Senior Splunk Engineer

Description Ascension Consulting is seeking a Senior Splunk Engineer to lead and support enterprise cybersecurity operations. This senior-level role is responsible for architecting, engineering, and advancing Splunk platforms within a mission-critical federal environment. The engineer/architect will shape platform strategy, ensure architectural integrity, and maintain Splunk optimization for performance, resilience, and scalability as the agency matures its cloud-based deployments. This is an excellent opportunity for a Splunk expert who thrives in federal environments and is eager to provide both hands-on engineering and architectural leadership to a modernized SIEM platform that directly enables cybersecurity operations. Responsibilities: Serve as the architectural lead for Splunk Enterprise and Splunk ES in a high-availability, distributed, and cloud-based environment Define and maintain the long-term Splunk architecture, ensuring scalability, resilience, and security to meet mission and compliance requirements Oversee architectural decisions related to storage, disaster recovery, and performance, including the use of features such as SmartStore and ASR/MSR Conduct architectural reviews, capacity planning, and performance optimization for enterprise Splunk environments Drive the onboarding and normalization of diverse data sources (OS, network, applications, cloud services) into Splunk, aligning with enterprise logging standards Architect and guide the design of dashboards, data models, and advanced analytics to support threat detection, forensics, and reporting Establish and enforce configuration management, security hardening, and change control processes for Splunk platforms Produce and maintain architecture documentation, including conceptual designs, reference architectures, and operational standards Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers, analysts, and administrators in Splunk best practices Evaluate emerging Splunk capabilities, cloud services, and SIEM technologies to inform future platform evolution Collaborate with cybersecurity leadership and stakeholders to align Splunk architecture with mission objectives and federal requirements Qualifications Requirements: Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related technical discipline; OR 10+ years of equivalent IT experience 7+ years of IT experience, with at least 3+ years focused on Splunk engineering and architecture Current Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect certification (required) Demonstrated expertise in Splunk Enterprise and Splunk ES, including SPL and the Common Information Model Proven experience in architecting and maintaining Splunk in cloud environments, including familiarity with SmartStore and ASR/MSR Strong background in distributed systems design, performance tuning, and capacity planning Proficiency with scripting languages such as PowerShell, Bash, or Python Experience operating Splunk across Windows and Linux environments CompTIA Security+ or higher certification (e.g., CISSP, CISM) Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical architectures to both executives and engineers Preferred Qualifications: Splunk Enterprise Security Certified Admin or Splunk Certified Core Consultant certification Experience developing enterprise logging architectures for hybrid or federal environments Familiarity with other SIEM platforms (e.g., ELK, Azure Sentinel) Experience with DevOps tools such as GitLab/GitHub for version control Clearance Requirement: Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. Public Trust Clearance • • This hybrid role requires a minimum of three on-site days per week in Washington, DC • • Job Type: Contract Pay: $80.00 - $84.00 per hour Application Question(s): Do you have Splunk Enterprise Certified Architect certification? Do you have experience in Splunk Enterprise and Splunk ES, including SPL and the Common Information Model Do you have experience architecting and maintaining Splunk in cloud environments Are you based in the DC/MD/VA region? Do you have a Green card or are you a US citizen? Work Location: Hybrid remote in Washington, DC 20024