diff --git a/.coveragerc b/.coveragerc
index 086c99d2c80e..caafe9b6df90 100644
--- a/.coveragerc
+++ b/.coveragerc
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ exclude_also =
 branch = True
 omit =
     awx/main/migrations/*
+    awx/settings/defaults.py
+    awx/settings/*_defaults.py
 source =
     .
 source_pkgs =
diff --git a/awx/__init__.py b/awx/__init__.py
index 6b2f809c3027..59cccd5d8b87 100644
--- a/awx/__init__.py
+++ b/awx/__init__.py
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ def version_file():
 
 def prepare_env():
     # Update the default settings environment variable based on current mode.
-    os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'awx.settings.%s' % MODE)
+    os.environ.setdefault('DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE', 'awx.settings')
+    os.environ.setdefault('AWX_MODE', MODE)
     # Hide DeprecationWarnings when running in production.  Need to first load
     # settings to apply our filter after Django's own warnings filter.
     from django.conf import settings
diff --git a/awx/api/generics.py b/awx/api/generics.py
index 71c42f6b4d84..207799b27d06 100644
--- a/awx/api/generics.py
+++ b/awx/api/generics.py
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ def get_view_description(view, html=False):
 
 
 def get_default_schema():
-    if settings.SETTINGS_MODULE == 'awx.settings.development':
+    if settings.DYNACONF.is_development_mode:
         from awx.api.swagger import schema_view
 
         return schema_view
diff --git a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_settings.py b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_settings.py
index 7ff2e3f4abf6..acc376c15cb4 100644
--- a/awx/main/tests/unit/test_settings.py
+++ b/awx/main/tests/unit/test_settings.py
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-from split_settings.tools import include
-
-
 LOCAL_SETTINGS = (
     'ALLOWED_HOSTS',
     'BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_PORT',
@@ -16,13 +13,14 @@
 
 
 def test_postprocess_auth_basic_enabled():
-    locals().update({'__file__': __file__})
+    """The final loaded settings should have basic auth enabled."""
+    from awx.settings import REST_FRAMEWORK
 
-    include('../../../settings/defaults.py', scope=locals())
-    assert 'awx.api.authentication.LoggedBasicAuthentication' in locals()['REST_FRAMEWORK']['DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES']
+    assert 'awx.api.authentication.LoggedBasicAuthentication' in REST_FRAMEWORK['DEFAULT_AUTHENTICATION_CLASSES']
 
 
 def test_default_settings():
+    """Ensure that all default settings are present in the snapshot."""
     from django.conf import settings
 
     for k in dir(settings):
@@ -31,3 +29,43 @@ def test_default_settings():
         default_val = getattr(settings.default_settings, k, None)
         snapshot_val = settings.DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT[k]
         assert default_val == snapshot_val, f'Setting for {k} does not match shapshot:\nsnapshot: {snapshot_val}\ndefault: {default_val}'
+
+
+def test_django_conf_settings_is_awx_settings():
+    """Ensure that the settings loaded from dynaconf are the same as the settings delivered to django."""
+    from django.conf import settings
+    from awx.settings import REST_FRAMEWORK
+
+    assert settings.REST_FRAMEWORK == REST_FRAMEWORK
+
+
+def test_dynaconf_is_awx_settings():
+    """Ensure that the settings loaded from dynaconf are the same as the settings delivered to django."""
+    from django.conf import settings
+    from awx.settings import REST_FRAMEWORK
+
+    assert settings.DYNACONF.REST_FRAMEWORK == REST_FRAMEWORK
+
+
+def test_development_settings_can_be_directly_imported(monkeypatch):
+    """Ensure that the development settings can be directly imported."""
+    monkeypatch.setenv('AWX_MODE', 'development')
+    from django.conf import settings
+    from awx.settings.development import REST_FRAMEWORK
+    from awx.settings.development import DEBUG  # actually set on defaults.py and not overridden in development.py
+
+    assert settings.REST_FRAMEWORK == REST_FRAMEWORK
+    assert DEBUG is True
+
+
+def test_merge_application_name():
+    """Ensure that the merge_application_name function works as expected."""
+    from awx.settings.functions import merge_application_name
+
+    settings = {
+        "DATABASES__default__ENGINE": "django.db.backends.postgresql",
+        "CLUSTER_HOST_ID": "test-cluster-host-id",
+    }
+    result = merge_application_name(settings)["DATABASES__default__OPTIONS__application_name"]
+    assert result.startswith("awx-")
+    assert "test-cluster" in result
diff --git a/awx/settings/__init__.py b/awx/settings/__init__.py
index e484e62be15d..641d442bbce5 100644
--- a/awx/settings/__init__.py
+++ b/awx/settings/__init__.py
@@ -1,2 +1,82 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
 # All Rights Reserved.
+import os
+import copy
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import (
+    factory,
+    export,
+    load_envvars,
+    load_python_file_with_injected_context,
+    load_standard_settings_files,
+    toggle_feature_flags,
+)
+from .functions import (
+    assert_production_settings,
+    merge_application_name,
+    add_backwards_compatibility,
+    load_extra_development_files,
+)
+
+add_backwards_compatibility()
+
+# Create a the standard DYNACONF instance which will come with DAB defaults
+# This loads defaults.py and environment specific file e.g: development_defaults.py
+DYNACONF = factory(
+    __name__,
+    "AWX",
+    environments=("development", "production", "quiet", "kube"),
+    settings_files=["defaults.py"],
+)
+
+# Store snapshot before loading any custom config file
+DYNACONF.set(
+    "DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT",
+    copy.deepcopy(DYNACONF.as_dict(internal=False)),
+    loader_identifier="awx.settings:DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT",
+)
+
+#############################################################################################
+# Settings loaded before this point will be allowed to be overridden by the database settings
+# Any settings loaded after this point will be marked as as a read_only database setting
+#############################################################################################
+
+# Load extra settings files from the following directories
+#  /etc/tower/conf.d/ and /etc/tower/
+# this is the legacy location, kept for backwards compatibility
+settings_dir = os.environ.get('AWX_SETTINGS_DIR', '/etc/tower/conf.d/')
+settings_files_path = os.path.join(settings_dir, '*.py')
+settings_file_path = os.environ.get('AWX_SETTINGS_FILE', '/etc/tower/settings.py')
+load_python_file_with_injected_context(settings_files_path, settings=DYNACONF)
+load_python_file_with_injected_context(settings_file_path, settings=DYNACONF)
+
+# Load extra settings files from the following directories
+# /etc/ansible-automation-platform/{settings,flags,.secrets}.yaml
+# and /etc/ansible-automation-platform/awx/{settings,flags,.secrets}.yaml
+# this is the new standard location for all services
+load_standard_settings_files(DYNACONF)
+
+# Load optional development only settings files
+load_extra_development_files(DYNACONF)
+
+# Check at least one setting file has been loaded in production mode
+assert_production_settings(DYNACONF, settings_dir, settings_file_path)
+
+# Load envvars at the end to allow them to override everything loaded so far
+load_envvars(DYNACONF)
+
+# This must run after all custom settings are loaded
+DYNACONF.update(
+    merge_application_name(DYNACONF),
+    loader_identifier="awx.settings:merge_application_name",
+    merge=True,
+)
+
+# Toggle feature flags based on installer settings
+DYNACONF.update(
+    toggle_feature_flags(DYNACONF),
+    loader_identifier="awx.settings:toggle_feature_flags",
+    merge=True,
+)
+
+# Update django.conf.settings with DYNACONF values
+export(__name__, DYNACONF)
diff --git a/awx/settings/application_name.py b/awx/settings/application_name.py
index ed76886c395e..ac7e40553e00 100644
--- a/awx/settings/application_name.py
+++ b/awx/settings/application_name.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ def get_application_name(CLUSTER_HOST_ID, function=''):
 
 
 def set_application_name(DATABASES, CLUSTER_HOST_ID, function=''):
+    """In place modification of DATABASES to set the application name for the connection."""
     # If settings files were not properly passed DATABASES could be {} at which point we don't need to set the app name.
     if not DATABASES or 'default' not in DATABASES:
         return
diff --git a/awx/settings/defaults.py b/awx/settings/defaults.py
index 1142109704f5..84f9995bc4a6 100644
--- a/awx/settings/defaults.py
+++ b/awx/settings/defaults.py
@@ -9,9 +9,6 @@
 import socket
 from datetime import timedelta
 
-from split_settings.tools import include
-
-
 DEBUG = True
 SQL_DEBUG = DEBUG
 
@@ -1015,16 +1012,15 @@
     }
 }
 
-
 # django-ansible-base
 ANSIBLE_BASE_TEAM_MODEL = 'main.Team'
 ANSIBLE_BASE_ORGANIZATION_MODEL = 'main.Organization'
 ANSIBLE_BASE_RESOURCE_CONFIG_MODULE = 'awx.resource_api'
 ANSIBLE_BASE_PERMISSION_MODEL = 'main.Permission'
 
-from ansible_base.lib import dynamic_config  # noqa: E402
-
-include(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(dynamic_config.__file__), 'dynamic_settings.py'))
+# Defaults to be overridden by DAB
+SPECTACULAR_SETTINGS = {}
+OAUTH2_PROVIDER = {}
 
 # Add a postfix to the API URL patterns
 # example if set to '' API pattern will be /api
diff --git a/awx/settings/development.py b/awx/settings/development.py
index e4e58c7de27d..5b630c49841a 100644
--- a/awx/settings/development.py
+++ b/awx/settings/development.py
@@ -1,129 +1,13 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
-# All Rights Reserved.
-
-# Development settings for AWX project.
-
-# Python
+# This file exists for backwards compatibility only
+# the current way of running AWX is to point settings to
+# awx/settings/__init__.py as the entry point for the settings
+# that is done by exporting: export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings
 import os
-import socket
-import copy
-import sys
-import traceback
-
-# Centos-7 doesn't include the svg mime type
-# /usr/lib64/python/mimetypes.py
-import mimetypes
-
-# Django Split Settings
-from split_settings.tools import optional, include
-
-# Load default settings.
-from .defaults import *  # NOQA
-
-# awx-manage shell_plus --notebook
-NOTEBOOK_ARGUMENTS = ['--NotebookApp.token=', '--ip', '0.0.0.0', '--port', '9888', '--allow-root', '--no-browser']
-
-# print SQL queries in shell_plus
-SHELL_PLUS_PRINT_SQL = False
-
-# show colored logs in the dev environment
-# to disable this, set `COLOR_LOGS = False` in awx/settings/local_settings.py
-COLOR_LOGS = True
-LOGGING['handlers']['console']['()'] = 'awx.main.utils.handlers.ColorHandler'  # noqa
-
-ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
-
-mimetypes.add_type("image/svg+xml", ".svg", True)
-mimetypes.add_type("image/svg+xml", ".svgz", True)
-
-# Disallow sending session cookies over insecure connections
-SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = False
-
-# Disallow sending csrf cookies over insecure connections
-CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = False
-
-# Disable Pendo on the UI for development/test.
-# Note: This setting may be overridden by database settings.
-PENDO_TRACKING_STATE = "off"
-INSIGHTS_TRACKING_STATE = False
-
-# debug toolbar and swagger assume that requirements/requirements_dev.txt are installed
-
-INSTALLED_APPS += ['drf_yasg', 'debug_toolbar']  # NOQA
-
-MIDDLEWARE = ['debug_toolbar.middleware.DebugToolbarMiddleware'] + MIDDLEWARE  # NOQA
-
-DEBUG_TOOLBAR_CONFIG = {'ENABLE_STACKTRACES': True}
-
-# Configure a default UUID for development only.
-SYSTEM_UUID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
-INSTALL_UUID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
-
-# Ansible base virtualenv paths and enablement
-# only used for deprecated fields and management commands for them
-BASE_VENV_PATH = os.path.realpath("/var/lib/awx/venv")
-
-CLUSTER_HOST_ID = socket.gethostname()
-
-AWX_CALLBACK_PROFILE = True
-
-# this modifies FLAGS set by defaults
-FLAGS['FEATURE_INDIRECT_NODE_COUNTING_ENABLED'] = [{'condition': 'boolean', 'value': True}]  # noqa
-
-# ======================!!!!!!! FOR DEVELOPMENT ONLY !!!!!!!=================================
-# Disable normal scheduled/triggered task managers (DependencyManager, TaskManager, WorkflowManager).
-# Allows user to trigger task managers directly for debugging and profiling purposes.
-# Only works in combination with settings.SETTINGS_MODULE == 'awx.settings.development'
-AWX_DISABLE_TASK_MANAGERS = False
-
-# Needed for launching runserver in debug mode
-# ======================!!!!!!! FOR DEVELOPMENT ONLY !!!!!!!=================================
-
-# Store a snapshot of default settings at this point before loading any
-# customizable config files.
-this_module = sys.modules[__name__]
-local_vars = dir(this_module)
-DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT = {}  # define after we save local_vars so we do not snapshot the snapshot
-for setting in local_vars:
-    if setting.isupper():
-        DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT[setting] = copy.deepcopy(getattr(this_module, setting))
-
-del local_vars  # avoid temporary variables from showing up in dir(settings)
-del this_module
-#
-###############################################################################################
-#
-#  Any settings defined after this point will be marked as as a read_only database setting
-#
-################################################################################################
-
-# If there is an `/etc/tower/settings.py`, include it.
-# If there is a `/etc/tower/conf.d/*.py`, include them.
-include(optional('/etc/tower/settings.py'), scope=locals())
-include(optional('/etc/tower/conf.d/*.py'), scope=locals())
-
-# If any local_*.py files are present in awx/settings/, use them to override
-# default settings for development.  If not present, we can still run using
-# only the defaults.
-# this needs to stay at the bottom of this file
-try:
-    if os.getenv('AWX_KUBE_DEVEL', False):
-        include(optional('development_kube.py'), scope=locals())
-    else:
-        include(optional('local_*.py'), scope=locals())
-except ImportError:
-    traceback.print_exc()
-    sys.exit(1)
-
-# The below runs AFTER all of the custom settings are imported
-# because conf.d files will define DATABASES and this should modify that
-from .application_name import set_application_name
 
