Elastic
Principal Software Engineer - Vector Search - Elasticsearch
$160K–$304K
United States +1 · Principal · Full-time · Posted May 7, 2026
- Location
- United States
Distributed, Global - Experience
- Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases; no number of years stated.
- Visa sponsorship
- An export license may be required for employment if located in or a national of the listed sanctioned countries or regions.
About the job
Leads the design and implementation of Elasticsearch vector similarity search features, improving search speed, relevance, and reliability.
What you'll do
- Lead initiatives to advance Elasticsearch’s vector search capabilities, including designing and implementing features and fixing bugs.
- Develop and maintain Elasticsearch search code in modern Java, including algorithms and data structures.
- Collaborate with a globally distributed team and open-source community on technical design, code reviews, issues, and pull requests.
What they ask for
- Implemented novel vector similarity techniques on a search platform with a large user base, or advanced academic research in vector similarity information retrieval.
- Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases, including use of HNSW, IVF, or other relevant algorithms and libraries on search platforms at scale.
- Strong core Java skills, including data structures, concurrency constructs, and lambdas.
- Proven ability to independently lead projects from technical design through implementation in collaborative, distributed teams.
Nice to have
- Experience building with Elasticsearch.
- Experience with open-source projects and source control workflows or continuous integration.
Pay
$159,800 — $252,800 USD (base salary); $191,900 — $303,500 USD (base salary, select locations)
Tools
Elasticsearch, Lucene, Java, HNSW, IVF, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
AI focus
Uses AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code while owning outcomes; develops vector search functionality for Elasticsearch.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative