Operations Engineer (Contractor)

Buy Rate Vendor : 54/hr Client: AMEX Operations Engineer (Contractor) Location, Phoenix, AZ 3 days a week Skill: Linux; ELK Stack (Elastic Search, Logstash, Kibana); Kubernetes; DNS We are seeking a highly skilled Observability Operations Engineer (Contractor) to support and enhance our Observability Operations portfolio. The role requires strong expertise in Linux systems, containerized platforms, Elasticsearch, and modern observability ecosystems. This position will play a critical role in maintaining reliability, performance, and scalability of our observability platforms while driving operational excellence and rapid incident resolution. Key Responsibilities Manage and support Linux-based infrastructure and containerized environments (Docker, Kubernetes). Administer and optimize large-scale Elasticsearch clusters (configuration, scaling, performance tuning, troubleshooting). Provide end-to-end system administration support across environments. Perform deep-dive troubleshooting across infrastructure, network, and observability stack components. Support ITSM processes including incident, change, problem management. Manage hardware and software lifecycle activities. Ensure platform stability, high availability, and performance optimization. Collaborate with platform engineering and SRE teams to improve observability maturity. Assist in deployment, upgrades, and operational governance of observability tools. Contribute to automation and operational efficiency improvements. Minimum Qualifications Deep knowledge of Linux systems administration Strong hands-on experience with: Containerized environments (Docker) Kubernetes (production environments) Rancher (preferred but not mandatory) Extensive experience in system administration across enterprise environments Strong exposure to ITSM processes and hardware/software lifecycle management Superior troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills Strong knowledge of Elasticsearch architecture, configuration, concepts, and performance tuning Deep familiarity with networking concepts (TCP/IP, DNS, load balancing, firewalls, routing) Knowledge of observability concepts: Distributed Tracing Metrics Monitoring Logging Experience managing large-scale Elasticsearch deployments Knowledge of OpenTelemetry / OpenTracing Hands-on experience with observability and logging tools such as: Jaeger Kibana Grafana Prometheus Splunk Dynatrace Kafka What We Are Looking For: Strong ownership mindset and operational discipline Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment Strong analytical and problem-solving skills Excellent communication skills for cross-functional collaboration Willingness to work in a hybrid model from Amex office