Lead Observability Engineer, Global

About Vantage Data CentersVantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world’s well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.IT Standards TeamOur team is responsible for helping other technology teams on their automation journey, and for developing IT standards that support the IT organization. We embrace many approaches and technologies to speed up the delivery and operations of our Data Centers. From Zero-Touch provisioning of network equipment to the deployment of applications on containerization platforms, we apply our software and operation industry expertise everywhere we can. We question the status-quo and are not afraid to suggest new ways to do things. Individual contributors are encouraged to speak up, propose new insights and take an active role in the definition of our roadmap.Position OverviewThis role will be based remotely in the US.Our team builds and operates the observability platform for Vantage Data Centers, enabling engineering and operations teams to understand system health, performance, and availability across data center and hybrid environments. To support our growth, we are looking for an experienced Observability Engineer with deep hands-on expertise in Elastic/Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana, and a strong background creating and operationalizing metrics.In this role, you will design, implement, and maintain end-to-end observability for logs and metrics: building resilient ingestion pipelines, defining schemas and parsing standards, creating Kibana dashboards and alerting, and partnering with platform, network, and application teams to set SLIs/SLOs and improve operational outcomes. You will continuously improve performance, reliability, retention, and cost of our telemetry pipelines while applying automation and infrastructure-as-code practices to keep the platform consistent and auditable.Essential Job FunctionsDesign and operate a scalable observability platform with a primary focus on the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)Build and maintain log ingestion and enrichment pipelines (Logstash) including parsing, normalization, and routing standardsCreate, curate, and govern Kibana assets (dashboards, visualizations, Lens, Discover views) that support operations and engineering use casesDefine and implement metrics and alerting standards (SLIs/SLOs, thresholds, burn-rate alerts) to improve detection and reduce MTTRDevelop observability metrics for Operational Technology (OT) environments (e.g., BMS/EPMS/SCADA and other OT telemetry) to track availability, performance, alarms, and operational KPIsPartner across teams to instrument services and infrastructure, troubleshoot incidents using telemetry, and continuously improve reliability, performance, and costEngineer and operate Elasticsearch clusters (or Elastic Cloud) including sizing, scaling, sharding/ILM, retention, backup/restore, and performance tuningDevelop and maintain Logstash pipelines (inputs/filters/outputs) to ingest logs/metrics from servers, network devices, virtualization platforms, containers, and cloud servicesCreate telemetry standards: field naming conventions, ECS alignment where appropriate, parsing/grok patterns, enrichment lookups, and data quality checksBuild and maintain Kibana dashboards, visualizations, and alerting rules; publish curated views for NOC/operations and engineering teamsCreate and operationalize metrics: define SLIs/SLOs, implement metric collection/export, and ensure actionable alerting with runbooks and escalation paths /Partner with facilities/critical infrastructure teams to define OT-focused SLIs/SLOs and metrics (e.g., alarm rates, sensor health, control loop status, device/point availability), normalize and tag OT telemetry, and build dashboards/alerts that support 24x7 operationsAutomate configuration and deployment of observability components using infrastructure-as-code and configuration management (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) and CI/CD pipelinesImplement security best practices for telemetry platforms including role-based access control, data handling/PII controls, encryption, and auditabilityParticipate in incident response and post-incident reviews; use logs and metrics to identify root cause, document findings, and drive preventive improvementsJob RequirementsBachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience7+ years of experience in observability, SRE, platform, or DevOps engineering roles, with demonstrated ownership of production monitoring/logging systemsDeep, hands-on expertise with Elastic Stack: Elasticsearch (cluster operations and tuning), Logstash (pipeline engineering), and Kibana (dashboards and alerting)Strong experience creating and operationalizing metrics (collection, aggregation, cardinality management, alerting strategy) and defining SLIs/SLOsProficiency in at least one scripting/programming language (Python, Ruby, Go, or PowerShell) for automation, data parsing, and platform toolingStrong knowledge of log and event data modeling, parsing (grok/regex), enrichment, and schema management (e.g., ECS), including troubleshooting ingestion issues end-to-endExperience with query languages and analysis techniques (KQL/Lucene, Elasticsearch DSL), and ability to build actionable visualizations and detections from telemetryHands-on experience with index lifecycle management (ILM), data streams, retention policies, and capacity planning for high-volume telemetry workloadsExperience with infrastructure-as-code and automation (e.g., Terraform, Ansible) and CI/CD practices to deploy and manage observability componentsSolid understanding of Linux systems, networking fundamentals, and distributed systems concepts as they relate to telemetry, performance, and troubleshootingExperience integrating telemetry from hybrid environments (data center infrastructure, virtualization, containers/Kubernetes, and cloud services)Familiarity with Operational Technology (OT) / Industrial Control Systems (ICS) observability concepts and common BMS/EPMS applications such as Inductive Automation IgnitionWorking knowledge of complementary observability tooling (e.g., Beats/Elastic Agent, Prometheus, Grafana, OpenTelemetry) and how to integrate telemetry between systems to follow event management practicesExperience operating services with on-call practices, incident management, and post-incident review processes; ability to write clear runbooksStrong understanding of reliability engineering concepts including observability design, alert fatigue reduction, and measuring user/system impactExperience working within ITIL or similar operational practices (change, incident, problem management)Familiarity with regulatory/compliance expectations and secure handling of operational data (e.g., GDPR, PCI, SOX) as applicableExcellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to translate telemetry needs into standards, dashboards, and alerts that teams adoptAbility to work independently and collaboratively across infrastructure, network, security, and application teamsTravel required is expected to be less than 5%Data center industry experience is strongly preferred, but not requiredPhysical Demands And Special RequirementsThe physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.Additional DetailsSalary Range: $135,000 – $145,000 Base + Bonus (this range is based on Colorado market data and may vary in other locations) This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits. Compensation for the role will depend on a number of factors, including your qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience and may fall outside of the range shown. We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other’s strengths and respecting each other’s weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity EmployerVantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.We’ll be accepting applications for at least one week from the date this role is posted. If you're interested, we encourage you to apply soon—we’re excited to find the right person and will keep the role open until we do!