Principal Software Developer - Security - Elasticsearch

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 are seeking a Principal Software Developer to join the Elasticsearch Security team. In this role, you will lead the architecture and design of Elasticsearch's main features, including authentication, authorization, and tenant isolation.

Responsibilities

• Owning core security initiatives from architecture to production, focusing on the delivery of new critical features. Leading the technical design, plan, and execution for major security components inside the Elasticsearch core engine.
• Developing the foundational security models for intricate features.
• Optimizing security performance at scale in distributed systems environments.
• Applying cryptographic solutions to address genuine customer use cases.
• Ensuring robust data isolation within shared infrastructure supporting disparate customers.
• Monitoring and applying the latest advancements and best practices in security, including authentication, identity management, cryptography, and data access management.
• Collaborating with peers across the company to embed security into new customer features from the outset.
• Drive vulnerability management efforts by collaborating closely with the InfoSec team to proactively identify, assess, and remediate security risks.
• Leverage AI-driven tools to automate vulnerability triage, prioritization, and preliminary investigation, streamlining security workflows and reducing manual intervention.
• Mentoring and coaching other engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and security-first development.

Requirements

• Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management. Understanding of concurrency models. Experience with writing high-performance, thread-safe, and lock-free code.
• Proven experience in designing and building systems for authorization that can scale, including deep experience designing scalable RBAC/ABAC models and token validation pipelines.
• Solid comprehension of distributed systems security, including node-to-node mutual trust, zero-trust transport, partition tolerance, and cluster state propagation.
• Deep knowledge of edge identity protocols (OAuth 2.0, SAML).
• Proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code.
• Ability to collaborate across functions and teams and seamlessly transition between different projects, codebases, or teams based on business priorities.
• Autonomy to drive decisions and lead a distributed team.

Nice to Have

• Knowledge of cipher suites, TLS handshakes, and PKI/certificate lifecycle management.
• Cryptographic methods considering memory usage and delays.
• Familiarity with the implications of Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) and readiness to support the migration of services to quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms.
• Hands-on experience mapping engine-level technical controls to FedRAMP (Moderate/High), FIPS 140, and SOC 2 requirements.
• Experience working on the internals of a data store or search engine.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Health coverage for you and your family
• Flexible locations and schedules
• Generous number of vacation days
• Increase your impact - 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
• Embracing parenthood with minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave