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Elastic

Principal Software Engineer - Search Algorithms - Elasticsearch

Elastic
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remote senior full-time €80,400-€127,200 EUR Spain

First indexed 28 Aug 2026

Description

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale , unleashing the potential of businesses and people.

We're looking for a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch - Search team. This globally-distributed team of expert engineers focuses on delivering a robust and feature-rich search experience, including contributing to improving the search experience in Lucene.

What You Will Be Doing

  • 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.
  • Work with community members from all over the world on issues and pull requests.
  • Write idiomatic modern Java -- Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java!

What You Bring Along

  • Professional experience with vector similarity and vector databases.
  • Strong skills in core Java and conversant in the standard library of data structures and concurrency constructs.
  • Autonomy to take on projects and guide them from beginning to end.
  • Comfortable developing collaboratively and giving/receiving feedback on code and approaches.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • Proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code.
  • Ability to collaborate across functions and teams.

Bonus Points

  • Experience with Elasticsearch.
  • Familiarity with open source projects and different styles of source control workflow and continuous integration.
  • Experience designing, leading and owning cross-functional initiatives.

Compensation The typical starting salary range for this role is: €80,400-€127,200 EUR.

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People

  • Competitive pay.
  • Health coverage for you and your family.
  • Flexible locations and schedules.
  • Generous number of vacation days each year.
  • Increase your impact - We match up to $2000 for financial donations and service.
  • Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects.
This listing is enriched and indexed by YubHub. To apply, use the employer's original posting: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/elastic/jobs/8162474