Principal Software Engineer – Search Platform

Bass Pro Shops•Springfield, MO

59d•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking a person to work onsite at our corporate office in Springfield, MO as Principal Engineer/Technical Product Owner for our E-commerce/Enterprise Search Platform to drive the vision, strategy, architecture, development and execution of our internal search capabilities. This role requires a blend of hands-on engineering expertise, product thinking, and team leadership. You will lead the development and continual improvement of intelligent, high-performing, and personalized on-site search experience. This includes relevance tuning, machine learning applications, A/B testing, and close collaboration with engineering, product, UX, and merchandising teams.

Requirements

Minimum Degree Required: Bachelor's Degree
7+ years of software engineering or technical product roles, with 3+ years focused on search technologies
Proven track record with search engines such as Coveo (preferred), Elasticsearch, Solr, or OpenSearch.
Solid programming experience with languages such as Java, Python, or Scala.
Strong understanding of information retrieval, ranking algorithms, NLP, and machine learning.
Experience with retail search use cases including catalog data, taxonomy, merchandising strategies, and product discovery.
Excellent communication, project management, and leadership skills; ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
Experience working within microservices architectures or headless commerce environments.

Nice To Haves

Preferred Degree: Master's Degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field
Knowledge of data privacy, ethical AI, and regulations affecting personalized search is a plus.

Responsibilities

Strategic Ownership: Define and lead the roadmap for our e-commerce search and discovery platform, aligning with business goals and customer needs.
Cross-functional Leadership: Collaborate with Product Managers, Engineers, Data Scientists, UX Designers, and Merchandisers to shape a seamless and effective experience.
Search Optimization: Drive continuous improvement in search relevance, autocomplete, spelling correction, synonyms, and ranking algorithms.
Technical Leadership: Lead engineering efforts to build and optimize scalable, performant, and resilient search infrastructure using platforms like Coveo, Elasticsearch, OpenSearch, or Solr.
AI/ML Integration: Leverage AI/ML techniques and NLP for personalization, intent detection, and dynamic ranking to improve user engagement and conversion.
Performance & Analytics: Establish success metrics, conduct A/B testing, analyze search usage patterns, and iterate based on insights.
Platform Reliability: Ensure observability, fault tolerance, and scalability to handle peak traffic scenarios during high-demand retail periods.
Technology Evaluation: Assess and integrate third-party APIs and tools where they enhance the search experience or accelerate development.
Innovation: Stay ahead of trends in semantic search, vector search, headless commerce, and voice/text search innovations.

Benefits

Enjoy discounts on retail merchandise, our restaurants, world-class resorts and conservation attractions!
Medical
Dental
Vision
Health Savings Account
Flexible Spending Account
Voluntary benefits
401k Retirement Savings
Paid holidays
Paid vacation
Paid sick time
Bass Pro Cares Fund
And more!