Elasticsearch powers search, observability, and AI retrieval (RAG) for the world’s largest organizations

We are seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Elasticsearch Performance team

In this role, you will lead architectural and code-level performance engineering initiatives

Your goal is to drive the continuous optimization and predictability of Elasticsearch performance, partnering with area-specific teams to unlock the full potential of our software

Owning core performance engineering initiatives from architecture to production, focusing on the delivery of high-impact optimizations. Leading the technical design, plan, and execution for major architectural and code-level performance improvements

Developing foundational performance models and methodologies for complex, distributed systems

Driving optimization strategies to ensure Elasticsearch remains performant, predictable, and scalable in diverse environments

Profiling and analyzing system behavior to identify bottlenecks in logging, metrics, vector search, and ES|QL

Ensuring robust performance benchmarks and regression detection for both stateful and stateless (Serverless) architectures

Collaborating across the company to embed performance-first thinking into new features from the outset

Drive automation efforts by designing and building AI-assisted optimization harnesses that streamline profiling, hypothesis testing, and benchmarking

Mentoring and coaching other engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and performance-aware development

Perks

Toast to your health: Fully paid health coverage for you and your family, in many locations.

Craft your calendar: Flexible location and schedule for most roles.

Create space for you: Distributed by design workforce, plus generous number of vacation days each year.

Embrace parenthood: Minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave, plus generous family formation benefits.

Give back your time:



40 hours each year to use toward volunteering with organizations and causes you’re passionate about.

Amplify your impact: Double your charitable giving — we match donations up to $1500 USD (or local currency equivalent).

You possess the ability to collaborate across functions and teams, acting as a force multiplier for performance engineering across the organizationYou possess the ability to collaborate across functions and teams and seamlessly transition between different projects, codebases, or teams based on business prioritiesYou have deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management. You understand how concurrency models work. You can write code that is high-performance, thread-safe, and lock-free. This experience includes working with large open-source and enterprise codebasesYou have a solid comprehension of distributed systems architecture, including partition tolerance, cluster state propagation, and scaling challenges in large-scale data storesYou have proven experience in profiling and optimizing distributed systems. This includes deep experience with benchmarking tools (e.g., flamegraphs, JMH, Rally), identifying performance regressions, and implementing algorithmic or hardware-aware optimizationsYou have a proven track record of using AI or advanced tooling to accelerate optimization, debug complex performance issues, and automate benchmarking workflowsYou can work autonomously, drive decisions and result in a distributed team by leveraging asynchronous, direct, and transparent communicationExperience integrating high-performance native libraries (e.g., C++, Rust, SIMD-accelerated code) into Java applicationsDeep knowledge of modern storage engine performance, index modes, or vector search optimizationsExperience defining and managing Performance SLAs and success criteria for distributed systemsExperience working on the internals of a data store or search engineExperience working on the internals of a large-scale data store or search engine

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📌 Principal Software Developer (Performance Tuning, Elasticsearch) (Quebec City)
🏢 Elastic
📍 Quebec City