Principal Software Engineer (Java) - Security - Elasticsearch

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About This Role

Elastic is seeking a Principal Software Developer to join the Elasticsearch Security team. As the Search AI Company, Elastic creates cloud-based solutions for search, observability, and security that combine search precision with artificial intelligence to help organizations utilize structured and unstructured data at scale. In this position, you will head the architecture and design of core security functions within the Elasticsearch engine, including authorization, authentication, and tenant isolation. You will…

Job Description

Responsibilities

• Manage core security initiatives from initial design through production deployment
• Direct the technical planning, design, and execution for major security components inside the Elasticsearch core engine
• Build foundational security models for complex features
• Optimize distributed systems security performance at scale
• Implement cryptographic solutions for real-world customer use cases
• Maintain robust data isolation across shared infrastructure utilized by multiple customers
• Track and integrate modern developments in cryptography, identity management, authentication, and data access management
• Partner across the business to embed security into customer-facing features early in development
• Drive vulnerability management by working with the InfoSec team to spot, evaluate, and fix security risks
• Utilize AI-driven tooling to automate vulnerability triage, prioritization, and preliminary checks
• Coach and mentor other engineers to promote a security-first development mindset

Requirements

• Deep understanding of Java internals, JVM memory management, and concurrency models
• Demonstrated ability to write thread-safe, high-performance, and lock-free code within large enterprise or open-source codebases
• Demonstrated experience designing and scaling authorization systems, RBAC or ABAC models, and token validation pipelines
• Comprehension of distributed systems security concepts like zero-trust transport, node-to-node mutual trust, cluster state propagation, and partition tolerance
• Familiarity with edge identity protocols such as SAML and OAuth 2.0
• Track record of using artificial intelligence to speed up development, optimize code, and debug complex systems while owning final outcomes
• Ability to work autonomously, make decisions, and lead a distributed team via transparent and asynchronous communication

Qualifications

• Familiarity with PKI and certificate lifecycle management, TLS handshakes, and cipher suites
• Knowledge of cryptographic methods that account for delays and memory usage
• Awareness of Post-Quantum Cryptography implications and readiness to aid service migration
• Hands-on experience matching engine-level technical controls to SOC 2, FIPS 140, and FedRAMP requirements
• Background working on the internal components of a search engine or data store

Core Skills

Benefits

• Competitive pay based on contributions rather than past salary
• Health coverage for employees and their families in multiple locations
• Flexible schedules and work locations for numerous roles
• Generous annual vacation days
• Donation matching up to two thousand dollars or local currency equivalent
• Up to 40 hours per year for volunteer projects
• Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave

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