Senior Search Engineer - Application Team
Degreed
Degreed is the upskilling platform that fuels growth and innovation through lifelong learning. We bring together everything you need to learn and advance—LMSs, courses, videos, articles, projects, and real-world skill insights—and match you with opportunities that align with your skills, role, and goals.
For businesses, Degreed helps build a culture of learning that attracts, develops, and retains top talent—driving both individual and company success.
We believe learning is the key to unlocking opportunities. Our mission is to discover, empower, and celebrate the next generation of global expertise.
Join us in shaping the future of learning and workforce development.
We are seeking a Senior Search Engineer with deep expertise in the search domain to join the Search team of Degreed’s Learning Experience Platform (LXP). In this role, you will design, implement, and optimize scalable, high-performance search systems, ensuring accuracy, relevance, contextual awareness, and low-latency performance. Your expertise will drive robust integrations that enhance the search experience across different Degreed verticals.
This is an opportunity to make a significant impact on our product and users by shaping the search experience and driving continuous innovation.
Key Skills
- Hands-on experience designing, building, and optimizing search systems — a core requirement for this role.
- Founder mentality — demonstrating ownership, accountability, and a focus on delivering impact.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience with Elasticsearch; 8+ years of overall engineering experience.
- Proven ability to build search systems optimized for performance, contextual understanding, and sub-100ms latency at scale.
- Experience working with graph databases, particularly for semantic search capabilities.
- Familiarity with cloud platforms (e.g., AWS, GCP, or Azure), and experience designing scalable, cloud-native architectures.
- Strong experience with database technologies like PostgreSQL or MongoDB to support search infrastructure.
- Experience in ML model tuning or NLP is a plus, especially for contextual and semantic search use cases.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and define the technical roadmap for search systems, ensuring the platform evolves to meet future requirements while staying ahead of industry trends.
- Lead the design and architecture of new search features and enhancements to existing functionality — including relevance tuning, indexing pipelines, and query optimization — ensuring scalability and performance.
- Mentor and guide the engineering team on best practices in search development, infrastructure, and optimization techniques.
- Own end-to-end implementation of new features and improvements to existing ones, including query optimization, relevance tuning, indexing pipelines, enhancements to word embedding models, and search boosting.
- Analyze complex search logs and user behavior data to identify patterns, refine algorithms, and drive innovative improvements to the search experience.
- Drive research and develop proof-of-concepts to explore advanced search capabilities — including semantic search, personalization, and Natural Language Processing (NLP).
- Ensure compliance with data privacy regulations and maintain a secure, compliant search infrastructure.
- Collaborate with Product Managers, Data Scientists, and Engineering Managers to align technical strategy with business goals.
What Sets You Apart
- Experience solving complex, scalable search problems for enterprise products with globally distributed customers (including in the EU).
- Hands-on, end-to-end experience across backend, ML, and DevOps in search implementations.
- Start-up experience or a strong ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
- Contributions to open-source search projects or related technologies.
Compensation
Benefits
We take care of our people with a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your well-being, growth, and success.
View the full details here: https://px.sequoia.com/globalcompanybenefits
At Degreed, We Value
🌍 Diversity & Inclusion – We celebrate diverse perspectives and backgrounds, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute.
📈 Growth Mindset – Learning is at the heart of what we do. We empower our employees to continuously develop their skills and grow their careers in alignment with their unique strengths and aspirations.
🤝 Collaboration – The best ideas come from working together. We cultivate a culture of open communication, teamwork, and shared success.
By joining Degreed, you’ll be part of a community that values learning, collaboration, and meaningful impact. If you’re passionate about driving change through upskilling and workforce transformation, we encourage you to apply and contribute to our mission.
Work Environment & Physical Demands
Degreed offers flexible work arrangements tailored to each role. Some positions are fully remote, while others follow a hybrid model for employees near an office. Please check the job details for role-specific requirements.
For remote and hybrid roles, you’ll collaborate virtually using tools like Zoom and Slack. This role may require prolonged computer use and stationary work, with the ability to interpret written and verbal communication effectively.
We are committed to creating an inclusive and adaptable work environment that enables every team member to thrive and do their best work.
Additional Information
Degreed is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, career development, compensation, and training.
💡 Accessibility & Accommodations
We are dedicated to full inclusion and will provide reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities throughout the hiring process. If you need assistance, please let us know.
🔍 Fair Hiring Practices
In compliance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
📄 E-Verify Participation
Degreed participates in the E-Verify employment verification program.
Global Data Privacy Notice for Job Candidates & Applicants
If you are applying from certain locations, your data may be processed in accordance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
For more details on how we process applicant data, please review our Global Data Privacy Notice for:
https://explore.degreed.com/privacy/
https://degreed.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409131149458-General-Data-Protection-Regulation-GDPR-Degreed-Update
By submitting your application, you acknowledge and agree to our use and processing of your data in compliance with applicable laws.
Fraudulent Recruitment Warning 🚨
Beware of fraudulent recruitment scams using the Degreed name. Scammers may impersonate our company, website, or hiring team.
⚠️ Degreed will never:
❌ Conduct recruitment via WhatsApp, Telegram, or direct-messaging platforms.
❌ Request sensitive personal or financial information in unsolicited communications.
❌ Offer jobs requiring upfront payments or promising unrealistic returns.
✅ Official Degreed communications will always come from a @degreed.com email address or phone number during the hiring process.
If you encounter suspicious activity, please report it immediately. Stay vigilant and protect yourself from fraud.