Lead Search Engineer

About the Role

Key Responsibilities

• Architecting and implementing scalable, resilient enterprise search systems using Elasticsearch, Azure, and related technologies
• Leading and mentoring a team of search engineers, promoting a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning
• Designing and maintaining high-performance indexing and retrieval pipelines for structured, unstructured, and vector-based search
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams including Product, Data Science, UX, and DevOps to deliver intelligent search experiences
• Integrating AI/ML models and LLMs (Large Language Models) for semantic understanding and personalized search
• Optimizing search relevance, ranking algorithms, and query understanding using A/B testing and analytics
• Ensuring observability, reliability, and performance of search infrastructure through proactive monitoring and tuning
• Staying current with advancements in information retrieval, vector databases, NLP, and cloud-native search technologies

Requirements

• Possess a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, OR equivalent experience
• Possess at least 5 years of experience in backend development, search engineering, or data infrastructure
• Proficient with Search Engines like Elasticsearch, Lucene, OpenSearch or similar search engines
• Strong programming skills in Java, Python, or PHP, with a solid understanding of software engineering principles
• Experience with cloud platforms
• Demonstrate ability to lead complex technical projects and mentor engineers
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Demonstrate our core values of ambition, innovation, integrity, and teamwork
• Pass the required drug screen and background check (applicable in the US, Puerto Rico, and Guam ONLY)

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) or equivalent research experience in Information Retrieval, Machine Learning, or NLP
• Experience with vector search, hybrid search systems, or semantic embedding techniques
• Familiarity with AI/ML-based search augmentation (e.g., RAG, Azure OpenAI, Cohere)
• Understanding of distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architecture
• Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, Bicep), Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• Proficiency with monitoring tools such as Grafana, Prometheus, or Azure Monitor
• Background in recommender systems, knowledge graphs, or multilingual search

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, OR equivalent experience
• At least 5 years of experience in backend development, search engineering, or data infrastructure

Benefits & Perks

• Health, Life, Long Term Disability, and Dental Insurance
• Paid vacation, sick leave, holidays
• 401(k) with an employer contribution