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Senior Software Engineer - Vector Search - Elasticsearch

Elastic· Platform - Elasticsearch
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Hybrid (Greece)€61.1k - €96.6kfull-timePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Senior Software Engineer role on the Elasticsearch - Search Relevance team, focusing on vector search capabilities, search relevance, and contributing to the technical direction and implementation of new search features and improvements.

Responsibilities

  • Lead initiatives within Elasticsearch to produce an industry-leading search engine offering, supplying unparalleled speed and relevance in search.
  • Contribute to Elasticsearch full time, building new search features and fixing intriguing bugs, including potentially inventing new algorithms or data structures or working close to OS and hardware.
  • Work with a globally distributed team focused on the vector search capabilities of Elasticsearch.
  • Be an expert on Elasticsearch search relevance, driving improvements based on questions and instincts.
  • Collaborate with community members globally on issues and pull requests, triaging and handing off to other experts when needed.
  • Write idiomatic modern Java (Elasticsearch is 99.8% Java).

Qualifications

  • Implemented novel techniques in vector similarity on a search platform with a large user base or progressed the field of academic research in vector similarity information retrieval.
  • Professional experience with search or vector databases, and experience with HNSW, IVF, or other relevant algorithms and libraries on search platforms at scale.
  • Solid skills in core Java and familiarity with data structures, concurrency constructs, and features like lambdas.
  • Ability to work autonomously on projects from design to delivery and lead components cross-functionally.
  • Comfortable developing collaboratively and giving/receiving feedback on code, APIs, and approaches; asynchronous collaboration is a bonus.
  • Experience with multiple data storage technologies like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra and understanding of their workings.
  • Proven track record of using AI to accelerate development, debug complex systems, and optimize code while owning outcomes.
  • Ability to collaborate across functions and transition between projects, codebases, or teams based on priorities.
  • Autonomy in driving decisions and results in a distributed team via asynchronous, direct, and transparent communication.

Skills

Required:JavaVector similarity / vector databasesSearch relevance
Nice to have:Distributed collaboration

Benefits

  • Competitive pay based on the work you do here and not your previous salary
  • Health coverage for you and your family in many locations
  • Flexible locations and schedules for many roles
  • Generous number of vacation days each year
  • Support for charitable donations (matching up to $2000 or local currency equivalent)
  • Up to 40 hours per year for volunteer projects
  • Parental leave minimum of 16 weeks
Last updated Sep 3, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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