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Principal Software Engineer - Performance Tuning - Elasticsearch

Elastic· Platform - Elasticsearch
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Hybrid (Poland)PLN 369.4k - PLN 584.3kfull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Principal Software Engineer focused on performance tuning for Elasticsearch, leading architectural and code-level optimization initiatives to ensure performant, predictable, and scalable behavior across distributed environments.

Responsibilities

  • Owning core performance engineering initiatives from architecture to production, focusing on high-impact optimizations and leading 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.
  • Driving automation by 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; ability to write high-performance, thread-safe, lock-free code; experience with large open-source and enterprise codebases.
  • Proven experience profiling and optimizing distributed systems; deep experience with benchmarking tools (e.g., flamegraphs, JMH, Rally); identifying performance regressions and implementing optimizations.
  • Solid understanding of distributed systems architecture, including partition tolerance, cluster state propagation, and scaling challenges in large-scale data stores.
  • Proven track record using AI or advanced tooling to accelerate optimization, debug performance issues, and automate benchmarking workflows.
  • Ability to collaborate across functions and teams and act as a force multiplier for performance engineering.
  • Ability to work autonomously, drive decisions, and operate across distributed teams using asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication.

Skills

Required:Java performance engineeringDistributed systems profiling and optimizationAI-assisted optimization and automation

Benefits

  • Competitive pay
  • Health coverage for you and your family in many locations
  • Flexible locations and schedules for many roles
  • Generous vacation days
  • Company donation matching up to $2000 (or local equivalent)
  • Up to 40 hours/year for volunteer projects
  • Minimum 16 weeks of parental leave
Last updated Aug 20, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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