← All roles

Principal Java Engineer - Distributed Systems, Serverless - Elasticsearch

Elastic· Platform - Elasticsearch
Apply on company site
Hybrid (Spain)€80.4k - €127.2kfull-timePosted 4mo ago

About the role

Principal Software Engineer specializing in distributed systems for Elasticsearch, focusing on scale, performance, and resilience within the Serverless offering. Design, build, and operate core components, improve concurrent and consistent indexing across multiple machines, and maintain cluster coordination for dynamic node membership and data movement.

Responsibilities

  • Leveraging your deep distributed systems expertise to design, build, and operate core pieces of our next-generation Serverless Elasticsearch offering, directly impacting the experience of customers worldwide.
  • Improving Elasticsearch’s components that support concurrent and consistent indexing across multiple machines.
  • Maintaining our cluster coordination system to keep performance high even though nodes come and go from the cluster and data moves around, while maintaining the safety and liveness properties of the system as a whole.
  • Pushing the limits on the number of shards, nodes, and petabytes that Elasticsearch can handle today.
  • Looking into all kinds of issues, including performance or concurrency issues, and proposing solutions.
  • Supporting our support engineers with the harder problems.
  • Owning operational investigations end-to-end, until performance or stability issues are successfully resolved.

Qualifications

  • Deep background in distributed systems and consensus algorithms.
  • Strong skills in core Java and familiarity with standard data structures and concurrency constructs, as well as newer language features.
  • Deep technical proficiency in algorithms.
  • Experience building large-scale distributed systems, not just using off-the-shelf services.
  • Experience building and debugging complex features with broad impact across multiple machines.
  • Ability to own projects from design through delivery and collaborate with others to develop components.
  • Experience managing projects involving multiple engineers.
  • Proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code while owning final outcomes.
  • Ability to collaborate across functions and transition between projects, codebases, or teams based on business priorities.
  • Ability to work autonomously, drive decisions, and communicate asynchronously and transparently in a distributed team.

Skills

Required:Distributed systemsJavaAlgorithmsLarge-scale distributed systemsProject ownership
Nice to have:Leadership / coordination

Benefits

  • Competitive pay based on work performed
  • Health coverage for you and your family in many locations
  • Flexible locations and schedules for many roles
  • Generous vacation days
  • Employer matching of charitable donations up to $2000 (or local equivalent)
  • Up to 40 hours per year for volunteer projects
  • Minimum of 16 weeks parental leave
Last updated Jul 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
Elastic logo

About Elastic

The open source platform that powers search, observability, security, and more ...

Power insights and outcomes with The Elastic Search AI Platform. See into your data and find answers that matter with enterprise solutions designed to help you accelerate time to insight.

searchobservabilitysecurityAIenterprise solutionsvector database
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Elastic