Principal Software Engineer II

Elastic, the Search AI Company, enables everyone to find the answers they need in real time, using all their data, at scale — unleashing the potential of businesses and people. The Elastic Search AI Platform, used by more than 50% of the Fortune 500, brings together the precision of search and the intelligence of AI to enable everyone to accelerate the results that matter. By taking advantage of all structured and unstructured data — securing and protecting private information more effectively — Elastic’s complete, cloud-based solutions for search, security, and observability help organizations deliver on the promise of AI.

What is The Role

We are seeking a visionary and highly skilled Senior Principal Software Infrastructure Engineer to drive the architecture, design, and deployment of innovative infrastructure solutions that support scalable, secure, and reliable systems. As a key leader in our engineering team, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our software infrastructure, ensuring it meets the demands of cutting-edge technologies and business growth.

What You Will Be Doing

• Lead the design, implementation, and optimization of high-performance software infrastructure systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to define infrastructure requirements, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Develop and enforce best practices for software deployment, infrastructure automation, and system reliability.
• Build and maintain scalable systems to support cloud-native applications and hybrid environments.
• Identify and implement innovative solutions to improve system performance, security, and scalability.
• Guide and mentor engineering teams on infrastructure design principles and emerging technologies.
• Solve complex technical issues and drive root cause resolution to minimize downtime.
• Stay updated on the latest trends and advancements in infrastructure engineering and integrate relevant technologies into our systems.

What You Bring

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent work experience).
• Extensive experience (10+ years) in software infrastructure engineering, with a focus on scalability, reliability, and automation.
• Proven expertise in infrastructure-as-code tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible, CloudFormation) and container orchestration platforms (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).
• Deep understanding of cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, GCP) and hybrid infrastructure environments.
• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Go, or Java.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Exceptional problem-solving abilities and a proactive approach to taking on challenges.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and project management skills.

Compensation for this role is in the form of base salary.  This role does not have a variable compensation component.  

The typical starting salary range for new hires in this role is listed below.  In select locations (including Seattle WA, Los Angeles CA, the San Francisco Bay Area CA, and the New York City Metro Area), an alternate range may apply as specified below. 

These ranges represent the lowest to highest salary we reasonably and in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range, and the ranges may be modified in the future.  

An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Elastic believes that employees should have the opportunity to share in the value that we create together for our shareholders. Therefore, in addition to cash compensation, this role is currently eligible to participate in Elastic's stock program.  Our total rewards package also includes a company-matched 401k with dollar-for-dollar matching up to 6% of eligible earnings, along with a range of other benefits offered with a holistic emphasis on employee well-being.

The typical starting salary range for this role is:$199,700—$315,900 USDThe typical starting salary range for this role in the select locations listed above is:$239,800—$379,300 USD

Additional Information - We Take Care of Our People

As a distributed company, diversity drives our identity. Whether you’re looking to launch a new career or grow an existing one, Elastic is the type of company where y