Elasticsearch Developer

Cognizant; India; Hybrid; INR 1,800,000 - 2,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking a technical and delivery leader with deep Elasticsearch expertise to own search platform architecture and drive AI-powered capabilities. You will lead a team delivering scalable solutions and ensure governance and security standards across the stack.

The role requires 8–10 years in search platforms, strong Python/Java/Node.js skills, and hands-on experience with agentic AI and ML-based ranking. A focus on SDLC, Agile practices, and team growth is essential.

Qualifications

• 8–10 years in search/data platforms with 5+ years on Elasticsearch at scale
• Strong programming background in Python/Java/Node.js for architecture and leadership
• Deep understanding of API architectures, integration patterns, and security
• Proven track record delivering agentic AI/LLM integrations to production
• Knowledge of vector search, embeddings, and semantic search
• Experience guiding AI tool adoption across a team
• Solid SDLC, Agile/Scrum, and delivery management
• 2+ years of team management/mentoring

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end architecture for Elasticsearch-based search platforms: cluster topology, sharding, ILM, and scaling strategy
• Design and optimize complex relevance logic, custom scoring, and ML-based ranking at scale
• Lead development of APIs/microservices exposing search and AI capabilities to downstream applications
• Drive and oversee version upgrade/migration initiatives (7.x → 9.x), managing breaking changes
• Define and drive adoption of agentic AI capabilities, RAG pipelines and LLM-based agents integrated with Elasticsearch
• Evaluate and recommend AI tools to improve team productivity
• Evaluate Elasticsearch vs OpenSearch, Solr, Algolia, vector DBs for architecture decisions
• Lead code and design reviews; mentor and manage performance of associates and senior associates
• Own project delivery — planning, resourcing, budget, risk, and timelines
• Act as primary technical point of contact for stakeholders; translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Own governance, security standards (RBAC/TLS), and platform documentation
• Stay current on Elastic Stack roadmap and AI/agent tooling landscape

Skills

Elasticsearch

Leadership

Python/Java/Node.js

API/Microservices

Security & RBAC

AI/LLM integration

SDLC/Agile

Team mentoring

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in CS

Tools

Copilot

OpenSearch

Vector DBs

Job description

Role Summary

We're looking for a technical and delivery leader with deep Elasticsearch expertise (v7.x and above) to own search platform architecture, drive adoption of agentic AI and AI-powered capabilities, and lead a team delivering high-quality, scalable solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end architecture for Elasticsearch-based search platforms cluster topology, sharding, ILM, and scaling strategy
• Design and optimize complex relevance logic, custom scoring, and ML-based ranking at scale
• Lead development of APIs/microservices exposing search and AI capabilities to downstream applications
• Drive and oversee version upgrade/migration initiatives (7.x 9.x), managing breaking changes and backward compatibility
• Define and drive adoption of agentic AI capabilities RAG pipelines and LLM-based agents integrated with Elasticsearch as a knowledge/retrieval layer
• Evaluate and recommend AI tools to improve team-wide development productivity
• Evaluate Elasticsearch against alternative platforms (OpenSearch, Solr, Algolia, vector DBs) and guide architecture decisions
• Lead code and design reviews; mentor and manage performance of associates and senior associates
• Own project delivery — planning, resourcing, budget, risk, and timelines
• Act as primary technical point of contact for stakeholders; translate business requirements into technical solutions
• Own governance, security standards (RBAC/TLS), and platform documentation
• Stay current on the Elastic Stack roadmap and AI/agent tooling landscape

Must-Have Skills

• 8–10 years of experience in search/data platforms, with 5+ years specifically on Elasticsearch at scale, including hands-on experience from v7.x onward
• Strong programming background (Python/Java/Node.js) for architecture review and technical leadership
• Deep understanding of API architecture, integration patterns, and platform security
• Proven experience driving agentic AI/LLM integration initiatives — delivered in production or as a pilot, not just conceptual
• Strong knowledge of vector search, embeddings, and semantic search architecture
• Experience guiding AI tool adoption (Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) across a team
• Solid grasp of SDLC, Agile/Scrum, and delivery management
• 2+ years of team management/mentoring experience

Good to Have

• Elastic Certified Engineer/Architect-level certification
• Experience leading Elasticsearch version upgrade/migration projects (7.x to 9.x) end-to-end
• Strong comparative expertise across search platforms — licensing, cost models, and ecosystem maturity (Elastic License vs. Apache 2.0)
• Experience managing platform migrations (e.g., Elasticsearch to/from OpenSearch)
• Background in AI/ML platform strategy or LLM Ops
• Exposure to data governance frameworks

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science or a related field
• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills
• Proven ability to balance hands-on technical depth with delivery/people management