Lead Search Engineer

Job Description

Lead Search Engineer

212 W 2nd St, Winona, MN 55987

HEADD

Full-time Shift(s): MON TUE WED THU FRI 8:00am - 5:00pm

OVERVIEW:

We are seeking a passionate and experienced Full-time Lead Search Engineer to join our growing engineering team. In this role, you will lead the development of intelligent, high-performance search solutions leveraging Elasticsearch and Microsoft Azure to power mission-critical enterprise applications. This is a hands-on role where your architectural vision, code quality, and mentorship will shape the future of our search platform.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The duties and responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:

o Architecting and implementing scalable, resilient enterprise search systems using Elasticsearch, Azure, and related technologies

o Leading and mentoring a team of search engineers, promoting a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning

o Designing and maintaining high-performance indexing and retrieval pipelines for structured, unstructured, and vector-based search

o Collaborating with cross-functional teams including Product, Data Science, UX, and DevOps to deliver intelligent search experiences

o Integrating AI/ML models and LLMs (Large Language Models) for semantic understanding and personalized search

o Optimizing search relevance, ranking algorithms, and query understanding using A/B testing and analytics

o Ensuring observability, reliability, and performance of search infrastructure through proactive monitoring and tuning

o Staying current with advancements in information retrieval, vector databases, NLP, and cloud-native search technologies

REQUIRED POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:

The following skills and qualifications are required for this position:

o Possess a bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, OR equivalent experience

o Possess at least 5 years of experience in backend development, search engineering, or data infrastructure

o Proficient with Search Engines like Elasticsearch, Lucene, OpenSearch or similar search engines

o Strong programming skills in Java or Python or PHP, with a solid understanding of software engineering principles.

o Experience with cloud platforms

o Demonstrate ability to lead complex technical projects and mentor engineers

o Excellent written and verbal communication skills

o Demonstrate our core values of ambition, innovation, integrity and teamwork

o Pass the required drug screen and background check (applicable in the US, Puerto Rico and Guam ONLY)

PREFERRED POSITION QUALIFICATIONS:

o Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) or equivalent research experience in Information Retrieval, Machine Learning, or NLP

o Experience with vector search, hybrid search systems, or semantic embedding techniques

o Familiarity with AI/ML-based search augmentation (e.g., RAG, Azure OpenAI, Cohere)

o Understand distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architecture

o Experience with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and Infrastructure as Code (e.g., Terraform, Bicep), Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP)

o Proficiency with monitoring tools such as Grafana, Prometheus, or Azure Monitor

o Possess a background in recommender systems, knowledge graphs, or multilingual search

ABOUT US:

Since 1967 Fastenal has grown as a distributor of industrial and construction supplies from a single branch to a Fortune 500 company with over 3,000 servicing locations, each providing tailored local inventory and personal service for our customers. As we've expanded across the world, we've retained a core belief in people and their ability to accomplish remarkable things - if given the opportunity. From this philosophy stems an entrepreneurial culture that challenges every employee to run their own business, create their own success, and advance to become company leaders.

As a growth company with a solid financial position, we are committed to training, promoting from within, and creating opportunities for our employees. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit and are looking to make your mark as part of an elite growth company, you won't find a better fit than Fastenal.

FULL-TIME BENEFITS:

Fastenal offers a competitive benefits package to all full-time employees. This package includes Health, Life, Long Term Disability, and Dental Insurance, in addition to, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, and 401(k) with an employer contribution.

COMPENSATION:

The pay range for this position is $100,000 - 120,000.