Elasticsearch - Principal Software Engineer - Query Planning, Indexing & Performance

elastic.io; New York (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Health coverage for you and your family

Flexible locations and schedules

Volunteer time off

Parental leave

Job summary

A tech company in New York is looking for a Principal Software Engineer specializing in query planning and performance. This role involves leading technical projects in analytics, shaping the next generation of ES|QL functionalities, and collaborating across teams to enhance data-driven solutions. Candidates should have strong Java skills and experience with systems like Elasticsearch. The position offers competitive pay, health coverage, and flexible schedules.

Qualifications

• Experience leading technical projects in data and enterprise architecture.
• Proven knowledge in building sophisticated technical infrastructures.
• Experience mentoring expert engineers, providing technical guidance.
• Hands-on experience with search and analytics solutions.

Responsibilities

• Define and develop the next generation of ES|QL functionalities.
• Collaborate with partners and product teams to understand needs.
• Drive an innovative roadmap for ES|QL and the compute engine.

Skills

Technical project leadership

Data and enterprise architecture

Mentoring engineers

Core Java programming

Autonomy in project management

Excellent communication skills

Tools

Elasticsearch

Splunk SPL

Datadog

MongoDB

Job description

Elasticsearch - Principal Software Engineer - Query Planning, Indexing & Performance

elastic.io 27 March 2025

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join our Elasticsearch - Analytical Engine team, an expert group dedicated to building new analytics capabilities within Elasticsearch's compute engine, accessible through ES|QL, our piped query language. In this role, you will leverage your expertise to define, direct, and develop the next generation of ES|QL functionalities. This includes providing technical vision for customer/user interfaces and the underlying language syntax and compute infrastructure. Collaboration across the organization and relevant technical experience are essential. As a key contributor, you will define, lead, and contribute to the development of data-intensive enhancements, research industry-leading features, data structures, and algorithms, and collaborate with partners and product teams to understand their needs and develop a strategic vision. You will utilize your experience in analytics systems to drive an innovative roadmap for ES|QL and the compute engine. As a subject matter expert, you will address questions and drive improvements in your areas of expertise. This team works closely with user experience teams and customer-facing teams building solutions on top of our APIs (Search, Security, Observability).

What You Will Bring:

• Experience leading technical projects in data and enterprise architecture.
• Proven knowledge in building and running sophisticated technical infrastructures and engineering sound software systems.
• Experience mentoring expert engineers, providing technical and professional guidance.
• Experience defining a long-term technical vision for a data-intensive application, working across teams to build a collaborative technical roadmap.
• Hands‑on experience with search and analytics solutions such as Splunk SPL, Elasticsearch, Datadog, Dynatrace, or New Relic.
• Strong skills in core Java, including data structures and concurrency constructs, as well as newer features like lambdas. A strong desire to optimize and use the most efficient data structures and algorithms is key.
• Ability to work with a high level of autonomy, managing projects from inception to completion, including technical design and collaboration with other engineers.
• Experience with data storage technologies like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra, and an understanding of their functionality.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Bonus Points:

• Experience building with Elasticsearch and familiarity with search and information retrieval concepts.
• Experience working with open-source projects and source control workflows.
• Competitive pay
• Health coverage for you and your family
• Flexible locations and schedules for many roles
• Matching for financial donations and service (up to $2000)
• Up to 40 hours of volunteer time each year
• Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave

How to Apply

Interested in this position? Please submit your resume and cover letter through the application portal.