or Observability). Soft Skills
* Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
* Ability to independently design and implement complex Elastic solutions.
* Comfortable working in fast-paced, mission-critical environments.
* Excellent communication and collaboration skills across engineering and government stakeholders.
* Self-motivated with the ability to work independently while supporting a highly technical team. Compensation & Benefits
* Compensation: $190,000-$230,000 annually.
* Fully funded, long-term federal engagement supporting a major enterprise modernization initiative.
* Opportunity to lead a high-impact Splunk-to-Elastic migration for a mission-critical DoD customer.
* Relocation assistance available (approximately $5,000+) #LI-JN1 #LI-ONSITE