Senior Software Engineer - Search

Workiva is a company that provides an AI-powered platform designed to unify finance, risk, and sustainability for complex organizations. As a Senior Software Engineer on the Search Team, you will design and build backend services in Java integrated with OpenSearch, enabling advanced search capabilities and supporting generative AI initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and scale backend services in Java, integrated with OpenSearch
• Develop indexing strategies, schema mappings, and optimized query patterns for large datasets
• Support Workiva’s GenAI and RAG endpoints, enabling semantic and natural language search features
• Leverage AWS cloud infrastructure and Kafka event streaming for scalable systems
• Monitor, tune, and debug search infrastructure for performance, reliability, and accuracy
• Partner with cross-functional teams to deliver search-driven features that meet customer needs
• Provide mentorship through code reviews, technical guidance, and collaboration
• Lead well-scoped projects, define milestones, and improve team processes

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or a related technical field
• 2+ years of experience in software development or related field
• Proficiency in Java or another JVM language (e.g., Scala, Kotlin)
• Experience with search engines such as OpenSearch, Elasticsearch, or Solr
• Strong understanding of indexing, query optimization, and distributed search performance
• Hands-on experience designing and scaling backend services in a cloud environment (AWS preferred)
• Kafka or other event streaming experience
• Familiarity with semantic search, embeddings, or NLP techniques
• Exposure to AI/ML concepts, particularly around ranking or search relevance
• Strong collaboration and communication skills in a remote-first, video-driven culture