Principal Software Engineer - Performance Tuning - Elasticsearch

Elastic
Portugal
Full timeEUR 67,000 - 106,000 annuallyFunction: Software EngineeringSkills: ["Profiling","Performance optimization","Benchmarking","Technical design","Mentoring","Collaboration","Autonomous execution"]

Lead architecture and code-level performance engineering for Elasticsearch’s Elasticsearch Performance team, driving high-impact optimizations from design through production. Build performance models and methodologies for complex distributed systems, improve scalability and predictability, and analyze bottlenecks across logging, metrics, vector search, and ES|QL. Set benchmarks and regression detection for stateful and Serverless architectures, automate optimization workflows with AI-assisted harnesses, and mentor engineers.

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FursaFursa
Elastic
Elastic
4 days ago

Principal Software Engineer - Performance Tuning - Elasticsearch

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Last checked: 3 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead architecture and code-level performance engineering for Elasticsearch’s Elasticsearch Performance team, driving high-impact optimizations from design through production. Build performance models and methodologies for complex distributed systems, improve scalability and predictability, and analyze bottlenecks across logging, metrics, vector search, and ES|QL. Set benchmarks and regression detection for stateful and Serverless architectures, automate optimization workflows with AI-assisted harnesses, and mentor engineers.
Location: Portugal
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Software Engineering
Seniority: Sr. Manager level

Key Responsibilities

  • •Own core performance engineering initiatives from architecture through production to deliver high-impact optimizations.
  • •Lead technical design, planning, and execution for major architectural and code-level performance improvements.
  • •Develop foundational performance models and methodologies for complex distributed systems.
  • •Profile and analyze system behavior to identify bottlenecks in logging, metrics, vector search, and ES|QL, and drive optimization strategies for scalability and predictability.
  • •Create robust performance benchmarks and regression detection for stateful and Serverless architectures, including AI-assisted optimization harnesses and automation of profiling/hypothesis testing/benchmarking.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: EUR 67,000 - 106,000 annually
Perks:Health InsuranceParental LeavePaid LeaveVolunteer DaysLearning BudgetRemote Work

Key Requirements

  • •Deep knowledge of Java internals and JVM memory management, including concurrency models, and the ability to write high-performance, thread-safe lock-free code.
  • •Proven experience profiling and optimizing distributed systems, using benchmarking tools (e.g., flamegraphs, JMH, Rally) to find regressions and implement optimizations.
  • •Strong understanding of distributed systems architecture (partition tolerance, cluster state propagation, and scaling challenges) for large-scale data stores.
  • •Experience using AI or advanced tooling to accelerate optimization, debug complex performance issues, and automate benchmarking workflows.
  • •Ability to collaborate across teams as a performance engineering force multiplier and mentor/coaching other engineers.
Experience:Open sourceEnterprise softwareDistributed systemsSearch engineObservabilityVector search
Skills:ProfilingPerformance optimizationBenchmarkingTechnical designMentoringCollaborationAutonomous execution
Tech Stack:JavaJVMConcurrencyLock-freeFlamegraphsJMHRallyElasticsearchES|QLVector searchServerlessC++RustSIMD

Company Brief

Elastic
Builds the Elastic Stack (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, Logstash) and provides search, observability, and security solutions that enable organizations to search, analyze, and protect data in real time across applications, infrastructure, and enterprises.
Industry: Data Infrastructure
Company Size: Enterprise (1,001+ employees)
Revenue: USD 1B+
Growth: Public Company
Valuation: Public Company (Market Cap in USD)
Funding: IPO / Publicly Listed
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Founded: 2012
WebsiteLinkedIn