Principal Engineer, OpenSearch

Amazon • Bellevue, WA

3d

About The Position

We are seeking a Principal Engineer to build the next generation of OpenSearch's
Search Engine based on Lucene. You will architect and build the next generation
Search engine with focus on nextgen Lucene capabilities in core search and
vector search. This role requires modernizing the Search engine to enable
performant query processing for high scale semantic search workloads and
liaising with Lucene innovations for search processing and search relevance.

OpenSearch is a community-driven, Apache 2.0-licensed open source search and
analytics suite based on Apache Lucene. Since launching in July 2021, we have
released multiple major and minor versions with innovations in core search
capabilities. Our next phase focuses on transforming the query engine
architecture to meet the evolving needs of customers running search and
analytics workloads.

Requirements

• 10+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Experience in partnering with product and program management teams
• Experience developing and executing a software roadmap
• Deep hands-on technical expertise in software design and development
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in Java, C++, RUST, or similar systems programming languages

Nice To Haves

• Master’s in Computer Science or related field
• Experience as a contributor to open source software
• Experience with query engines and complex distributed systems
• Experience working on the search stack with Elasticsearch, Lucene or Solr
• Proven experience building query engines that support SQL, NoSQL, or domain-specific query languages
• Deep understanding of data structures, algorithms, and optimization techniques for query execution
• Knowledge of streaming architectures and high-performance messaging protocols (e.g., gRPC, Apache Kafka, Apache Arrow)
• Ability to influence technical decisions across organizational boundaries
• Success mentoring senior engineers and elevating team technical capabilities

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership: Define the technical vision and roadmap for the next generation query engine. Make architectural decisions that balance performance, cost efficiency, and extensibility across multiple data formats and execution engines.
• Hands-On Development: Write code and design systems that process queries across federated data sources. Build messaging and streaming protocols optimized for high-throughput data transfer. Contribute to the Apache Lucene-based search infrastructure.
• Community Engagement: Collaborate with the OpenSearch open source community to gather requirements, review contributions, and ensure we build solutions that address real customer problems. Engage with AWS customers to understand their search and analytics workloads.
• Team Development: Mentor engineers on distributed systems design, query optimization, and open source development practices. Elevate the technical capabilities of the team through code reviews, design reviews, and knowledge sharing.
• Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner with teams across AWS to integrate OpenSearch query capabilities into broader data and analytics solutions. Work with product teams to translate customer needs into technical requirements.

Benefits

• health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
• 401(k) matching
• paid time off
• parental leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal