Senior AI Search engineer
About this role
Designing and implementing search functionalities in a PaaS ecommerce Scala backend forms the core daily work for this position on the Discovery Team. Engineering the retrieval layer behind product discovery for demanding global commerce brands involves handling semantic and hybrid retrieval, query understanding, vector indexes, and query cost optimization. Commercial search is evolving as shoppers type full sentences and AI agents call APIs directly.
Commercetools powers the next era of commerce through flexible architecture and AI-driven solutions. Engineers in this position collaborate across the stack, partnering with Product Management and DevOps while participating in worldwide distributed on-call rotations. Someone who thrives in a collaborative, problem-solving environment and enjoys tackling complex technical challenges will find a strong fit here.
What you will do
- Design and implement search functionalities within a PaaS ecommerce Scala backend architecture.
- Develop solutions for a scalable and multi-tenant environment.
- Analyze user needs and evaluate different technical approaches with team members.
- Test software components for usability, functionality, and performance.
- Collaborate closely with Product Management and DevOps teams during development cycles.
- Participate in on-call rotations with a worldwide distributed team to support production systems.
What you need
- Bring at least five years of professional experience as a software engineer working specifically in search.
- Demonstrate hands-on experience building search solutions on top of engines such as Elasticsearch, Solr, OpenSearch, or similar technologies.
- Maintain fluency in English with strong communication skills for working in international teams.
- Show an aspiration to constantly improve technical knowledge and learn new concepts.
- Possess a genuine curiosity for using AI tools to work smarter and apply them effectively in the role.
Nice to have
- Experience using modern search stacks and strategies to optimize search relevance including Vector and Hybrid Search, Learning to rank, and Re-ranker.
- Experience developing REST APIs and knowledge of scalable event-driven architectures such as queues, notification topics, sharding, replication, load balancing, and failover.
- Experience working with Scala or other functional programming languages.
- Experience with infrastructure work and technologies including Helm, Kubernetes, and Rust.
Benefits
- Comprehensive health benefits for employees and dependents including access to OpenUp for personalized mental health support.
- Learning and development opportunities including an annual learning budget, self-paced learning platforms, language training, coaching, mentorship, and leadership programs.
- Family Leave Plus providing additional fully paid weeks of parental leave on top of government-provided leave.
- Equity participation program allowing employees to share in the company's success.
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote and office work policy?
This role is hybrid, requiring three days a week spent in the Munich, Berlin, London, or Valencia office.
What kind of search experience is required?
Candidates must have five or more years of experience as a software engineer working in search, with background in engines like Elasticsearch, Solr, or OpenSearch.
Will this role participate in on-call support?
Yes, team members take part in on-call rotations with a worldwide distributed team for production systems.
What benefits are included with the position?
Comprehensive health benefits with mental health support, learning and development budgets, family leave plus for parental time off, and an equity participation program are provided.