Senior Java Engineer - Distributed Systems - Elasticsearch · Elastic

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 15:47:55 GMT
Engineering

Elastic · United States · $133,100-$210,600 USD · remote

We are on the lookout for a Senior Software Engineer to join our Elasticsearch - Distributed Systems team. This team focuses on how Elasticsearch provides scale, performance, and resilience. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in distributed systems and consensus algorithms, as well as strong skills in core Java and a deep technical proficiency in algorithms.

Responsibilities:

Improve Elasticsearch's components that support concurrent and consistent indexing across multiple machines.

Maintain our cluster coordination system to keep performance high even though nodes come and go from the cluster and data moves around, while maintaining the safety and liveness properties of the system as a whole.

Push the limits on the number of shards, nodes, and petabytes that Elasticsearch can handle today.

Look into all kinds of issues, including performance or concurrency issues, and propose solutions.

Support our support engineers with the harder problems.

Requirements:

Strong background in distributed systems and consensus algorithms.

Strong skills in core Java and a deep technical proficiency in algorithms.

Ability to understand and work on complex, highly distributed systems.

Ability to build and debug features with a broad impact, running on multiple machines.

Ability to own projects from beginning to end.

Bonus Points:

Data stores

Search, analytics, Lucene

Strong knowledge of the JDK

Asynchronous event-driven network frameworks such as Netty

Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary. The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is $133,100-$210,600 USD. In select locations (including Seattle WA, Los Angeles CA, the San Francisco Bay Area CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below.

Additional Information:

As a distributed company, diversity drives our identity.

We strive to have parity of benefits across regions and while regulations differ from place to place, we believe taking care of our people is the right thing to do.

Competitive pay based on the work you do here and not your previous salary

Health coverage for you and your family in many locations

Ability to craft your calendar with flexible locations and schedules for many roles

Generous number of vacation days each year

Increase your impact - We match up to $2000 (or local currency equivalent) for financial donations and service

Up to 40 hours each year to use toward volunteer projects you love

Embracing parenthood with minimum of 16 weeks of parental leave