Principal Software Engineer - Vector Search & AI

Elasticsearch B.V.; Schweiz; Remote; CHF 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay based on work done

Health coverage for you and family

Flexible locations and schedules

Generous vacation days

Donation matching

Volunteer hours

Parental leave

Job summary

Elasticsearch B.V. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for the Elasticsearch - Search team. You will drive vector similarity search features, design algorithms, and work across a globally distributed group of engineers to deliver fast, scalable search experiences.

You will write idiomatic Java, contribute to core search infrastructure, and guide projects from inception to production. The role emphasizes autonomy, collaboration, and delivering high-impact results.

Qualifications

• Experience with vector similarity and vector databases at scale.
• Proficient in Java and familiar with its data structures and concurrency.
• Ability to guide projects from design to deployment independently.
• Strong collaboration skills and asynchronous work across global teams.
• Experience with AI-assisted development and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Lead initiatives to deliver a leading vector database offering with fast, relevant search.
• Contribute to Elasticsearch by building features and fixing bugs, and optimize code readability.
• Collaborate with a globally distributed team on vector search capabilities.
• Be the expert on Elasticsearch vector similarity implementation and improvements.
• Engage with community issues and pull requests, triaging as needed.
• Write idiomatic modern Java; contribute near the OS/hardware when needed.

Skills

Vector similarity

Java (core)

Distributed collaboration

Autonomy

AI acceleration

Tools

Elasticsearch

Solr

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Cassandra

Job description

Elasticsearch B.V. is seeking a Principal Software Engineer for the Elasticsearch - Search team. You will drive vector similarity search features, design algorithms, and work across a globally distributed group of engineers to deliver fast, scalable search experiences.

You will write idiomatic Java, contribute to core search infrastructure, and guide projects from inception to production. The role emphasizes autonomy, collaboration, and delivering high-impact results.