-set_application_name(DATABASES, CLUSTER_HOST_ID)  # NOQA
+os.environ.setdefault("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "awx.settings")
+os.environ.setdefault("AWX_MODE", "development")
 
-del set_application_name
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import export
+from . import DYNACONF  # noqa
 
-# Set the value of any feature flags that are defined in the local settings
-for feature in list(FLAGS.keys()):  # noqa: F405
-    if feature in locals():
-        FLAGS[feature][0]['value'] = locals()[feature]  # noqa: F405
+export(__name__, DYNACONF)
diff --git a/awx/settings/development_defaults.py b/awx/settings/development_defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..bb726cb37228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/settings/development_defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
+# All Rights Reserved.
+
+# Development settings for AWX project.
+
+# Python
+import os
+import socket
+
+# Centos-7 doesn't include the svg mime type
+# /usr/lib64/python/mimetypes.py
+import mimetypes
+
+from dynaconf import post_hook
+
+# awx-manage shell_plus --notebook
+NOTEBOOK_ARGUMENTS = ['--NotebookApp.token=', '--ip', '0.0.0.0', '--port', '9888', '--allow-root', '--no-browser']
+
+# print SQL queries in shell_plus
+SHELL_PLUS_PRINT_SQL = False
+
+# show colored logs in the dev environment
+# to disable this, set `COLOR_LOGS = False` in awx/settings/local_settings.py
+COLOR_LOGS = True
+LOGGING__handlers__console = '@merge {"()": "awx.main.utils.handlers.ColorHandler"}'
+
+ALLOWED_HOSTS = ['*']
+
+mimetypes.add_type("image/svg+xml", ".svg", True)
+mimetypes.add_type("image/svg+xml", ".svgz", True)
+
+# Disallow sending session cookies over insecure connections
+SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = False
+
+# Disallow sending csrf cookies over insecure connections
+CSRF_COOKIE_SECURE = False
+
+# Disable Pendo on the UI for development/test.
+# Note: This setting may be overridden by database settings.
+PENDO_TRACKING_STATE = "off"
+INSIGHTS_TRACKING_STATE = False
+
+# debug toolbar and swagger assume that requirements/requirements_dev.txt are installed
+INSTALLED_APPS = "@merge drf_yasg,debug_toolbar"
+MIDDLEWARE = "@insert 0 debug_toolbar.middleware.DebugToolbarMiddleware"
+
+DEBUG_TOOLBAR_CONFIG = {'ENABLE_STACKTRACES': True}
+
+# Configure a default UUID for development only.
+SYSTEM_UUID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
+INSTALL_UUID = '00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000'
+
+# Ansible base virtualenv paths and enablement
+# only used for deprecated fields and management commands for them
+BASE_VENV_PATH = os.path.realpath("/var/lib/awx/venv")
+
+CLUSTER_HOST_ID = socket.gethostname()
+
+AWX_CALLBACK_PROFILE = True
+
+# ======================!!!!!!! FOR DEVELOPMENT ONLY !!!!!!!=================================
+# Disable normal scheduled/triggered task managers (DependencyManager, TaskManager, WorkflowManager).
+# Allows user to trigger task managers directly for debugging and profiling purposes.
+# Only works in combination with settings.SETTINGS_MODULE == 'awx.settings.development'
+AWX_DISABLE_TASK_MANAGERS = False
+
+# Needed for launching runserver in debug mode
+# ======================!!!!!!! FOR DEVELOPMENT ONLY !!!!!!!=================================
+
+
+# This modifies FLAGS set by defaults, must be deferred to run later
+@post_hook
+def set_dev_flags(settings):
+    defaults_flags = settings.get("FLAGS", {})
+    defaults_flags['FEATURE_INDIRECT_NODE_COUNTING_ENABLED'] = [{'condition': 'boolean', 'value': True}]
+    return {'FLAGS': defaults_flags}
diff --git a/awx/settings/development_kube.py b/awx/settings/development_kube.py
index c30a7fe025fe..e6ba6170c6d7 100644
--- a/awx/settings/development_kube.py
+++ b/awx/settings/development_kube.py
@@ -1,4 +1,13 @@
-BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_SECRET = '🤖starscream🤖'
-BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_PORT = 8052
-BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_VERIFY_CERT = False
-BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL = 'http'
+# This file exists for backwards compatibility only
+# the current way of running AWX is to point settings to
+# awx/settings/__init__.py as the entry point for the settings
+# that is done by exporting: export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings
+import os
+
+os.environ.setdefault("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "awx.settings")
+os.environ.setdefault("AWX_MODE", "development,kube")
+
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import export
+from . import DYNACONF  # noqa
+
+export(__name__, DYNACONF)
diff --git a/awx/settings/development_quiet.py b/awx/settings/development_quiet.py
index c47e78b69d86..5fea2756e908 100644
--- a/awx/settings/development_quiet.py
+++ b/awx/settings/development_quiet.py
@@ -1,15 +1,13 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
-# All Rights Reserved.
+# This file exists for backwards compatibility only
+# the current way of running AWX is to point settings to
+# awx/settings/__init__.py as the entry point for the settings
+# that is done by exporting: export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings
+import os
 
-# Development settings for AWX project, but with DEBUG disabled
+os.environ.setdefault("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "awx.settings")
+os.environ.setdefault("AWX_MODE", "development,quiet")
 
-# Load development settings.
-from defaults import *  # NOQA
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import export
+from . import DYNACONF  # noqa
 
