Principal Software Engineer Search Systems

Do you possess current expertise with Lucene, Elasticsearch, Solr, or similar search engines and are looking to drive search-based technology solutions for us?

Our team unlocks the rich knowledge embedded within Elsevier’s content through a data platform that empowers researchers, clinicians, and innovators worldwide. We transform unstructured information into interconnected knowledge graphs and combine graph-powered agentic AI with advanced search technologies to deliver contextual and trustworthy answers. As part of the Search team, you will build scalable, reliable, and high-performance retrieval systems that accelerate innovation across Elsevier’s ecosystem.

We are looking for a Principal Software Engineer with extensive search experience to design and implement complex search and retrieval systems, mentor team members, and evolve our central search engineering architecture through collaboration with product, platform, and other engineering teams.

• Leading architectural design and ensuring technical consistency.
• Leading our shared search platform – expanding content search and improving relevance via vector and lexical search techniques.
• Building world-class search systems to enhance users’ search experience.
• Automating processes to assist other teams.
• Collaborating on new ideas to optimize systems and engineering workflows.
• Building relationships with other engineering teams to identify and solve their pain points.
• Working across the stack, from development to infrastructure.
• Designing and developing scalable data processing workflows and microservices using Spark, Spark Streaming, and Airflow.
• Writing clean, modular, and testable code in Python, Java, or Scala, aligned with coding standards and architecture guidelines.
• Leading implementation of system components that span multiple services and modules.
• Diagnosing and resolving complex technical issues across distributed systems and data workflows.
• Leading design discussions, code reviews, and architecture sessions to ensure software quality and maintainability.
• Developing and maintaining data models to support analytical and operational use cases.
• Collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders to translate product requirements into reliable engineering solutions.

• Current expertise with Lucene, Elasticsearch, Solr, or another search engine, and experience with Semantic Search.
• Proven track record building search systems at scale.
• Proficiency in batch processing technologies, including Spark, Spark Streaming, and Airflow.
• Expertise in at least one of Java, Python, or Scala.
• Deep understanding of distributed system design, data modeling, and performance tuning.
• Experience with test-driven development and CI/CD practices.
• Ability to independently drive technical outcomes from problem definition to deployment.
• Familiarity with Agile, Kanban, or other iterative development methodologies.
• Familiarity with vector/embedding-based search and KNN algorithms.
• Exposure to graph-based data models or knowledge graph architecture.
• Experience building internal platforms or developer-facing data tooling.
• Knowledge of observability best practices for data systems (metrics, logs, alerts).

U.S. National Base Pay Range: $115,400 - $192,300. Geographic differentials may apply in some locations.

If performed in Maryland, the base pay range is $121,200 - $201,900. If performed in New York, the base pay range is $126,900 - $211,500. If performed in New York City, the base pay range is $138,400 - $230,700. If performed in Rochester, NY, the base pay range is $115,400 - $192,300. If performed in New Jersey, the base pay range is $136,213 - $217,587.

This job is eligible for an annual incentive bonus. We anticipate a country-specific benefits package; for details, please consult local resources.

We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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