[Remote] Principal Software Engineer - Vector Search - Elasticsearch

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time using all their data at scale. They are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch - Search team, focusing on enhancing vector similarity search functionality and contributing to the development of new search features.

Responsibilities

• Lead initiatives within Elasticsearch to produce an industry-leading vector database offering, supplying unparalleled speed and relevance in search
• Contribute to Elasticsearch full time, building new search features and fixing intriguing bugs, all while making the code easier to understand
• Work with a globally distributed team of experienced engineers focused on the vector search capabilities of Elasticsearch
• Be an expert on how Elasticsearch implements vector similarity in support of search relevance and everyone will turn to you when they have a question about this area
• Work with community members from all over the world on issues and pull requests, sometimes triaging them and handing them off to other experts and sometimes handling them yourself
• Write idiomatic modern Java -- Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java!

Skills

• You have implemented novel techniques in vector similarity on a search platform with a large user base or progressed the field of academic research in vector similarity information retrieval
• Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases, and you used HNSW, IVF, or other relevant algorithms and libraries on search platforms at scale
• You have strong skills in core Java and are conversant in the standard library of data structures and concurrency constructs, as well as other features like lambdas
• You work with a high level of autonomy, and are able to take on projects and guide them from beginning to end. This covers both technical design and working with other engineers to develop needed components
• You're comfortable developing collaboratively. Giving and receiving feedback on code and approaches and APIs is hard! Bonus points if you've collaborated over the internet because that's harder. Double bonus points for asynchronous collaboration over the internet. That's even harder, but we do it anyway because it's the best way we know how to build software
• You've used several data storage technologies like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra and have some idea how they work and why they work that way
• You have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Like we said, collaborating on the internet is hard. We try to be respectful, empathetic, and trusting in all of our interactions. And we'd expect that from you too
• You've built things with Elasticsearch before
• You've worked with open source projects and are familiar with different styles of source control workflow and continuous integration
• Experience with data storage technology
• You have experience designing, leading and owning cross-functional initiatives

Benefits

• Elastic's stock program
• Company-matched 401k with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6% of eligible earnings
• 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
• 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

Company Overview

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