Senior Search Engineer - Search and Browse Core (All genders)

About the role

As a Senior Search Engineer at Zalando, you will be integral to the Search Retrieval Team, which is responsible for connecting millions of customers with products and content. Your work will involve tackling complex problems related to distributed systems and enhancing the search experience for users across multiple markets.

You will lead the design of a next-generation search engine, utilizing technologies like Elasticsearch, Kafka, and Flink. The role emphasizes building scalable solutions and driving operational excellence, which includes modernizing data ingestion systems and improving platform capabilities for personalized discovery.

The salary range for this role is between $90,000 and $135,000, depending on experience.

Skills that matter here

• Elasticsearch: You will architect an AI-driven search engine on top of the Elasticsearch platform.
• Kafka: Experience with Kafka is essential for modernizing real-time data ingestion systems.
• Flink: You will use Flink to handle high-throughput data pipelines.
• Java: Proficiency in Java is required for backend development and system architecture.
• Kotlin: Kotlin is one of the JVM languages you may use for building backend services.
• Scala: Scala is another JVM language relevant for the backend development in this role.

Who this role suits

• You have a strong background in building large-scale search engines, preferably in e-commerce.
• You are skilled in designing high-throughput data ingestion pipelines and have experience with stream-processing frameworks.
• You excel in collaborative environments and can effectively communicate complex technical concepts to diverse teams.
• You have a deep understanding of distributed systems architecture and are focused on performance optimization.

From the employer

As a Senior Search Engineer, you will be at the heart of our mission, tackling complex distributed systems problems at hyperscale. You will:

• Architect the Future of Search: Lead the design and implementation of our next-generation, AI-driven search engine, integrating Neural Search on top of our Elasticsearch platform.
• Build for Hyperscale: Modernize and scale our real-time data ingestion systems using technologies like Kafka and Flink to handle millions of updates.
• Drive Platform Innovation: Develop core platform capabilities that enable teams across Zalando to build rich, personalized discovery experiences for our customers.
• Drive Operational Excellence and Cost Efficiency: Lead platform-wide infrastructure projects, such as consolidating multi-lingual search indices, mitigating critical risks by migrating core services, and supporting system readiness for high-traffic events like Cyber Week.

WE’D LOVE TO MEET YOU IF:

• Deep Search Expertise: Extensive experience building large-scale, preferably e-commerce, search engines. While our stack is built on Elasticsearch, we highly value equivalent expertise in Lucene, OpenSearch, Solr, or other distributed search systems.
• Real-Time Data Pipeline Experience: Proven ability to design and build high-throughput data ingestion pipelines using Kafka and/or Flink or equivalent stream-processing frameworks.
• Strong Backend Foundation: High proficiency in a JVM language (Java, Kotlin, or Scala) and a deep understanding of distributed systems architecture, concurrency, and performance optimization.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Excellent communication skills. You thrive when working closely with fellow engineers, applied scientists, and product partners, and you possess a knack for translating complex product requirements into reusable, reliable platform capabilities.

OUR OFFER:

Zalando provides a range of benefits, here’s an overview of what you can expect. Ask your Talent Acquisition Partner to learn more about what we offer.

• Employee shares program
• 40% off fashion and beauty products sold and shipped by Zalando, 30% off Zalando Lounge, discounts from external partners
• 2 paid volunteering days a year
• 27 days of vacation a year (for Zalando SE)
• Relocation assistance available (subject to prior agreement)
• Family services, including counseling and support
• Health and wellbeing options (including Gympass)
• Mental health support and coaching available