Management of distributed computing framework components

Systems and methods are described for establishing and managing components of a distributed computing framework implemented in a data intake and query system. The distributed computing framework may include a master and a plurality of worker nodes. The master may selectively operate on a search head captain that is chosen from the search heads of the data intake and query system. The search head captain may distribute configuration information for the master and the distributed computing framework to the other search heads, which in turn, may distribute that configuration information to indexers of the data intake and query system. Worker nodes may be selectively activated for operation on the indexers based on the configuration information, and the worker nodes may additionally use the configuration information to contact the master and join the distributed computing framework. This approach may provide numerous benefits, including improved security, flexibility in the selection of worker nodes, and redundancy for failures of physical components of the data intake and query system.