
Remote opportunity at
ElasticPrincipal Software Developer - Storage Engine - Elasticsearch
This full-time Principal Software Developer role is on the Elasticsearch Storage Engine team and is fully remote in the United States. The team is globally distributed…
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About This Role
This full-time Principal Software Developer role is on the Elasticsearch Storage Engine team and is fully remote in the United States. The team is globally distributed and builds core storage and query technology for observability workloads. Its focus includes storage efficiency, the performance of ES|QL query processing and data layouts for object storage. The developer steers technical direction, architecture and design across the core storage and query engine. Work includes…
Job Description
This full-time Principal Software Developer role is on the Elasticsearch Storage Engine team and is fully remote in the United States. The team is globally distributed and builds core storage and query technology for observability workloads. Its focus includes storage efficiency, the performance of ES|QL query processing and data layouts for object storage.
The developer steers technical direction, architecture and design across the core storage and query engine. Work includes reshaping storage components, finding slow spots in index layout, serialization format and resource consumption, and leading cross-organisation initiatives for observability. The role also serves as a subject matter expert and adviser, and helps the community work through, fix and check issues and pull requests. The codebase is primarily Java, and modern, idiomatic Java is expected.
The posting suits a developer with a record of designing high-performance database or search technology, deep understanding of Java concurrency and experience with time-series or log data. Working across time zones is asynchronous and written, so clear communication and independence are important. Using AI tools to speed up development and debugging, while checking the results, is also listed.
Base salary is the only form of pay, with no variable component. The posting gives a typical starting range of $154,000 to $243,600 CAD. The role is eligible for Elastic's stock program and a Registered Retirement Savings Plan that the company matches with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6 percent of eligible earnings.
Responsibilities
- Set the architecture direction for core storage engine components
- Find and fix slow spots in index layout, serialization format and resource consumption
- Lead cross-organisation initiatives for observability solutions
- Champion clean coding standards and make complex system behaviour easier to understand
- Act as subject matter expert and mentor for the wider engineering organisation
- Work through, fix and check issues and pull requests with the global community
- Write idiomatic modern Java
Requirements
- Proven record designing high-performance database or search engine technology
- Ability to work autonomously and drive decisions in a distributed team
- Proven use of AI to speed up development and debugging, with checks on the results
- Experience with novel techniques for indexing, storing and querying time-series or log data
- Experience with working knowledge of storage systems such as postgresql, prometheus, mongodb, solr or elasticsearch
- Strong core Java skills, including concurrency primitives and efficient data structures
- Excellent verbal and written communication
Qualifications
- Experience building with Elasticsearch
- Experience with open source projects and common source control and CI workflows
- Experience working on data storage technology
- A track record of driving multi-team initiatives from design through ownership
- Past work on database, search engine, operating system or cloud service development
Core Skills
Benefits
- Eligibility for Elastic's stock program
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan the company matches dollar for dollar on eligible earnings, up to 6 percent
- Competitive pay set by the work performed, not by previous salary
- Health coverage for employees and their families in many locations
- Scheduling and location flexibility for many roles
- Generous annual vacation allowance
- Company match of up to $2,000 (or local equivalent) for donations and service
- Up to 40 hours a year available for volunteer work
- At least 16 weeks of parental leave
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
Is this role remote?
Yes. The listing marks the role as remote, and the posting describes a fully remote team in the United States.
What is the salary range?
The posting gives a typical starting base salary range of $154,000 to $243,600 CAD. Base salary is the only form of pay, with no variable component.
What technical skills are needed?
Strong core Java with concurrency expertise and a proven record in high-performance database or search engine design are needed.
Is the role full-time?
Yes. The listing states full-time employment.
Are equity and retirement benefits mentioned?
Yes. The posting describes eligibility for Elastic's stock program and a Registered Retirement Savings Plan that the company matches.
Sample Interview Questions
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