Senior Software Engineer, Vector Index Research

Zilliz

Senior Software Engineer developing vector indexing and retrieval algorithms for AI applications at Zilliz. Focus on performance optimization and transforming research ideas into production systems.

Posted 6/23/2026full-timeRedwood City • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $175,000 - $250,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudRust

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Research, evaluate, and implement new vector indexing and retrieval algorithms for Milvus, Zilliz Cloud, and Vector Lakebase
Read papers and track emerging work in vector search, ANN algorithms, index structures, quantization, compression, reranking, GPU acceleration, and AI retrieval systems
Build high-performance vector indexing components, including index building, query paths, vector preprocessing, quantization, compression, memory layout, and CPU/GPU acceleration
Optimize vector retrieval performance across latency, throughput, recall, memory usage, index build time, and cost efficiency
Design benchmarks and evaluation frameworks to compare algorithms and implementations under real data scale, real query patterns, and real AI workloads
Debug and solve complex performance issues across algorithm implementation, CPU/GPU execution, SIMD/vectorization, memory access, concurrency, and I/O
Turn research prototypes into maintainable, testable, and evolvable production-grade indexing capabilities
Use AI tools across the research and engineering workflow, including paper analysis, prototype generation, code implementation, testing, benchmarking, documentation, and performance analysis

Requirements

What you’ll need

3+ years of experience in vector search, ANN algorithms, search systems, high-performance computing, or performance-critical systems
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
Strong C++ or Rust programming ability and solid engineering fundamentals
Experience with vector similarity search, ANN algorithms, index structures, quantization, compression, reranking, or high-performance retrieval systems is a strong plus
Strong interest in research-driven engineering: reading papers, evaluating tradeoffs, building prototypes, and turning ideas into production systems
Experience with performance optimization and systematic debugging is a strong plus, especially around CPU/GPU execution, SIMD, memory layout, concurrency, I/O, or large-scale data processing
Interest in using AI tools to improve research, coding, testing, benchmarking, documentation, and performance analysis

Benefits

Comp & perks

Competitive compensation (cash + equity)
Regular bonus and equity refresh opportunities
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Paid time off, including vacation, sick leave, and global reset/wellbeing days
Generous 401(k) and regional retirement plans

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

C++Rustvector searchANN algorithmshigh-performance computingperformance optimizationdebuggingquantizationcompressionSIMD

Soft Skills

research-driven engineeringproblem-solvinganalytical thinkingcollaborationcommunication

Certifications

Bachelor's degree in Computer ScienceBachelor's degree in Software Engineering