Senior Software Engineer - Storage Engine - Elasticsearch

About Elastic

Elastic is a pioneering Search AI company that empowers users to promptly find critical insights by leveraging all forms of data at scale. Trusted by over half of the Fortune 500, Elastic's AI-driven search platform combines precise search capabilities with advanced AI to help businesses accelerate impactful results while safeguarding sensitive information. Our cloud-based solutions span search, security, and observability to fulfill the promise of AI.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join the globally distributed Elasticsearch Storage Engine team. This fully remote group of expert engineers focuses on developing core storage and query technologies tailored to observability workloads. Key responsibilities include enhancing storage efficiency, advancing Elasticsearch’s query language processing, optimizing data layouts for object storage, and delivering scalable, high-performance storage and query engine components.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the architectural advancement of Elasticsearch’s core storage engine, resolving bottlenecks in indexing structures, serialization formats, and resource usage.
• Lead cross-functional projects to develop cutting-edge observability solutions.
• Collaborate with a distributed team focusing on Elasticsearch’s logs and metrics functionalities.
• Promote continuous improvements in operations and systems via clean code practices and simplifying complex system architectures.
• Serve as a technical authority and mentor within the engineering community.
• Engage with the global user and contributor base to address issues, review contributions, and collaborate with domain specialists.
• Develop idiomatic and modern Java code, the primary language for Elasticsearch.

Candidate Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across projects, teams, and codebases to align with business priorities.
• Highly autonomous with a capacity to make impactful decisions in a distributed environment using effective asynchronous communication.
• Experience applying AI techniques to expedite development, debug complex systems, and optimize software, with ownership of end results.
• Familiarity with prompt engineering to leverage AI judiciously, validating outputs and recognizing limitations.
• Expertise in innovative techniques for indexing, storing, and querying time-series or log data.
• Working knowledge of one or more data storage platforms like Elasticsearch, Solr, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, or Prometheus, understanding their architectural rationale.
• Strong core Java programming skills, deep understanding of concurrency, and skill in designing and optimizing efficient data structures and algorithms.
• Thrives in collaborative settings, contributes actively to technical discussions, and effectively communicates in global teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills paired with professionalism and empathy in cross-cultural interactions.

Desirable Extras

• Previous experience building solutions with Elasticsearch.
• Contributions to open-source projects and familiarity with diverse source control and CI/CD workflows.
• Background in data storage technologies.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary initiatives.
• Prior roles related to databases, search engines, operating systems, or cloud services development.

Additional Information — Our Commitment to Employees

Elastic embraces diversity and inclusion, valuing the unique perspectives and experiences each employee brings. We encourage candidates at all career stages. Benefits strive for regional parity and include:

• Competitive remuneration based on role, not previous salary.
• Health coverage options for employees and families in several locations.
• Flexible scheduling and work locations for many positions.
• Generous vacation allowances.
• Matching donations up to $2000 or local equivalent for charitable giving.
• Up to 40 hours annually dedicated to volunteer activities.
• Minimum 16 weeks of parental leave supporting parenthood.

Security & Privacy Responsibilities

Employees are expected to uphold data confidentiality, integrity, and availability by adhering to relevant security policies and Elastic’s Secure Software Development Framework. Participation in mandatory role-specific training on data protection and system resilience is required.

Inclusion and Equal Opportunity

We are an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive culture that values diverse backgrounds. We provide accommodations upon request to support accessibility during recruitment.

Compensation Details

This position offers a base salary within the range of €85,600 to €135,500 EUR annually, with no variable pay components. Compensation is determined based on experience, skills, role complexity, and market benchmarks, ensuring fairness and competitiveness.