Principal Security Engineer, Elasticsearch Core

Neura Market; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 304,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock program

401k matching

Health benefits

Flexible work locations

Generous vacation days

Parental leave

Job summary

Elastic seeks a Principal Software Engineer to lead Elasticsearch Security, driving architecture and design of core features including authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation. You will work with engineering and product leaders to deliver high-performance security at scale in a distributed data store.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate across teams, and push forward cryptographic and identity-management solutions while advancing security-first development practices.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management.
• Experience designing scalable authorization models (RBAC/ABAC) and token validation pipelines.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems security concepts (zero-trust, node-to-node trust).
• Knowledge of edge identity protocols (OAuth 2.0, SAML).
• Proven track record applying AI to accelerate development and debugging.
• Ability to collaborate across teams and switch between projects autonomously.
• Strong communication for distributed, secure development across teams.

Responsibilities

• Own core security initiatives from architecture to production, leading design and execution of new features in Elasticsearch core.
• Develop foundational security models for complex features.
• Optimize security performance at scale in distributed systems.
• Apply cryptographic solutions to real customer use cases.
• Ensure data isolation within shared infrastructure across customers.
• Stay updated on security advancements and best practices (auth, identity, cryptography).
• Collaborate with peers to embed security into new customer features from the outset.
• Drive vulnerability management with the InfoSec team to identify and remediate risks.
• Leverage AI-driven tools to automate vulnerability triage and streamline security workflows.
• Mentor and coach engineers, fostering security-first development.

Skills

Java internals

JVM memory

Concurrency models

RBAC/ABAC design

OAuth 2.0 / SAML

AI-assisted development

Distributed systems security

Asynchronous leadership

Job description

Elastic seeks a Principal Software Engineer to lead Elasticsearch Security, driving architecture and design of core features including authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation. You will work with engineering and product leaders to deliver high-performance security at scale in a distributed data store.

You will mentor engineers, collaborate across teams, and push forward cryptographic and identity-management solutions while advancing security-first development practices.