-# Load development settings.
-from development import *  # NOQA
-
-# Disable capturing DEBUG
-DEBUG = False
-TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
-SQL_DEBUG = DEBUG
+export(__name__, DYNACONF)
diff --git a/awx/settings/functions.py b/awx/settings/functions.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..70be9befdbae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/settings/functions.py
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+import os
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import load_python_file_with_injected_context
+from dynaconf import Dynaconf
+from .application_name import get_application_name
+
+
+def merge_application_name(settings):
+    """Return a dynaconf merge dict to set the application name for the connection."""
+    data = {}
+    if "sqlite3" not in settings.get("DATABASES__default__ENGINE", ""):
+        data["DATABASES__default__OPTIONS__application_name"] = get_application_name(settings.get("CLUSTER_HOST_ID"))
+    return data
+
+
+def add_backwards_compatibility():
+    """Add backwards compatibility for AWX_MODE.
+
+    Before dynaconf integration the usage of AWX settings was supported to be just
+    DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings.production or DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings.development
+    (development_quiet and development_kube were also supported).
+
+    With dynaconf the DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE should be set always to "awx.settings" as the only entry point
+    for settings  and then "AWX_MODE" can be set to any of production,development,quiet,kube
+    or a combination of them separated by comma.
+
+    E.g:
+
+        export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings
+        export AWX_MODE=production
+        awx-manage [command]
+        dynaconf [command]
+
+    If pointing `DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE` to `awx.settings.production` or `awx.settings.development` then
+    this function will set `AWX_MODE` to the correct value.
+    """
+    django_settings_module = os.getenv("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "awx.settings")
+    if django_settings_module == "awx.settings":
+        return
+
+    current_mode = os.getenv("AWX_MODE", "")
+    for _module_name in ["development", "production", "development_quiet", "development_kube"]:
+        if django_settings_module == f"awx.settings.{_module_name}":
+            _mode = current_mode.split(",")
+            if "development_" in _module_name and "development" not in current_mode:
+                _mode.append("development")
+            _mode_fragment = _module_name.replace("development_", "")
+            if _mode_fragment not in _mode:
+                _mode.append(_mode_fragment)
+            os.environ["AWX_MODE"] = ",".join(_mode)
+
+
+def load_extra_development_files(settings: Dynaconf):
+    """Load optional development only settings files."""
+    if not settings.is_development_mode:
+        return
+
+    if settings.get_environ("AWX_KUBE_DEVEL"):
+        load_python_file_with_injected_context("kube_defaults.py", settings=settings)
+    else:
+        load_python_file_with_injected_context("local_*.py", settings=settings)
+
+
+def assert_production_settings(settings: Dynaconf, settings_dir: str, settings_file_path: str):  # pragma: no cover
+    """Ensure at least one setting file has been loaded in production mode.
+    Current systems will require /etc/tower/settings.py and
+    new systems will require /etc/ansible-automation-platform/*.yaml
+    """
+    if "production" not in settings.current_env.lower():
+        return
+
+    required_settings_paths = [
+        os.path.dirname(settings_file_path),
+        "/etc/ansible-automation-platform/",
+        settings_dir,
+    ]
+
+    for path in required_settings_paths:
+        if any([path in os.path.dirname(f) for f in settings._loaded_files]):
+            break
+    else:
+        from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured  # noqa
+
+        msg = 'No AWX configuration found at %s.' % required_settings_paths
+        msg += '\nDefine the AWX_SETTINGS_FILE environment variable to '
+        msg += 'specify an alternate path.'
+        raise ImproperlyConfigured(msg)
diff --git a/awx/settings/kube_defaults.py b/awx/settings/kube_defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c30a7fe025fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/settings/kube_defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_SECRET = '🤖starscream🤖'
+BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_PORT = 8052
+BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_VERIFY_CERT = False
+BROADCAST_WEBSOCKET_PROTOCOL = 'http'
diff --git a/awx/settings/production.py b/awx/settings/production.py
index e340de4fbbc1..bcf483b118cf 100644
--- a/awx/settings/production.py
+++ b/awx/settings/production.py
@@ -1,111 +1,13 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
-# All Rights Reserved.
-
-# Production settings for AWX project.
-
-# Python
+# This file exists for backwards compatibility only
+# the current way of running AWX is to point settings to
+# awx/settings/__init__.py as the entry point for the settings
+# that is done by exporting: export DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE=awx.settings
 import os
-import copy
-import errno
-import sys
-import traceback
-
-# Django Split Settings
-from split_settings.tools import optional, include
-
-# Load default settings.
-from .defaults import *  # NOQA
-
-DEBUG = False
-TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
-SQL_DEBUG = DEBUG
-
-# Clear database settings to force production environment to define them.
-DATABASES = {}
-
-# Clear the secret key to force production environment to define it.
-SECRET_KEY = None
-
-# Hosts/domain names that are valid for this site; required if DEBUG is False
-# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/#allowed-hosts
-ALLOWED_HOSTS = []
-
-# Ansible base virtualenv paths and enablement
-# only used for deprecated fields and management commands for them
-BASE_VENV_PATH = os.path.realpath("/var/lib/awx/venv")
-
-# Very important that this is editable (not read_only) in the API
-AWX_ISOLATION_SHOW_PATHS = [
-    '/etc/pki/ca-trust:/etc/pki/ca-trust:O',
-    '/usr/share/pki:/usr/share/pki:O',
-]
-
-# Store a snapshot of default settings at this point before loading any
-# customizable config files.
-this_module = sys.modules[__name__]
-local_vars = dir(this_module)
-DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT = {}  # define after we save local_vars so we do not snapshot the snapshot
-for setting in local_vars:
-    if setting.isupper():
-        DEFAULTS_SNAPSHOT[setting] = copy.deepcopy(getattr(this_module, setting))
-
-del local_vars  # avoid temporary variables from showing up in dir(settings)
-del this_module
-#
-###############################################################################################
-#
-#  Any settings defined after this point will be marked as as a read_only database setting
-#
-################################################################################################
-
-# Load settings from any .py files in the global conf.d directory specified in
-# the environment, defaulting to /etc/tower/conf.d/.
-settings_dir = os.environ.get('AWX_SETTINGS_DIR', '/etc/tower/conf.d/')
-settings_files = os.path.join(settings_dir, '*.py')
-
-# Load remaining settings from the global settings file specified in the
-# environment, defaulting to /etc/tower/settings.py.
-settings_file = os.environ.get('AWX_SETTINGS_FILE', '/etc/tower/settings.py')
-
-# Attempt to load settings from /etc/tower/settings.py first, followed by
-# /etc/tower/conf.d/*.py.
-try:
-    include(settings_file, optional(settings_files), scope=locals())
-except ImportError:
-    traceback.print_exc()
-    sys.exit(1)
-except IOError:
-    from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
-
-    included_file = locals().get('__included_file__', '')
-    if not included_file or included_file == settings_file:
-        # The import doesn't always give permission denied, so try to open the
-        # settings file directly.
-        try:
-            e = None
-            open(settings_file)
-        except IOError:
-            pass
-        if e and e.errno == errno.EACCES:
-            SECRET_KEY = 'permission-denied'
-            LOGGING = {}
-        else:
-            msg = 'No AWX configuration found at %s.' % settings_file
-            msg += '\nDefine the AWX_SETTINGS_FILE environment variable to '
-            msg += 'specify an alternate path.'
-            raise ImproperlyConfigured(msg)
-    else:
-        raise
-
-# The below runs AFTER all of the custom settings are imported
-# because conf.d files will define DATABASES and this should modify that
-from .application_name import set_application_name
 
