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# Data Engineer SME (Elasticsearch)

- **Company:** Kforce Inc.
- **Location:** Huntsville, AL, United States
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Amazon Web Services, Big Data, Data Integrity, Data Security, Elasticsearch, Logstash, Data Processing, Data Ingestion, System Availability, Backend, Apache Kafka, Data Pipelines
- **Published:** June 11, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.clearancejobs.com/jobs/8969494/data-engineer-sme-elasticsearch

## About the Role

Active Top Secret clearance
Strong experience with OpenSearch and/or Elasticsearch (cluster design, optimization)
Experience building ingestion pipelines using Logstash, Beats, and Kafka
Experience supporting data processing and search platforms within AWS environments
Experience working with large, complex datasets in secure or regulated environments
Ability to operate at a senior/SME level, owning solutions end-to-end

## Description

We are seeking a SME-Level Data Engineer specializing in OpenSearch / Elasticsearch to support a mission-critical federal program focused on advanced analytics, operational intelligence, and national security initiatives.
This is a high-impact, hands-on role working with search and analytics platforms to process and analyze sensitive data in secure environments. Your work will directly support decision advantage and operational readiness.
You will play a key role in designing, optimizing, and sustaining search infrastructure and data ingestion pipelines in a highly collaborative, mission-driven setting., Design, implement, and optimize OpenSearch / Elasticsearch clusters for performance and scalability
Build and maintain data ingestion pipelines using Logstash, Beats, and Kafka
Enhance data indexing, search performance, and query efficiency across large datasets
Support backend data processing and search analytics within AWS environments
Monitor and tune system performance to ensure high availability and reliability
Collaborate with cross-functional teams across engineering, analytics, and infrastructure
Ensure data integrity and consistency across ingestion and indexing pipelines
Support secure data handling and compliance requirements within a cleared environment


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