Sr. Manager, Engineering - Search

RDQ
426R193

At Databricks, we are passionate about enabling data teams to solve the world's toughest problems — from making the next mode of transportation a reality to accelerating the development of medical breakthroughs. We do this by building and running the world's best data and AI infrastructure platform so our customers can use deep data insights to improve their business.

Search plays a foundational role in this mission. Whether through keyword-based retrieval, semantic similarity vector embeddings, or approaches that combine both, our Search technologies help customers find, discover, and understand information across massive, complex datasets. These capabilities power everything from Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), AI assistants, and recommendation systems to enterprise knowledge management, in-product search, and data exploration.

As a Senior Staff Engineer for Search, you’ll play a critical role in building and scaling our next-generation Search product — spanning Vector Search, Keyword Search, and Search Quality. You’ll drive the design and evolution of a highly-performant, cost-efficient, and developer-friendly Search stack that enables customers to build AI applications with accuracy, speed, and scale. Beyond hands‑on contributions, you’ll help define the long-term vision, mentor senior engineers, collaborate across teams, and lead strategic efforts that expand the technical and business impact of Search at Databricks.

• Lead a team of talented software engineers to design, build, and operate the next‑generation cloud‑native Search services.
• Drive innovation across Vector Search, Keyword Search, and Hybrid Search capabilities to improve relevance, latency, and cost efficiency.
• Build a strong partnership with product and research teams to define the roadmap for Search Quality, including ranking models and evaluation frameworks.
• Manage and operate large‑scale, highly‑available services in the cloud.
• Grow and mentor engineers and emerging leaders through coaching, feedback, and development opportunities.
• Shape and execute the long‑term product and engineering strategy for Search.
• Partner cross‑functionally with teams across Databricks to ensure the Search platform serves as a core enabler for AI and data applications.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and empathy.

• 5+ years of experience in search, database systems, or AI/ML infrastructure.
• Proven track record of building and scaling highly‑available cloud services.
• Strong leadership experience — building, growing, and managing high-performing engineering teams.
• Experience defining and meeting SLOs for distributed, production‑grade systems.
• Solid understanding of search and indexing systems (e.g., Elasticsearch, Lucene, or vector databases).
• Familiarity with database internals or large‑scale data processing systems.
• BS in Computer Science (Masters or PhD Preferred).

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non‑commissionable roles or on‑target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job‑related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location.

Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

$222,000 – $300,000 USD

Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of…