Lead Software Engineer (Search/AI)

TL;DR

Lead Software Engineer (Search/AI): Architecting and scaling a foundational semantic search platform using OpenSearch with an accent on hybrid retrieval (BM25 + vector) and high-throughput data pipelines. Focus on optimizing search relevance, integrating neural search models, and ensuring system reliability under massive concurrent traffic.

Location: Must be based in or willing to relocate to the Austin, TX area; hybrid role requiring 3 days per week in the office.

Salary: $163,000 - $244,000

Company

hirify.global is a commerce technology company that empowers businesses to grow through an open, AI-driven ecosystem.

What you will do

• Lead the design and implementation of hybrid semantic search capabilities using OpenSearch.
• Benchmark and fine-tune ranking models, k-NN, and neural search configurations.
• Maintain and scale core indexing pipelines using MySQL, Kafka/RabbitMQ, and microservices.
• Establish engineering best practices and mentor senior and mid-level team members.
• Ensure platform performance, low latency, and high availability under heavy load.

Requirements

• 7+ years of professional software development experience in a technical leadership or staff capacity.
• Deep expertise in OpenSearch or Elasticsearch at scale.
• Proven experience implementing semantic search, vector databases, and hybrid scoring models.
• Strong proficiency in a strongly typed language like Go, Scala, or Java.
• Experience with relational databases and distributed messaging tools.
• Must be based in or willing to relocate to the Austin, TX area.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with OpenSearch Neural Search plugin and Learning to Rank (LTR).
• Experience migrating large-scale search infrastructure.
• Knowledge of automated search quality measurement frameworks (NDCG, MRR).
• Experience with Docker and Kubernetes in cloud environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Hybrid work model balancing individual focus with in-person collaboration.
• Commitment to equitable pay practices and internal equity.
• Inclusive and accessible work environment.
• Opportunities to work on foundational AI-driven commerce infrastructure.