Staff Software Engineer, Search Quality

We are seeking a Staff Software Engineer, Search Quality to lead the technical direction of ranking, relevance, and evaluation systems for Databricks' next-generation search product. You will design and build scalable systems and models that ensure high-quality search results across diverse datasets and query patterns, working closely with research, product, and infrastructure teams. Responsibilities include developing ranking and reranking models, defining evaluation frameworks, driving end-to-end engineering efforts, and building resilient, low-latency services for search operations.

You will also shape the long-term vision for retrieval quality and mentor senior engineers.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience in large-scale search, ranking, or ML-driven relevance systems, with deep expertise in ranking models, query understanding, and evaluation methodologies. Strong knowledge of vector search, keyword search, hybrid retrieval, and embedding-based semantic retrieval is required, along with a solid foundation in algorithms, data structures, and system design. Proven ability to deliver impactful technical initiatives, strong communication skills, and a strategic mindset aligned with product goals are essential.

The role offers a competitive salary range of $165,300 - $219,675 USD, with additional benefits and equity opportunities.