We are seeking a Senior Engineer with deep expertise in Apache Solr to design, build, and optimize scalable search solutions. This role focuses on improving search performance, relevancy, and indexing pipelines in a cloud-based environment. You will own search relevance across both traditional keyword-based and modern semantic (vector-based) retrieval.
Responsibilities
• Design, build, and maintain Solr-based search platforms
• Optimize search relevancy, ranking, and query performance
• Build and manage indexing pipelines for large datasets
• Deploy and operate services in AWS
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on search and recommendation features
• Explore and implement ML-driven enhancements for search
• Define and implement hybrid search strategies combining keyword and vector-based retrieval
• Build and operate vector search pipelines within Solr/Lucene
• Measure and improve search relevance using evaluation metrics and experimentation
• Maintain Solr in production (SolrCloud), including collections, sharding, replication, and scaling
• Establish monitoring, SLOs, runbooks, and participate in incident response and root cause analysis
Requirements
• Strong experience with Apache Solr and backend development (Java or similar)
• Experience working with AWS
• Solid understanding of search architecture, indexing, and performance optimization
• Experience designing and tuning search relevance strategies
• Hands-on experience with SolrCloud in production environments
• Familiarity with vector search and modern retrieval techniques
Nice to have
• Experience with machine learning in search or recommendation systems
• Familiarity with Elasticsearch or OpenSearch
• Experience with distributed systems and large-scale data processing
• Exposure to embedding-based retrieval and approximate nearest neighbor (ANN) algorithms
• Experience with re-ranking or learning-to-rank approaches
EPAM is a leading global provider of digital platform engineering and development services. We are committed to having a positive impact on our clients, our employees, and our communities. We embrace a dynamic and inclusive culture. Here you will collaborate with multi-national teams, contribute to a myriad of innovative projects that deliver the most creative and cutting-edge solutions, and have an opportunity to continuously learn and grow. No matter where you are located, you will join a dedicated, creative, and diverse community that will help you discover your fullest potential.