Senior Software Engineer - Security - Elasticsearch

Referral Board; United States; On-site; USD 133,100 - 252,900; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock program

401k matching

Health coverage

Flexible locations and schedules

Vacation days

Volunteer time

Parental leave

Job summary

Elastic, the Search AI Company, is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Security team in the United States. You will contribute to architecture and design, focusing on authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation within Elasticsearch.

You will work with engineering and product leaders to deliver high-performance security at scale, across distributed systems, while applying cryptographic solutions and advancing identity management practices.

Qualifications

• Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management.
• Experience building scalable authorization systems with high concurrency.
• Strong understanding of distributed systems security, including mutual trust and zero-trust transport.
• Knowledge of OAuth 2.0 and SAML identity protocols.
• Experience leveraging AI to accelerate development and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to core security initiatives from architecture to production.
• Develop foundational security models for features.
• Optimize security performance at scale in distributed systems.
• Apply cryptographic solutions for real customer use cases.
• Ensure data isolation within shared infrastructure.
• Monitor latest security advancements and best practices.
• Collaborate across teams to embed security in new features.
• Drive vulnerability management with the InfoSec team.
• Leverage AI-driven tools to automate vulnerability triage.

Skills

Java internals

JVM memory management

concurrency models

authorization systems

distributed systems security

edge identity protocols

AI acceleration

cross-functional collaboration

autonomous work

Job description

Senior Software Engineer - Security - Elasticsearch

United States

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 are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Security team. In this role, you will contribute to the architecture and design of Elasticsearch's main features. These features include authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation.You will work with engineering and product leaders at Elastic. Your goal is to participate in providing high-performance security at all levels. This includes ensuring that our distributed data store has top-quality security at scale.

What You Will Be Doing

• Contributing to core security initiatives from architecture to production, focusing on the delivery of new critical features. Participating in the technical design, planning, and execution for major security components inside the Elasticsearch core engine.
• Developing the foundational security models for features.
• Optimizing security performance at scale in distributed systems environments.
• Applying cryptographic solutions to address genuine customer use cases.
• Ensuring robust data isolation within shared infrastructure supporting disparate customers.
• Monitoring and applying the latest advancements and best practices in security. This includes authentication, identity management, cryptography, and data access management.
• Collaborating with peers across the company to embed security into new customer features from the outset.
• Drive vulnerability management efforts by collaborating closely with the InfoSec team to proactively identify, assess, and remediate security risks.
• Leverage AI-driven tools to automate vulnerability triage, prioritization, and preliminary investigation, streamlining security workflows and reducing manual intervention.

What You Bring

• You have deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management. You understand how concurrency models work. You can write code that is high-performance, thread-safe, and lock-free. This experience includes working with large open-source and enterprise codebases.
• You have experience building authorization systems that are scalable and performant under high concurrency and large permission sets, including designing access models, validating credentials/tokens at scale, and keeping authorization decisions consistent across a distributed system.
• You have a solid comprehension of distributed systems security, including node-to-node mutual trust, zero-trust transport, partition tolerance and cluster state propagation.
• You have a deep knowledge of edge identity protocols (OAuth 2.0, SAML).
• You have a proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code, while still collaborating on 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 can work autonomously, supporting decisions and results in a distributed team by leveraging asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication.

Bonus Points

• Knowledge of cipher suites, TLS handshakes, and PKI/certificate lifecycle management.
• Cryptographic methods considering memory usage and delays.
• Familiarity with the implications of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and readiness to support the migration of services to quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms.
• Hands-on experience mapping engine-level technical controls to FedRAMP (Moderate/High), FIPS 140, and SOC 2 requirements.
• Experience working on the internals of a data store or search engine.

Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary. This role does not have a variable compensation component.

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is listed below. In select locations (including Seattle WA, Los Angeles CA, the San Francisco Bay Area CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below.

These ranges represent the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the ranges may be modified in the future.

An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Elastic believes that employees should have the opportunity to share in the value that we create together for our shareholders. Therefore, in addition to cash compensation, this role is currently eligible to participate in Elastic's stock program. Our total rewards package also includes a company-matched 401k with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6% of eligible earnings, along with a range of other benefits offered with a holistic emphasis on employee well-being.

The typical starting salary range for this role is:

$133,100 - $210,600 USD

The typical starting salary range for this role in the select locations listed above is:

$159,900 - $252,900 USD

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People

As a distributed company, diversity drives our identity. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, Elastic is the type of company where you can balance great work with great life. Your age is only a number. It doesn’t matter if you’re just out of college or your children are; we need you for what you can do.

We strive to have parity of benefits across regions and while regulations differ from place to place, we believe taking care of our people is the right thing to do.

• Competitive pay based on the work you do here and not your previous salary
• Health coverage for you and your family in many locations
• Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules for many roles
• Generous number of vacation days each year
• Increase your impact - We match up to $2000 (or local currency equivalent) for financial donations and service
• Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects you love
• Embracing parenthood with minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave

Elastic is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender perception or identity, national origin, age, marital status, protected veteran status, disability status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law, ordinance or regulation.

We welcome individuals with disabilities and strive to create an accessible and inclusive experience for all individuals. To request an accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [e-mail] We will reply to your request within 24 business hours of submission.

Elasticsearch develops and distributes encryption software and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls and licensing requirements for individuals who are located in or are nationals of the following sanctioned countries and regions: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic ("DNR"), and the Luhansk People’s Republic ("LNR"). If you are located in or are a national of one of the listed countries or regions, an export license may be required as a condition of your employment in this role. Please note that national origin and/or nationality do not affect eligibility for employment with Elastic.