Search Optimization Engineer

Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) – the leading destination for innovative management thinking. We reach lifelong learners to improve the practice of management in a changing world. This mission inspires each of us to unlock the leader in everyone – including you!

The opportunity:

Maintain and improve search and discovery across a portfolio of web and mobile applications that use Coveo for search functionality for finding written content and products. Transform search and discovery functionality with AI/ML for eCommerce platforms to increase conversion rates and optimize search engine results. 

What You’ll Do: 

• Lead search software system design, development, and delivery

• Monitor, support, and drive search tool performance and reliability

• Work with internal software engineers and vendors to debug and solve operational issues

• Collaborate with internal eCommerce teams (DevOps, Quality Analysis, Front and Backend Engineering, Data and Analytics) to address complex problems and improve processes

• Work with QA Engineering team to ensure that search functionality performance is optimized for load and data integrity is maintained

• Serve as subject matter expert (SME) for search and discovery of assets across the product catalog of assets and portfolio of web and mobile applications

• Convert business requirements into technical specifications and designs

• Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills

• Exhibit strong analytical, troubleshooting, and problem-solving skills

• Quickly grasp complex concepts and learn innovative technologies 

• Possess and maintain a deep knowledge of search functionality generally, Coveo search platform specifically. Understand best practices and industry trends across the search marketplace, with a focus on Coveo search SaaS

• Requirements Gathering:

• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather and analyze business requirements for content management systems

• Translate these requirements into technical specifications and design documents

• Synthesize a solution that takes into consideration the needs of the stakeholders with needs of the larger organization

• Participates in the development life cycle including analysis, writing technical specifications, development, deployment planning, and production support as an individual contributor and also overseeing vendor partners

• Provide essential, timely and valuable documents for design and architecture, e.g., system overviews, technical stack diagrams

• Considers multiple factors into decision making such as supportability, flexibility, cost and performance

• Forward looking, ensures decisions are in alignment with Software Engineer and Product Development goals

• Efficiently transition projects to support team, providing necessary background and documentation to insure thorough hand-off of responsibility for on-going support and maintenance

What you'll bring: 

• 5+ Years of experience in web application development, with expertise in backend programming languages (e.g., PHP, Python, Java) and modern web frameworks

• 2+ years of experience in search application implementations, Coveo, Algolia, Elasticsearch, or similar

• Strong understanding of content management principles, including content modeling, workflow management, and multichannel publishing

• Some understanding of accessibility standards and guidelines, such as WCAG 2.1

• Understanding of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning principals; experience integrating and leveraging AI/ML services

• Familiarity with databases and SQL, including database design and optimization

• Experience in integrating CMS platforms with external systems using APIs and web services      

• Understanding of web security principles and experience implementing security measures within CMS solutions

• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment

• Strong communication skills to effectively interact with stakeholders at various levels

• Experience with cloud computing platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud

• Experience with data warehouse methods and solutions such as Snowflake is helpful

What we offer:

As a mission-driven