Staff Software Engineer (Search Ranking)

Databricks; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 2,500,000 - 4,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a Staff Engineer based in Bengaluru, India, to lead enhancements in search quality. The role involves developing ML-based search relevance models and collaborating with product teams. Candidates should have a BS+ in Computer Science, at least 10 years of experience in developing search systems, and expertise in areas like query understanding and NLP. A commitment to diversity and inclusion is emphasized in the workplace culture.

Qualifications

• 10+ years experience developing search relevance systems at scale in production or high-impact research environments.
• Strong understanding of computer science fundamentals.
• Contributions to well-used open-source projects.

Responsibilities

• Drive development of ML-based search models integrated with Databricks products.
• Design automated ML and NLP pipelines for data preprocessing and query understanding.
• Collaborate with teams to drive technology-first initiatives.
• Contribute to building a framework for evaluating search ranking improvements.

Skills

ML-based search systems

Query understanding

NLP

Experience with LLM

Text mining

Recommendations

Personalization

Discovery

Conversational AI

Education

BS in Computer Science or related field

M.S. or Ph.D. preferred

Job description

We are seeking a Staff Engineer to lead enhancements to our Search Quality. In 2026, we will focus on enhancing search ranking, improving query understanding, building robust evals and growing coverage of assets to enable seamless search at scale.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the development and deployment of ML-based search and discovery relevance models and systems integrated with Databricks' products and services.
• Design and implement automated ML and NLP pipelines for data preprocessing, query understanding and rewrite, ranking and retrieval, and model evaluation, enabling rapid experimentation and iteration.
• Collaborate with product managers and cross‑functional teams to drive technology‑first initiatives that enable novel business strategies and product roadmaps for the search and discovery experience.
• Contribute to building a robust framework for evaluating search ranking improvements – both offline and online.

What We’re Looking For

• BS+ (M.S. or Ph.D. preferred) in Computer Science or a related field.
• 10+ years experience developing search relevance systems at scale in production or in high‑impact research environments.
• Experience applying LLM to search relevance.
• Experience in one or more of the following:
  • Query understanding
  • NLP
  • Text mining
  • Recommendations
  • Personalization
  • Discovery
  • Conversational AI
• Strong understanding of computer science fundamentals.
• Contributions to well‑used open‑source projects.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio‑economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export‑controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.