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Principal Software Engineer - Performance Tuning - Elasticsearch

Elastic· Platform - Elasticsearch
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Remote$159.8k - $252.8kfull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Principal Software Engineer role focused on architecture and code-level performance optimization for Elasticsearch, driving performance engineering initiatives, benchmarks, and AI-assisted optimization harnesses across distributed systems.

Responsibilities

  • Owning core performance engineering initiatives from architecture to production, leading technical design, plan, and execution for major performance improvements.
  • Developing foundational performance models and methodologies for complex, distributed systems.
  • Driving optimization strategies to keep Elasticsearch performant, predictable, and scalable in diverse environments.
  • Profiling and analyzing system behavior to identify bottlenecks in logging, metrics, vector search, and ES|QL.
  • Ensuring robust performance benchmarks and regression detection for stateful and stateless (Serverless) architectures.
  • Collaborating across the company to embed performance-first thinking into new features from the outset.
  • Drive automation efforts by designing and building AI-assisted optimization harnesses for profiling, hypothesis testing, and benchmarking.
  • Mentoring and coaching other engineers to foster technical excellence and performance-aware development.

Qualifications

  • Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management, concurrency models, and high-performance, thread-safe, lock-free coding across large open-source and enterprise codebases.
  • Proven experience in profiling and optimizing distributed systems, including benchmarking tools (e.g., flamegraphs, JMH, Rally), identifying regressions, and implementing optimizations.
  • Solid understanding of distributed systems architecture, partition tolerance, cluster state propagation, and scaling in large-scale data stores.
  • Proven track record of using AI or advanced tooling to accelerate optimization and automate benchmarking workflows.
  • Ability to collaborate across functions and teams, acting as a force multiplier for performance engineering.
  • Ability to navigate multiple projects and codebases autonomously with asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication.

Skills

Required:Java internals and JVM memory managementDistributed systems profiling and optimizationAI-assisted optimization and automationCross-functional collaborationAutonomous work and distributed leadership

Benefits

  • Stock program eligibility
  • Company-matched 401k with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6%
  • Holistic benefits focused on well-being
  • Competitive pay based on work performed
  • Flexible locations and schedules
  • Generous vacation days
  • Volunteer time allowances (up to 40 hours/year)
  • Parental leave (minimum 16 weeks)
Last updated Aug 20, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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