Senior Software Engineer - Vector Search - Elasticsearch

About the Role

Elastic is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Search Relevance team. This globally-distributed team focuses on delivering a robust, feature-rich search experience, including contributions to Apache Lucene. You will help define the technical vision for our search capabilities, implement new features, and resolve complex bugs.

What You Will Be Doing

• Lead initiatives to produce an industry-leading search engine with unparalleled speed and relevance.
• Contribute to Elasticsearch full-time, building new features and optimizing code, algorithms, and data structures.
• Work with a distributed team of experts focused on vector search capabilities.
• Identify and drive improvements in search relevance based on technical instincts and data.
• Collaborate with the global open-source community on issues and pull requests.
• Write idiomatic, modern Java (Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java).

What You Bring

• Proven experience implementing novel vector similarity techniques or academic research in information retrieval.
• Professional experience with search or vector databases (HNSW, IVF, or similar algorithms).
• Strong core Java skills, including concurrency constructs and modern language features.
• Ability to work with high autonomy, guiding projects from technical design to implementation.
• Experience with collaborative, asynchronous development and code review.
• Familiarity with data storage technologies like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra.
• A track record of using AI to accelerate development and debug complex systems.

Bonus Points

• Prior experience building with Elasticsearch.
• Experience contributing to open-source projects.
• Experience designing and leading cross-functional initiatives.

Benefits

• Competitive pay based on role responsibilities.
• Flexible locations and schedules.
• Health coverage for you and your family.
• Generous annual vacation time.
• Financial matching for donations and service.
• 40 hours of volunteer time off per year.
• Minimum 16 weeks of parental leave.