[Remote] Staff Software Engineer, Search Platform (Remote)

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. ezCater is the #1 food tech platform for workplaces in the US, providing solutions for managing food needs. They are seeking a Staff Software Engineer for the Search team to take ownership of the Search Platform, including the Search Engine and Indexing Pipeline, while leading technical direction and collaboration across teams.ResponsibilitiesOwn the Search Engine architecture: technology direction (Vespa-based), document schema, query serving, and operational modelOwn and build the Indexing Pipeline: Temporal-orchestrated workflows that ingest, validate, transform, and write data into the search engine and availability storeOwn Availability: zone-based delivery filtering, schedule matching, and the data model that powers it- extracted from the legacy monolith and re-implementedOwn the Two-Stage Filtering Architecture: zone-based availability filtering followed by Vespa filtering and rankingDrive search relevance and ranking strategy across ordering contexts and customer types, in collaboration with product and dataDefine clear, well-versioned APIs and contracts for how search and availability are consumed across all channelsManage migration sequencing and risk across the phased rollout (Typeahead, Availability, Core Search)Build a measurement and experimentation foundation supporting full-funnel evaluation, from CTR through order fulfillmentLead through collaborative design: white-boarding, technical discussions, and aligning teams around clear architectural decisionsPartner with Platform Engineering on shared service patterns, Temporal, observability, secrets, and CI/CDPartner with product, data, and downstream consumers on relevance, ranking signals, and API contractsAct as a technical multiplier through design reviews, code reviews, architectural guidance, and mentorshipSkills8+ years of professional software engineering experienceDeep experience designing, building, and tuning search engines (Elasticsearch, Solr, OpenSearch, Vespa, or equivalent); experience leading a major search re-architecture or building from scratch is strongly preferred; Vespa experience is a significant plusStrong proficiency in Go, or a willingness to adopt it as a primary languageExperience with real-time data pipelines (Kafka, event streaming) for search indexingStrong instincts for relevance and ranking, with the ability to translate product goals into ranking signals and evaluate them with dataExcellent written and verbal communication around collaborative system design and technical decision-makingA pragmatic, collaborative mindset with strong ownership and systems thinkingExperience with workflow orchestration (Temporal, Airflow, or equivalent) is a plusFamiliarity with geospatial systems and spatial filtering is a plusBenefitsMarket competitive salaryStock options that you’ll help make worth a lot12 paid holidaysFlexible PTO401K with ezCater matchHealth/dental/FSALong-term disability insuranceMental health and family planning resourcesRemote-hybrid work from our awesome Boston office OR your home OR a mixture of both home and officeA tremendous amount of responsibility and autonomyWicked awesome co-workersEmployee meal program (and many more goodies) when you’re in our officeCompany OverviewEzCater is an online catering marketplace that allows individuals to order food from local caterers. It was founded in 2007, and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with a workforce of 501-1000 employees. Its website is http://www.ezcater.com.