Lead Platforms Engineer (Elastic) - Contract

Location: London

About Your Opportunity: We are seeking an experienced Elasticsearch Platforms Engineer to join our Data Platforms Infrastructure team. This role is pivotal in supporting and maintaining our Elastic Cloud Enterprise (ECE) environment, designing and deploying Elastic solutions for Observability and Search, and ensuring the highest standards of security, privacy, and compliance. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Elasticsearch, a keen understanding of cloud architecture, and a proven track record of managing and optimizing large-scale Elastic deployments. On-site presence required a minimum of 4 days per week. Flexible working schedules - we offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements. Talk to us at the application stage about any scheduling preferences you may have.

Flexible Benefits Package – choose which NGUKL benefits you want to satisfy your personal needs. Core Benefits provided for you are Healthcare, Dental, Life Assurance and Pension. Benefits you can flex include Critical Illness Cover, Health Cash Plan, and Health Assessments.

Employee Incentive Programme – exceptional performance is recognized through our annual incentive programme which is awarded to top performers who excel.

Career Development – opportunity for ongoing professional development and career growth opportunities.

Your Responsibilities:

• ECE Support and Maintenance:

• Manage, monitor, and maintain Elastic Cloud Enterprise (ECE) environments.
• Perform routine updates, patches, and upgrades to ensure optimal performance and security.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to Elasticsearch clusters, indices, and ECE infrastructure.

• Design scalable and efficient Elasticsearch solutions for Observability and Search use cases.
• Implement best practices for data indexing, storage, and retrieval.
• Work with stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into technical solutions.

• Implement and enforce security measures to protect Elasticsearch data, including access controls, encryption, and monitoring.
• Ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations and industry standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments.

• Monitor and analyse the performance of Elasticsearch clusters and indices.
• Optimize configurations and queries to improve performance and reduce latency.
• Implement effective indexing strategies and shard allocation for balanced workloads.

• Collaborate with DevOps, Security, and Development teams to integrate Elasticsearch with other systems and applications.
• Provide expert support and guidance to development teams on Elasticsearch-related projects.
• Develop and maintain documentation, including architecture diagrams, operational procedures, and troubleshooting guides.

• Stay updated with the latest features and updates in the Elasticsearch ecosystem.
• Identify opportunities for automation and improvement in Elasticsearch deployment and management processes.
• Lead initiatives to integrate new technologies and practices that enhance the Elasticsearch platform.

Your Experience:

• Extensive experience working with Elasticsearch, including ECE.
• Strong understanding of Elasticsearch architecture, components, and APIs.
• Experience with designing and deploying Elasticsearch for Observability and Search use cases.
• Knowledge of security best practices and compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (e.g., Python, Bash, Ansible).
• Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes).
• Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot complex issues.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Elasticsearch Certified Engineer or similar certifications.
• Experience with other Elastic Stack components (e.g., Kibana, Logstash, Beats).
• Knowledge of monitoring and observability tools (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana).
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and Infrastructure as Code (IaC).

Your Future Team: The teams in this space work on some of the toughest challenges that are key to our clients' success, as such they carry a heavy load and require the ability to be able to dip in and share the workload. Success in this area requires flexibility in tasking, adapting to the problem at hand and picking up the skills along the way. This work is predominantly on client site and will vary between integrating with development and test teams, as well as taking on standalone tasks when needed. We believe that creating a team that values diversity and fosters inclusion is essential to great performance. We know the best ideas come from diversity of thought, background, perspective, culture, gender, race, age and many other elements. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and particularly from communities currently under-represented within our industry. We treat everyone with respect and foster safe and inclusive environments.

About Our Responsibilities: Our customers operate in unique environments which offer new and exciting challenges every day, cultivating a place where you can learn and thrive, working alongside the best minds in industry. We’ll give you space to develop your career, where your ideas can shape the future of our dynamic business. We promote collaboration to achieve more than we could imagine, together. And within a respectful and inspirational environment, we value what you say and do.

How to Apply: Interested in our opportunity? Yes – then simply submit your application online. Your application will be reviewed by one of our expert recruiters who’ll then respond advising you of the outcome and next steps for successful candidates. Possibly, I’d like to find out more – then connect direct with, where one of our recruitment business partners will be happy to support you with any enquiries. Background checks and potentially security clearance form part of the recruitment process, our team will inform you of the procedures when required.

Northrop Grumman UK: Work with a global brand that makes a real contribution to our nation’s security and future. At Northrop Grumman UK, the brightest minds come together to push the boundaries and Define Possible. As leaders in the digital transformation of Aerospace, Defence and Intelligence we are providing ground-breaking outcomes for our customers. Our UK Cyber & Intelligence business combines modern software development approaches with a rich heritage and experience in the Defence and security sectors. Our customers have complex and sensitive data and information requirements requiring a mission partner who quickly understands the context, delivering and sustaining a portfolio of challenging technology projects at scale and pace, supporting them through an ambitious digital transformation programme.