Search Engineer

Firecrawl

Search Engineer building systems enabling search indexing from the web. Developing efficient crawling and retrieval processes to support Firecrawl's growing product.

Posted 7/12/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $190,000 - $260,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in designing and building backend systems with a focus on performance, cost efficiency, and system correctness. Proven ability to own projects from conception to production, ensuring continuous improvement and iteration based on real-world metrics.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Backend System DevelopmentDistributed Systems ExperiencePerformance OptimizationProduction MonitoringProblem Ownership

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Crawling SystemsIndexing SystemsRetrieval SystemsLatency ReductionCost ManagementLLM-Driven RetrievalProduction DeploymentSystem DesignIteration in Production

Soft Skills

Ambiguity ManagementFast ExecutionIterative Improvement

Industry Keywords

Search SystemsInfrastructure SystemsReal Scale Operations

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Distributed Systems

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Design and build the crawling, indexing, and retrieval systems behind Firecrawl Search
Push down latency and cost per query while search volume grows
Improve ranking quality and freshness for LLM-driven retrieval
Own services end to end — design, ship, monitor, and iterate in production
Work directly with the Head of Search and the rest of the search team on the roadmap

Requirements

What you’ll need

3+ years building production backend or infra systems
You've built and operated backend or distributed systems at real scale
You care about latency, cost, and correctness in equal measure
You're comfortable owning ambiguous problems and turning them into shipped systems
You move fast and close the loop — you'd rather ship, measure, and iterate than perfect on paper
Visa: Must be authorized to work in the US or eligible remote-hire regions. We are not sponsoring visas at this time.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Salary that makes sense — $190,000–$260,000/year, based on impact, not tenure
Own a piece — Up to 0.05% equity in what you're helping build
Generous PTO — 15 days mandatory, anything after 24 days, just ask (holidays excluded); take the time you need to recharge
Parental leave — 12 weeks fully paid, for all parents
Wellness stipend — $100/month for the gym, therapy, massages, or whatever keeps you human
Learning & Development — Expense up to $1,000/year toward anything that helps you grow professionally
Team offsites — A change of scenery, minus the trust falls
Sabbatical — 3 paid months off after 4 years, do something fun and new
Full coverage, no red tape — Medical, dental, and vision (100% for employees, 50% for spouse/kids) — no weird loopholes, just care that works
Life & Disability insurance — Employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance — coverage for life's curveballs
Supplemental options — Optional accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and voluntary life insurance for extra peace of mind
Doctegrity telehealth — Talk to a doctor from your couch
401(k) plan — Retirement might be a ways off, but future-you will thank you
Pre-tax benefits — Access to FSAs and commuter benefits (US-only) to help your wallet out a bit
Pet insurance — Because fur babies are family too
SF HQ perks — Snacks, drinks, team lunches, intense ping pong, and peak startup energy
E-Bike transportation — A loaner electric bike to get you around the city, on us