Overview

As a Principal Software Engineer on the Elasticsearch - Search team, you drive the vector search capabilities that power fast, relevance-driven results. You will design and implement new vector features, improve existing functionality, and resolve complex bugs within a globally distributed team. You'll work closely with engineers, contribute to performance and scalability, and influence the direction of vector search in Elasticsearch.

This is a high-impact role that combines algorithmic innovation with practical systems work.

Compensaciones / Incentivos competitive pay health coverage flexible locations and schedules generous vacation days donation matching volunteer hours

Responsabilidades Lead initiatives to deliver a leading vector database experience with fast, relevant search

Contribute to Elasticsearch features and bug fixes, designing new algorithms or data structures when needed

Collaborate with a globally distributed team focused on vector search capabilities

Serve as a subject-matter expert on vector similarity in Elasticsearch and support the wider team





Triage and handle community issues and pull requests, sometimes independently

Write idiomatic Java focused on performance and maintainability

Requisitos principales Experience with vector similarity and vector databases; hands-on use of HNSW, IVF, or similar algorithms at scale

Strong Java skills and familiarity with standard data structures, concurrency, and modern features like lambdas

Ability to own projects end-to-end, from technical design to collaboration with engineers

Experience with distributed collaboration and asynchronous communication

Experience with data storage technologies such as Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra

Excellent verbal and written communication; collaborative and respectful working style

Proven track record of using AI to accelerate development and optimize code, while owning outcomes

Ability to navigate multiple projects and teams based on priorities collaborative autonomous strong communication vector similarity vector databases

HNSW

📌 Principal Software Engineer - Search Algorithms - Elasticsearch (San Sebastián)
🏢 Elastic
📍 San Sebastián