-set_application_name(DATABASES, CLUSTER_HOST_ID)  # NOQA
+os.environ.setdefault("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE", "awx.settings")
+os.environ.setdefault("AWX_MODE", "production")
 
-del set_application_name
+from ansible_base.lib.dynamic_config import export
+from . import DYNACONF  # noqa
 
-# Set the value of any feature flags that are defined in the local settings
-for feature in list(FLAGS.keys()):  # noqa: F405
-    if feature in locals():
-        FLAGS[feature][0]['value'] = locals()[feature]  # noqa: F405
+export(__name__, DYNACONF)
diff --git a/awx/settings/production_defaults.py b/awx/settings/production_defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5599b81753ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/settings/production_defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
+# All Rights Reserved.
+
+# Production settings for AWX project.
+
+import os
+
+DEBUG = False
+TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
+SQL_DEBUG = DEBUG
+
+# Clear database settings to force production environment to define them.
+DATABASES = {}
+
+# Clear the secret key to force production environment to define it.
+SECRET_KEY = None
+
+# Hosts/domain names that are valid for this site; required if DEBUG is False
+# See https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/dev/ref/settings/#allowed-hosts
+ALLOWED_HOSTS = []
+
+# Ansible base virtualenv paths and enablement
+# only used for deprecated fields and management commands for them
+BASE_VENV_PATH = os.path.realpath("/var/lib/awx/venv")
+
+# Very important that this is editable (not read_only) in the API
+AWX_ISOLATION_SHOW_PATHS = [
+    '/etc/pki/ca-trust:/etc/pki/ca-trust:O',
+    '/usr/share/pki:/usr/share/pki:O',
+]
diff --git a/awx/settings/quiet_defaults.py b/awx/settings/quiet_defaults.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1cb21720f7dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/awx/settings/quiet_defaults.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# Copyright (c) 2015 Ansible, Inc.
+# All Rights Reserved.
+# Development settings for AWX project, but with DEBUG disabled
+
+# Disable capturing DEBUG
+DEBUG = False
+TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
+SQL_DEBUG = DEBUG
diff --git a/awx/urls.py b/awx/urls.py
index daef360d5788..862dc5dcd9fd 100644
--- a/awx/urls.py
+++ b/awx/urls.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def get_urlpatterns(prefix=None):
         re_path(r'^(?!api/).*', include('awx.ui.urls', namespace='ui')),
     ]
 
