Principal Software Engineer – Search Infra (Elasticsearch)

About the role

Elastic is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to lead the Search Infra team for Elasticsearch. The role focuses on defining, directing, and building the next generation of core search capabilities across indexing, retrieval, and relevance.

Key responsibilities

• Define, lead, and contribute to the evolution of core search and indexing capabilities in Elasticsearch.
• Research advances in search infrastructure, data structures, and retrieval algorithms to build efficient foundations.
• Collaborate with product and partner teams to shape long‑term technical vision for search.
• Drive the roadmap for indexing, query execution, and relevance layers, acting as the go‑to expert for these domains.

Required profile

• Proven experience leading technical projects in search infrastructure and distributed systems.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and providing technical guidance.
• Track record defining long‑term technical vision for core search or retrieval systems.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work autonomously across distributed teams.

Required skills

• Elasticsearch, Lucene, Solr
• Core Java, including advanced data structures, concurrency constructs, and lambda expressions
• Large‑scale search platforms and distributed storage engines

What we offer

• Competitive base salary ranging from €67,000 to €106,000 per year.
• Health coverage for employees and families in many locations.
• Flexible work locations and schedules.
• Generous vacation allowance and parental leave of at least 16 weeks.
• Donation matching up to $2,000 and up to 40 volunteer hours per year.