Senior Software Engineer - Search Algorithms - Elasticsearch

ABOUT THE ROLE Elastic is the Search AI Company that powers more than half of the Fortune 500 with a cloud‑native platform that blends search precision and artificial intelligence. The Senior Software Engineer – Search Algorithms will join the Elasticsearch Search Relevance team, a globally distributed group of experts who build the core search engine that underpins our enterprise‑grade solutions. In this role you will shape the technical direction of search features, drive performance and relevance improvements, and help maintain the robustness of the Lucene‑based core that serves millions of queries every day. Your work will directly impact how quickly and accurately customers can find the information they need, from e‑commerce catalogs to security logs. WHAT YOU'LL DO You will lead initiatives that deliver industry‑leading speed and relevance for Elasticsearch, designing and implementing new ranking algorithms and vector search capabilities. You will collaborate with engineers across continents to prototype, test, and ship features that scale to petabytes of data. Your day will involve deep dives into Lucene internals, inventing or adapting data structures to solve complex retrieval problems, and writing clean, well‑tested code that is easy to understand and maintain. You will mentor peers through code reviews, share knowledge on search relevance best practices, and advocate for user‑centric improvements that elevate the overall search experience. You will also diagnose and resolve high‑impact bugs, ensuring the reliability and performance of the platform in production environments. WHAT YOU'LL NEED You have at least five years of professional software engineering experience, with a strong background in information retrieval, search engines, or related fields. Proficiency in Java and a deep understanding of Lucene’s architecture are essential. You are comfortable working with large‑scale distributed systems, optimizing for latency and throughput, and you have a track record of delivering production‑ready features. Strong analytical skills, a curiosity for algorithmic innovation, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders are required. Experience with vector search, machine learning integration, or cloud‑native deployment is highly desirable. You thrive in a collaborative, asynchronous environment and are self‑motivated to drive initiatives from concept to release. WHY REMOTE Elastic’s distributed culture is intentional; we hire the best talent regardless of location and empower engineers to work independently while staying connected through email, GitHub, Zoom, and Slack. The remote model allows you to design a flexible schedule that aligns with your personal productivity rhythms, while still contributing to cross‑continental teams that value consensus and incremental improvement. You will have access to the same tools, code reviews, and mentorship opportunities as on‑site colleagues, ensuring that distance never hinders collaboration or career growth. BENEFITS Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents Generous paid time off and flexible holiday policy Remote work stipend to support home‑office setup Annual learning budget for courses, conferences, and certifications Competitive equity and retirement plans Access to a global community of engineers and regular virtual team events