Software Engineer, Elasticsearch

Fantom Corporation; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Fantom Corporation is seeking an experienced Search Software Engineer to develop and optimize enterprise search capabilities. You will focus on backend Java development, search platform engineering, and big data technologies to build scalable search and analytics solutions.

The ideal candidate has deep Elasticsearch or Apache Solr expertise, strong Java backend experience, and hands-on work with distributed data processing frameworks in large-scale environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of hands-on backend Java development experience.
• 3+ years developing with Elasticsearch or Apache Solr and schema updates.
• Strong Lucene syntax knowledge and search optimization skills.
• Experience designing distributed search architectures and shard design.
• 3+ years in big data environments; familiarity with Hadoop/Spark/PySpark/HBase.
• Experience with CI/CD, DevOps practices, cloud-based search architectures.
• Excellent troubleshooting, analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise search solutions with Elasticsearch or Solr.
• Design and implement search schemas, indexing strategies, and optimizations.
• Develop Lucene-based queries to improve accuracy and performance.
• Configure and optimize clusters, including shard design and replication.
• Build backend Java services to support search and data processing.
• Write production-ready code with secure SDLC practices.
• Participate in code reviews, unit/integration testing, and deployments.
• Develop and maintain data processing pipelines using big data tech.
• Collaborate with engineers and architects on scalable analytics solutions.

Skills

Backend Java development

Elasticsearch/Solr expertise

Big data processing

Distributed computing

Troubleshooting & analysis

Communication skills

Agile development

CI/CD & DevOps practices

Cloud-based architectures

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

Elasticsearch

Apache Solr

Lucene

Docker

Kubernetes

Hadoop

Apache Spark

PySpark

HBase

Job description

Fantom Corporation is a mission-focused organization supporting critical programs across the defense and intelligence community. We partner with our customers to deliver high-impact technical solutions while fostering a culture built on trust, expertise, and long-term career growth.

We are seeking an experienced Search Software Engineer to develop and optimize enterprise search capabilities supporting mission-critical applications. This role focuses on backend Java development, search platform engineering, and big data technologies to build scalable, high-performance search and analytics solutions.

The ideal candidate has deep expertise in Elasticsearch or Apache Solr, strong backend Java development experience, and hands-on experience working with distributed data processing frameworks in large-scale data environments.

• Design, develop, and maintain enterprise search solutions using Elasticsearch or Apache Solr
• Design and implement search schemas, indexing strategies, and search optimization techniques
• Develop and optimize Lucene-based search queries to improve search accuracy and performance
• Configure, administer, and optimize Elasticsearch or Solr clusters, including shard design, replication, and performance tuning
• Develop scalable backend services using Java to support enterprise search and data processing applications
• Build, test, and deploy production-ready Java code following secure software development best practices
• Participate in code reviews, unit testing, integration testing, and production deployments
• Develop and maintain data processing pipelines using big data technologies
• Work with distributed computing frameworks to process and analyze large-scale datasets
• Troubleshoot application, search platform, and data pipeline performance issues
• Collaborate with software engineers, data engineers, and system architects to design scalable search and analytics solutions
• Participate in Agile development activities including sprint planning, code reviews, and technical design sessions
• Must be fully cleared with a recent polygraph
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical discipline (or equivalent experience)
• Minimum of 5 years of hands-on backend Java development experience
• Experience developing production software that undergoes code reviews, unit testing, integration testing, and production deployment
• Minimum of 3 years of experience administering and developing solutions with Elasticsearch or Apache Solr
• Experience performing schema design and schema updates
• Strong knowledge of Lucene query syntax and search optimization techniques
• Experience designing and managing Elasticsearch or Solr shards and distributed search architectures
• Experience tuning Elasticsearch or Solr clusters for performance, scalability, and query optimization
• Minimum of 3 years of experience working in big data environments
• Experience with at least two of the following technologies:
  • Hadoop
  • Apache Spark
  • PySpark
  • HBase
  • Strong understanding of distributed computing, search architectures, and large-scale data processing
  • Excellent troubleshooting, analytical, and problem-solving skills
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Experience developing large-scale enterprise search platforms
• Experience supporting distributed, high-availability search environments
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices
• Experience with cloud-based search architectures
• Familiarity with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes
• Experience supporting secure government or Intelligence Community environments

Fantom Corp is a Software Development, Agile Cloud, Cyber Security (Risk Management, Assessments & Authorization (A&A)), Data, AI Platform (Computer Vision Models), Podcasting Media Services, and IT Services provider. Established in 2015, Fantom Corp serves Federal customers with top-notch Cybersecurity Architects, Data Scientists/Analysts, Software Engineers/Developers, DevSecOps Engineers, Project Managers, Identity, Credential Access Management (ICAM) services , and Cloud-certified practitioners. We excel in delivering emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) with a focus on identifying trends, object detection, and classification of structured and unstructured data. Fantom Corp possesses mastery in all aspects of digital audio production. We lead in the ideation and creation of efforts for clients who want to harness the power of podcasting. We guide them in selecting the right show format for their needs and goals. As a Small Business, we possess the innovation, speed and flexibility to meet your requirements.