Lead Software Engineer, Search Platform & Relevance

Grainger; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 134,000 - 224,000; Full time

Job summary

Grainger, a leading industrial supply company, is hiring a Lead Software Engineer (Software Engineer IV) to develop applications aligned with a strategic vision. You will coach engineers and partner with product managers and architecture to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

The role centers on Grainger’s product catalog search, focusing on lexical and semantic retrieval, embedding models, and relevance measurement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in computer science or a related field.
• 5+ years as a Software Engineer with scalable applications in diverse environments.
• Expert knowledge of Java and Python programming.
• Experience with distributed systems design, indexing, caching, and search platforms.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineer on high-quality, maintainable software for complex applications.
• Design and improve search systems using lexical and semantic retrieval.
• Mentor engineers, conduct code reviews, and support DevOps practices.
• Collaborate with Product Managers and Architecture to deliver solutions.

Skills

Java

Python

Distributed systems

Search/IR

Vector embeddings

Agile/Scrum

DevOps

Code reviews

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science

Job description

Grainger, a leading industrial supply company, is hiring a Lead Software Engineer (Software Engineer IV) to develop applications aligned with a strategic vision. You will coach engineers and partner with product managers and architecture to translate business requirements into scalable technical solutions.

The role centers on Grainger’s product catalog search, focusing on lexical and semantic retrieval, embedding models, and relevance measurement.