Senior Software Engineer - Storage Engine - Elasticsearch

About the Role

Elastic is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch - Storage Engine team. This globally distributed, fully remote team develops core storage and query technologies for observability workloads, including storage efficiency, ES|QL query processing, and object storage optimization.

What You Will Be Doing

• Lead the architectural evolution of core storage engine components, resolving performance bottlenecks in indexing, serialization, and resource utilization.
• Lead cross-organizational initiatives to build industry-leading observability solutions.
• Collaborate with a global team to drive operational improvements and establish clean coding standards.
• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) and mentor to the wider engineering organization.
• Write idiomatic modern Java (Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java).
• Triage, resolve, and review issues and pull requests within the global community.

What You Bring

• Proven track record of designing and optimizing high-performance, scalable database or distributed systems.
• Strong core Java skills, including deep understanding of concurrency primitives and efficient data structures.
• Experience with data storage technologies (e.g., Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Prometheus).
• Ability to work autonomously in a distributed environment using asynchronous communication.
• A prompt-engineering mindset to leverage AI agents effectively for development and debugging.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a focus on empathy and professionalism.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience building with or contributing to Elasticsearch.
• Experience with open-source projects and CI/CD workflows.
• Background in database, search engine, OS, or cloud service development.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive pay with stock program eligibility.
• Company-matched 401k (up to 6%).
• Flexible locations and schedules.
• Generous vacation policy and parental leave (minimum 16 weeks).
• Financial support for volunteer projects and charitable donations.