Elastic Data Engineer in Springfield, Virginia at VAE, Inc.

VAE, Inc. is a full service IT Infrastructure Solutions Company focused on building, securing and supporting our clients’ mission critical enterprises. We provide a distinctive array of design, integration and implementation services as well as fully managed service offerings. VAE is at the forefront of leveraging multi-tenant capable technologies and shared IT services to create secure, reliable and cost-effective end-to-end services and solutions. We deliver exceptional infrastructure solutions with extremely talented employees using a client-focused partnering approach.

VAE, Inc. is seeking an experienced Elastic Data Engineer to support the C5ISR program. This role is responsible for the design, configuration, and administration of Elastic-based data pipelines, with an emphasis on ingest architecture, schema standardization, and stream buffering. The successful candidate will work across systems administration and ETL domains to ensure reliable, high-throughput data flow supporting mission systems.

VAE, Inc. is seeking an experienced Elastic Data Engineer to support the C5ISR program. This role is responsible for the design, configuration, and administration of Elastic-based data pipelines, with an emphasis on ingest architecture, schema standardization, and stream buffering. The successful candidate will work across systems administration and ETL domains to ensure reliable, high-throughput data flow supporting mission systems.

• Administer and maintain Elastic Stack systems supporting data ingestion, storage, and search capabilities.
• Design, build, and maintain Logstash configurations and Elastic ingest pipelines to support ETL workflows.
• Implement and enforce data normalization standards using the Elastic Common Schema (ECS).
• Configure and manage Kafka as a data buffering layer between upstream data sources and downstream Elastic ingestion.
• Monitor pipeline health, troubleshoot data flow issues, and optimize throughput and reliability.
• Collaborate with systems engineers and data stakeholders to translate data source requirements into scalable ingest solutions.
• Support system hardening, patching, and general Linux/Windows systems administration tasks related to the Elastic environment.
• Document pipeline architecture, schema mappings, and operational procedures.

• Active Top Secret clearance.
• Demonstrated systems administration experience (Linux and/or Windows server environments).
• Hands-on experience with the Elastic Common Schema (ECS).
• Strong ETL domain knowledge, including hands-on experience building Logstash configurations and Elastic ingest pipelines.
• Experience with Kafka, particularly in its use as a data buffer between data sources and downstream processing/ingestion.
• DoD 8570 baseline certification (e.g., Security+ or equivalent).

• Experience supporting DoD or federal data engineering programs.
• Familiarity with Elastic Stack components beyond ingest (Kibana, Elasticsearch cluster management, Beats).
• Scripting experience (Python, Bash, or similar) for pipeline automation.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code or configuration management tools.

VAE, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.