The System Engineer supports Linux-based IT infrastructure and the Splunk platform. The role combines Linux system engineering with Splunk administration and engineering.

The engineer is responsible for the timely resolution of incidents and service requests affecting Linux systems and Splunk services. They use Splunk and OS-level diagnostics to identify and resolve issues, perform routine maintenance, and implement system and platform changes in line with established processes and standards, ensuring minimal service disruption.

A key aspect of the role is the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of Splunk solutions, including data onboarding, forwarder configuration, indexes, sourcetypes, parsing, dashboards, reports, alerts, and field extractions. The engineer uses these capabilities to improve data quality, platform performance, and service visibility.

The engineer contributes to problem management by performing root cause analysis based on Splunk data, logs, and Linux system behaviour, and by proposing and implementing long-term corrective actions. They collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that data sources are correctly integrated into Splunk and that the supporting Linux systems remain secure, compliant, and reliable.

In addition to operational duties, the engineer participates in R&D activities, evaluates new Splunk capabilities, apps, add-ons, and integration methods, and contributes to solution prototypes. They drive automation through scripting and Infrastructure-as-Code to standardise Splunk and Linux configuration, reduce manual intervention, and increase platform reliability.

Ideal Profile

• Minimum 4 years of experience in IT operations, managing containerized, virtualized, and/or physical Linux-based infrastructure in large-scale environments (enterprise, governmental, or supranational)
• At least 2 years of hands-on experience administering and supporting Splunk environments in production.
• Dutch or French: Full professional / native proficiency + English: Professional working proficiency
• Ability to onboard and maintain data sources using Universal Forwarders, Heavy Forwarders, apps, add-ons, and standard ingestion methods.
• Practical knowledge of SPL for searches, dashboards, reports, alerts, field extraction, and operational troubleshooting.
• Experience monitoring Splunk platform health, investigating ingestion and search issues, and performing routine administration under established standards and procedures.

Working understanding of:

• Indexes, sourcetypes, parsing, data retention, and role-based access concepts
• Metrics collection, log aggregation, dashboards, and alerting strategies
• Event correlation, basic anomaly investigation, and performance baselining
• Using Splunk to support incident detection, diagnosis, and reduction of MTTD/MTTR
• Able to implement defined solutions independently, document changes, and escalate complex architecture or performance issues to senior engineers when required.
• End-to-end lifecycle management of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (or equivalent) environments
• Experience with enterprise tooling, including:
• Red Hat Satellite 6.x (provisioning, patching, lifecycle management)
• System performance tuning, troubleshooting, and OS-level diagnostics
• Strong experience with Ansible Automation Platform (playbooks, roles, automation workflows)
• Familiarity with Infrastructure-as-Code principles and pipeline integration
• Experience integrating automation with monitoring and operational workflows
• Practical experience with Git-based workflows (GitLab, Azure DevOps, or similar)
• Understanding of CI/CD pipelines for infrastructure and configuration deployment
• Experience with Red Hat container ecosystem, including:
• Podman / OCI containers
• Understanding of container monitoring and lifecycle operations
• Experience working within structured ITIL-aligned processes:
• Incident, problem, and change management
• Service request handling
• Strong focus on monitoring-driven operations, diagnostics, and forensics
• Dutch or French: Full professional / native proficiency
• English: Professional working proficiency
• Exposure to hardware lifecycle management (server, firmware updates, lifecycle planning)
• Experience with VMware-based virtual environments
• Familiarity with NetApp storage systems
• Experience with endpoint detection and protection tools:
• Trend Micro Deep Security, ClamAV, or equivalent
• Understanding of integrating security signals into monitoring/alerting pipelines
• Basic operational knowledge of network/security platforms:
• Palo Alto, Check Point, F5, InfoBlox
• Ability to correlate infrastructure and network events for incident analysis
• Solid scripting skills in Bash and/or Python
• Ability to develop automation for monitoring, remediation, and reporting
• Experience with vendor coordination, support processes, and licensing management