Software Engineer, Search Infrastructure

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join:

Airbnb is a mission-driven company dedicated to helping create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. It takes a unified team committed to our core values to achieve this goal. Airbnb's various functions embody the company's innovative spirit and our fast-moving team is committed to leading as a 21st-century company.

Search is at the core of the Airbnb marketplace that connects our guests and hosts. It helps guests find the best homes and experiences to fit their needs and wants. We collaborate with cross-functional partners to revolutionize the Airbnb search experience and advance Airbnb's mission to help anyone feel like they can belong anywhere.

The Difference You Will Make:

• Contribute to strengthening Airbnb’s OpenSearch ecosystem by actively participating in development, innovation, and upkeep.
• Build systems that drive reliability, performance, and cost-efficiency in our OpenSearch infrastructure.
• Develop tooling that enhances the developer experience for all OpenSearch users at Airbnb.
• Collaborate and share improvements with the OpenSearch open source community.

A Typical Day:

• Participate in design workshops focused on shaping the future of Airbnb’s search platform.
• Dedicate significant focus time to building and improving tooling for ElasticSearch/OpenSearch upgrades, using state-of-the-art language models as powerful engineering aides.
• Engage in 1:1 mentoring sessions with experienced staff engineers to develop technical and professional skills.
• Connect with team members and partners during in-person gatherings to align on goals and foster collaboration.

Your Expertise:

• Proficiency with Java for building scalable, maintainable systems
• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 4+ years of industry experience with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. No prior industry experience required for candidates with a PhD.
• Familiarity with ElasticSearch or OpenSearch is a plus.
• Strong communication skills with a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across teams and stakeholders.
• Fluency in English (reading, writing, and speaking) is essential.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.