Senior Software Engineer – Vector Search

About the role

Elastic is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Search Relevance team, focusing on vector search capabilities. You will help shape the technical direction of our search engine, delivering fast and relevant results at scale.

Key responsibilities

• Lead initiatives to enhance Elasticsearch with industry‑leading speed and relevance, especially for vector search.
• Design and implement new search features, fix complex bugs, and occasionally invent new algorithms or data structures.
• Collaborate with a globally distributed team, engage with community members, and review pull requests.

Required profile

• Proven experience implementing novel vector similarity techniques on large‑scale search platforms or in academic research.
• Strong autonomy in driving projects from design through delivery, including cross‑team collaboration.
• Comfortable with asynchronous, remote collaboration and giving/receiving code feedback.

Required skills

• Core Java (including lambdas, concurrency, standard library).
• Elasticsearch and Lucene internals.
• Vector similarity algorithms such as HNSW and IVF.
• Experience with data stores like PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Cassandra.

What we offer

• Competitive base salary (791,300 – 1,251,700 NOK per year).
• Health coverage for you and your family, flexible work locations, generous vacation, parental leave, and donation matching.