Principal Security Engineer, Elasticsearch: Scale Securely

Referral Board; United States; Hybrid; USD 159,800 - 252,800; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock program

401k matching

Health coverage

Flexible locations

Generous vacation

Donation matching

Volunteer hours

Parental leave

Job summary

Elastic, the Search AI Company, is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Security team in the United States. You will lead architecture and design of core security features including authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation.

You will collaborate with engineering and product leaders to deliver high‑performance security at scale, mentor engineers, and drive vulnerability management with the InfoSec team.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management.
• Experience designing scalable RBAC/ABAC models and token validation pipelines.
• Solid understanding of distributed systems security concepts.
• Knowledge of edge identity protocols such as OAuth 2.0 and SAML.
• Proven track record of leading architecture decisions and cross‑functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Own core security initiatives from architecture to production for Elasticsearch.
• Lead design and delivery of authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation features.
• Develop foundational security models for complex features.
• Optimize security performance in distributed environments.
• Collaborate with peers to embed security into new customer features from the outset.
• Drive vulnerability management with the InfoSec team and automate triage with AI tools.
• Mentor and coach other engineers toward security‑first development.

Skills

Java internals

Concurrency & performance

RBAC/ABAC design

Token validation pipelines

Distributed systems security

OAuth 2.0 / SAML

AI-assisted development

Cross-functional leadership

Autonomous leadership

Job description

Elastic, the Search AI Company, is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Security team in the United States. You will lead architecture and design of core security features including authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation.

You will collaborate with engineering and product leaders to deliver high‑performance security at scale, mentor engineers, and drive vulnerability management with the InfoSec team.