-    if settings.SETTINGS_MODULE == 'awx.settings.development':
+    if settings.DYNACONF.is_development_mode:
         try:
             import debug_toolbar
 
diff --git a/licenses/django-split-settings.txt b/licenses/django-split-settings.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 3195eae727d0..000000000000
--- a/licenses/django-split-settings.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-Copyright (c) 2013, 2General Oy
-All rights reserved.
-
-Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification,
-are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
-
-    1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
-       this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
-
-    2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
-       notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
-       documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
-
-    3. Neither the name of django-split-settings nor the names of its contributors
-       may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
-       without specific prior written permission.
-
-THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS" AND
-ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
-WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
-DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR
-ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
-(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
-LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
-ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
-(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
-SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
diff --git a/licenses/dynaconf.txt b/licenses/dynaconf.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..cbc6bbf2903b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/licenses/dynaconf.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+The MIT License (MIT)
+
+Copyright (c) 2015 Bruno Rocha
+
+Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+
+The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
+copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
+SOFTWARE.
diff --git a/requirements/requirements.in b/requirements/requirements.in
index b6ff41d14dda..45ad8dd530d7 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements.in
+++ b/requirements/requirements.in
@@ -22,9 +22,9 @@ django-guid
 django-oauth-toolkit<2.0.0      # Version 2.0.0 has breaking changes that will need to be worked out before upgrading
 django-polymorphic
 django-solo
-django-split-settings
 djangorestframework>=3.15.0
 djangorestframework-yaml
+dynaconf<4
 filelock
 GitPython>=3.1.37  # CVE-2023-41040
 grpcio
diff --git a/requirements/requirements.txt b/requirements/requirements.txt
index 34140e06dfef..941d251dbf36 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements.txt
@@ -158,10 +158,6 @@ django-polymorphic==3.1.0
     # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
 django-solo==2.4.0
     # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
-django-split-settings==1.3.2
-    # via
-    #   -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
-    #   django-ansible-base
 djangorestframework==3.15.2
     # via
     #   -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
@@ -170,6 +166,8 @@ djangorestframework-yaml==2.0.0
     # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
 durationpy==0.9
     # via kubernetes
+dynaconf==3.2.10
+    # via -r /awx_devel/requirements/requirements.in
 enum-compat==0.0.3
     # via asn1
 filelock==3.16.1
diff --git a/requirements/requirements_git.txt b/requirements/requirements_git.txt
index 99147161a2c1..557d5af87533 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements_git.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements_git.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 git+https://github.com/ansible/system-certifi.git@devel#egg=certifi
 # Remove pbr from requirements.in when moving ansible-runner to requirements.in
 git+https://github.com/ansible/ansible-runner.git@devel#egg=ansible-runner
-django-ansible-base @ git+https://github.com/ansible/django-ansible-base@devel#egg=django-ansible-base[rest-filters,jwt_consumer,resource-registry,rbac,feature-flags]
 awx-plugins-core @ git+https://github.com/ansible/awx-plugins.git@devel#egg=awx-plugins-core[credentials-github-app]
+# django-ansible-base @ git+https://github.com/ansible/django-ansible-base@devel#egg=django-ansible-base[rest-filters,jwt_consumer,resource-registry,rbac,feature-flags]
+django-ansible-base @ git+https://github.com/rochacbruno/django-ansible-base@dynaconf_settings#egg=django-ansible-base[rest-filters,jwt_consumer,resource-registry,rbac,feature-flags]
 awx_plugins.interfaces @ git+https://github.com/ansible/awx_plugins.interfaces.git
diff --git a/tools/docker-compose/ansible/roles/sources/templates/docker-compose.yml.j2 b/tools/docker-compose/ansible/roles/sources/templates/docker-compose.yml.j2
index dd0b651f00b9..c224fdb940ee 100644
--- a/tools/docker-compose/ansible/roles/sources/templates/docker-compose.yml.j2
+++ b/tools/docker-compose/ansible/roles/sources/templates/docker-compose.yml.j2
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ services:
       DJANGO_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: {{ admin_password }}
       UWSGI_MOUNT_PATH: {{ ingress_path }}
       DJANGO_COLORS: "${DJANGO_COLORS:-}"
+      DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE: "awx.settings"
 {% if loop.index == 1 %}
       RUN_MIGRATIONS: 1
 {% endif %}