Elastic
Principal Software Engineer - Search Algorithms - Elasticsearch
$160K–$304K
United States +1 · Principal · Full-time · Posted Aug 27, 2026
- Location
- United States
Distributed, Global - Visa sponsorship
- Applicants located in or nationals of the listed sanctioned countries and regions may require an export license as a condition of employment.
About the job
Lead development of Elasticsearch vector similarity search features and algorithms, improving performance, relevance, and reliability.
What you'll do
- Lead initiatives to improve Elasticsearch’s vector search capabilities, including designing and implementing features and fixing bugs.
- Develop and maintain Elasticsearch search code in modern Java, sometimes creating or implementing algorithms and data structures.
- Collaborate with distributed teams and community contributors on technical design, code reviews, issues, and pull requests.
What they ask for
- Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases, including HNSW, IVF, or other relevant algorithms and libraries used on search platforms at scale.
- Strong core Java skills, including familiarity with data structures, concurrency constructs, and lambdas.
- Ability to autonomously lead projects from technical design through implementation, collaborating with other engineers.
- Proven use of AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code while owning outcomes.
Nice to have
- Experience building with Elasticsearch.
- Experience with open-source projects and source-control workflows and continuous integration.
Pay
$159,800 — $252,800 USD (base salary); $191,900 — $303,500 USD (base salary)
Tools
Elasticsearch, Java, HNSW, IVF, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Cassandra
AI focus
Use AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code while owning final outcomes; contribute to vector search functionality within Elastic’s Search AI Platform.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative