Principal Software Engineer - Search Algorithms - Elasticsearch

Elastic; Polska; On-site; PLN 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Elastic is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to advance the vector similarity search capabilities within Elasticsearch. You will shape design and implementation of new vector features while solving complex bugs and optimizing performance in a globally distributed team.

You will write idiomatic Java and collaborate across continents, balancing technical depth with maintainable, scalable code. This role emphasizes autonomy, empathy, and contributing to one of the most advanced search platforms

Qualifications

• Experience with vector similarity and vector databases.
• Strong Java skills and concurrency knowledge.
• Ability to work autonomously across time zones.
• Experience collaborating asynchronously in distributed teams.
• Familiar with Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or Cassandra.

Responsibilities

• Lead vector search initiatives in Elasticsearch to improve speed and relevance.
• Design and implement new vector features and fixes.
• Work with a global team across email, GitHub, Zoom, and Slack.
• Contribute to code that is easy to understand and maintain.

Skills

Vector similarity

Vector databases

Java

Autonomy

Asynchronous collaboration

Tools

Elasticsearch

Solr

PostgreSQL

MongoDB

Cassandra

HNSW

IVF

Job description

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

What is the role

We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch - Search team. This globally-distributed team of expert engineers focuses on delivering a robust and feature-rich search experience, including contributing to improving the search experience in Lucene. This is a principal software engineering role that focuses on enhancing the vector similarity search functionality within Elasticsearch, covering the design and implementation of new vector search features, enhancements to existing vector search functionality, and resolving bugs. Our company is distributed by intention. We hire the best engineers we can find wherever they are, whoever they are. We collaborate across continents every day over email, GitHub, Zoom, and Slack. At our best, we write fast, scalable and intuitive software. We believe that the best way to do that is to empower individual engineers, code review every change, decide big things by consensus, and strive for incremental improvements.

What You Will Be Doing

Lead initiatives within Elasticsearch to produce an industry-leading vector database offering, supplying unparalleled speed and relevance in search. Contribute to Elasticsearch full time, building new search features and fixing intriguing bugs, all while making the code easier to understand. Sometimes you'll need to invent a new algorithm or data structure. Or find one and implement it. Sometimes you'll need to get close to the operating system and hardware. Work with a globally distributed team of experienced engineers focused on the vector search capabilities of Elasticsearch. Be an expert on how Elasticsearch implements vector similarity in support of search relevance and everyone will turn to you when they have a question about this area. You'll improve this area based on your questions and your instincts. Work with community members from all over the world on issues and pull requests, sometimes triaging them and handing them off to other experts and sometimes handling them yourself. Write idiomatic modern Java -- Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java!

What You Bring Along

Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases, and you used HNSW, IVF, or other relevant algorithms and libraries on search platforms at scale. You have strong skills in core Java and are conversant in the standard library of data structures and concurrency constructs, as well as other features like lambdas. You work with a high level of autonomy, and are able to take on projects and guide them from beginning to end. This covers both technical design and working with other engineers to develop needed components. You're comfortable developing collaboratively. Giving and receiving feedback on code and approaches and APIs is hard! Bonus points if you've collaborated over the internet because that's harder. Double bonus points for asynchronous collaboration over the internet. That's even harder, but we do it anyway because it's the best way we know how to build software. You've used several data storage technologies like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra and have some idea how they work and why they work that way. You have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Like we said, collaborating on the internet is hard. We try to be respectful, empathetic, and trusting in all of our interactions. And we'd expect that from you too. You have a proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code, while still owning the final outcomes. You possess the ability to collaborate across functions and teams and seamlessly transition between different projects, codebases, or teams based on business priorities You work autonomously and can drive decisions and results in a distributed team by leveraging asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication.

Bonus Points

You've built things with Elasticsearch before. You've worked with open source projects and are familiar with different styles of source control workflow and continuous integration. Experience with data storage technology. You have experience designing, leading and owning cross-functional initiatives Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary. This role does not have a variable compensation component. At Elastic, our compensation philosophy aims to provide…