## .**About the team:**The Search and AI Platform is Elsevier’s agentic data platform, which powers products such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, and our next-generation LLM-powered research systems.The platform uses agentic services to interrogate our rich knowledge graphs, search and recommendation systems, and our unparalleled collection of research data to deliver insights to the scientific community so they can collaborate more effectively, work smarter, and deliver quality research more quickly.We are looking for an experienced and forward-thinking Principal Software Engineer to provide technical leadership in the design, evolution, and operation of our search infrastructure, with a strong focus on Elasticsearch, lexical and semantic search, and scalable distributed systems**About the role:**The Search Platform Team is a core part of Elsevier’s Search and AI Platform, responsible for Elasticsearch cluster operations, index design, ranking, and content freshness across products such as Scopus and ScienceDirect, as well as next-generation AI-powered and LLM-augmented search systems.The team also owns the retrieval layer, which is currently REST-based and is evolving toward a GraphQL-based API.As a Principal Software Engineer, you will act as a technical authority and multiplier across teams, shaping search architecture, defining best practices, and ensuring our Elasticsearch-based platform is scalable, performant, and future-proof. You will work closely with product, data science, AI, and downstream consumer teams to enable high-quality lexical, vector, and hybrid search experiences..**Key responsibilities:*** Provide technical leadership and architectural direction for large-scale search systems built on Elasticsearch* Drive performance optimization and scalability across search indices, queries, and retrieval services* Ensure search systems meet security, compliance, and data governance requirements appropriate for a global research platform.* Oversee deployment and scaling strategies on Kubernetes (EKS), ensuring resilience, observability, and high availability.* Champion clean code, SOLID principles, and engineering best practices, setting standards and mentoring engineers.* Collaborate with product managers, data scientists, and other engineering teams to deliver advanced search and recommendation features.* Ensure robust monitoring and logging with New Relic and ELK, driving reliability and performance.**Requirements:*** Proven experience as a Software Engineering Lead / Tech Lead / Principal working on search platforms or large-scale distributed systems.* Strong expertise in Java and the Spring Boot ecosystem.* Deep hands-on expertise with Elasticsearch, including index design, relevance tuning, and performance optimization.* An advocate of best practices for rapid development of quality software, including clean code, architectural design patterns, CI/CD* Solid background in cloud-native architectures with AWS and Kubernetes (EKS).* Comfortable learning new technologies, languages, and tools on the job, to ensure that the product is not left behind in a rapidly evolving ecosystem* Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a track record of mentoring and guiding teams.* An inclusive, positive, collaborative mindset and a desire to deliver real business value to our customers**Nice to have -*** Experience migrating APIs from REST to GraphQL at scale.* Knowledge of cost optimization for large Elasticsearch clusters.* Experience using Python for search tooling, data analysis, or supporting services.* Experience with semantic or vector-based search systems, including embeddings and hybrid lexical–semantic retrieval approaches* Familiarity with search platforms or AI-driven discovery systems.Join our team and contribute to a culture of innovation, collaboration, and excellence. If you are ready to advance your career and make a significant impact, we encourage you to apply.**Work in a way that works for you** We promote a healthy work/life balance across the organization. We offer an appealing working prospect for our people. With numerous wellbeing initiatives, shared parental leave, study assistance, and sabbaticals, we will help you meet your immediate responsibilities and your long-term goals.* Working flexible hours - flexing the times when you work in the day to help you fit everything in and work when you are the most productive.**Working for you**We know that your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. These are some of the benefits we are delighted to offer:* Comprehensive Pension Plan* Home, office, or commuting allowance.* Generous vacation entitlement and option for sabbatical leave* Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, and Family Care leave* Flexible working hours* Personal Choice budget* Internal communities and networks* Various employee discounts* Recruitment introduction reward* Employee Assistance Program (global)**About the business –**A global leader in information and analytics, we help researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. Building on our publishing heritage, we combine quality information and vast data sets with analytics to support visionary science and research, health education, and interactive learning, as well as exceptional healthcare and clinical practice. At Elsevier, your work contributes to the world’s grand challenges and a more sustainable future. We harness innovative technologies to support science and healthcare to partner for a better world.**We know your well-being and happiness are key to a long and successful career. We are delighted to offer country specific benefits. Click** **to access benefits specific to your location.**We are committed to providing a fair and accessible hiring process. If you have a disability or other need that requires accommodation or adjustment, please let us know by completing our or please contact 1-855-833-5120.**Criminals may pose as recruiters asking for money or personal information. We never request money or banking details from job applicants. Learn more about spotting and avoiding scams** **.**Please read our .We are an equal opportunity employer: qualified applicants are considered for and treated during employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, citizenship status, disability status, protected veteran status, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.***USA Job Seekers:***. **Principal Software Engineer- Search Engineer**Elsevier is a global leader in advanced information and decision support for science and healthcare. We believe that by working together with the communities we serve, we can shape human progress to go further, happen faster, and benefit all.We support continuous discovery and uphold the highest standards of content integrity, reliability, and reproducibility so the communities we serve can advance their field of science, healthcare or innovation with confidence. By combining high-quality content with powerful analytics, we transform complexity into clarity and deliver mission-critical insights that help professionals make better decisions when it matters most.We deliver insights that help research institutions, governments, and funders achieve their goals. We help researchers discover and share knowledge, collaborate, and accelerate innovation. We help librarians provide verified, quality information to universities. We help innovators turn knowledge into new products. We help health professionals improve patient care and educators train the next generation of doctors and nurses. Connecting quality content and innovative technologies, we make progress go further and happen faster. And by #J-18808-Ljbffr