Systems Engineer/Senior Data Engineer - Splunk, ServiceNow & AppDynamics

Company: KDA Consulting Inc
Location: Herndon
Posted on: February 17, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description Security Clearance: Must possess an active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph KDA is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Systems Engineer/Senior Data Engineer with a strong background in designing, implementing, and optimizing data pipelines and solutions for critical security and operational platforms, specifically Splunk, ServiceNow, and AppDynamics. The ideal candidate will be a proactive, problem-solving individual with a proven track record of managing complex data ingestion, normalization, and correlation processes within highly visible, operationally driven environments. This role requires an individual who thrives in a collaborative setting, possesses excellent communication skills, and is dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation. Key Responsibilities: Splunk Data Engineering: Design, engineer, and maintain robust Splunk infrastructures, including clustered environments, for large-scale data ingestion, correlation, and reporting. Automate complex data ingestion methods (e.g., S3, syslog, JSON, APIs) from diverse sources across multiple enclaves. Develop and implement methods for data tagging and cataloging to ensure compliance with evolving security standards and facilitate efficient data discovery. Optimize data ingest performance and efficiency across various network environments. Familiar with Technical Add-ons. Parse and normalize non-standard data sets to enable comprehensive analysis and correlation within Splunk. Develop and refine Splunk queries, dashboards, and reports to visualize security events, infrastructure health, and operational metrics. Collaborate with IT operations and cyber security teams to enrich data sets, ascertain cyber threats, and bolster security posture. Maintain ITSI and SIEM-like tools and custom content within virtualized environments. Perform tuning and filtering of events and information, creating custom views and content. Familiar with UBA and Splunk. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to design and implement data integrations between various security and operational tools (including Splunk and AppDynamics) and ServiceNow. Develop and maintain data pipelines to ensure accurate and timely flow of security incidents, alerts, and operational metrics into ServiceNow for incident management, problem management, and reporting. Assist in defining and implementing data models within ServiceNow to support security operations and compliance initiatives. Work with third-party services for design review and optimal deployment configuration for enterprise cloud service utilization (relevant to integrations). Design and implement data collection strategies for AppDynamics, ensuring comprehensive monitoring of application performance and infrastructure. Integrate AppDynamics data with Splunk for centralized visibility and correlation with other security and operational logs. Troubleshoot problematic service deployments and data flows, utilizing forensic tools and audit log review (relevant to monitoring and analysis). Develop methods to leverage AppDynamics data for identifying potential risks and optimizing application performance. General Data Engineering & Systems Expertise: Collaborate with mission partners to develop long-term enterprise audit solutions and normalize non-standard data sets. Engineer and maintain secure virtualized and cloud environments for data platforms. Deploy and harden servers running Linux OS in accordance with CIS and other STIG guidelines. Develop runbooks, SOPs, and documentation for new processes and systems. Perform liaison duties between service providers and clients to bridge communication gaps and ensure adherence to SLAs. Review and evaluate data integrity and develop use cases for various data sets. Maintain system baselines and configuration management for data engineering tools. Contribute to the development of plans to safeguard data against unauthorized modification, destruction, or disclosure. Strong understanding of cyber security principles and experience with various security tools (e.g., Next-Gen Firewalls, IPS/IDS, Tenable Nessus, Rapid7 Nexpose, McAfee EPO, Symantec SEP). Required Skills & Experience: 20 years of progressive experience in Information Technology and Security, with a strong focus on data engineering and systems integration. Security Clearance: Candidate must possess an active TS/SCI with Full Scope Polygraph Demonstrated expertise in engineering and maintaining large-scale Splunk environments, including data ingestion, parsing, normalization, and content development. Experience with automating complex data ingestion methods (e.g., S3, syslog, JSON, APIs). Strong understanding of data tagging, cataloging, and data governance best practices. Proficiency with Linux OS administration and hardening. Familiarity with cloud security principles and deploying commercial services into protected/secured enclaves (e.g., AWS). Experience with SIEM solutions and their implementation, configuration, and maintenance. Strong scripting skills (e.g., BASH, Python, PowerShell). Excellent collaboration and communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in small teams and large collaborative efforts. Ability to troubleshoot complex technical issues and perform root cause analysis. Proven ability to develop and maintain documentation (runbooks, SOPs). Desired Skills (Plus, but not required): Experience with ServiceNow platform administration, development, or integration. Experience with AppDynamics for application performance monitoring and data collection. Experience with configuration management tools - Git, Ansible

Keywords: KDA Consulting Inc, North Bethesda , Systems Engineer/Senior Data Engineer - Splunk, ServiceNow & AppDynamics, IT / Software / Systems , Herndon, Maryland