Senior Software Engineer, Semantic Search

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Office: New York, NY

Department: Software Engineering

Job Description

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The mission of The New York Times is to seek the truth and help people understand the world. That means independent journalism is at the heart of all we do as a company. It’s why we have a world-renowned newsroom that sends journalists to report on the ground from nearly 160 countries. It’s why we focus deeply on how our readers will experience our journalism, from print to audio to a world-class digital and app destination. And it’s why our business strategy centers on making journalism so good that it’s worth paying for.

About The Role

The Search team at the New York Times is responsible not just for helping our readers find the journalism they're looking for—we're transforming search into an experience that helps them explore the full range of what we have to offer. You'll collaborate with a team that includes product, design, data, and editorial partners to harness advancements in AI and help transform our millions of queries each day into opportunities for discovery. You will report to the Engineering Manager of Search & Personalization.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and optimization of semantic search algorithms and systems using technologies such as Elastic/OpenSearch/Solr.
• Apply machine learning techniques, including classification and ranking models, to fine-tune search relevance.
• Draw on your experience with Kubernetes and Kafka to build scalable and resilient search infrastructure.
• Contribute to the exploration and integration of Retrieval-Augmented Generation and Large Language Models into search experiences.
• Demonstrate support and understanding of our value of journalistic independence and a commitment to our mission to seek the truth and help people understand the world.
  
  

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in search engineering, information retrieval, or related field.
• 3+ years experience with Elastic, OpenSearch, Vespa, Solr or any other open source search engines.
• 3+ years of experience programming backend applications using Java, Go, or Clojure.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Kafka/PubSub for building distributed systems and event-based architectures.
• Experience with Kubernetes for deploying and managing search infrastructure.
  
  

This role may require limited on-call hours. An on-call schedule will be determined when you join, taking into account team size and other variables.

REQ-018816

The annual base pay range for this role is between:

$140,000—$155,000 USD

The New York Times Company is committed to being the world’s best source of independent, reliable and quality journalism. To do so, we embrace a diverse workforce that has a broad range of backgrounds and experiences across our ranks, at all levels of the organization. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s Know Your Rights Poster is available here.

The New York Times Company will provide reasonable accommodations as required by applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. Individuals seeking an accommodation for the application or interview process should email [email protected]. Emails sent for unrelated issues, such as following up on an application, will not receive a response.

The Company encourages those with criminal histories to apply, and will consider their applications in a manner consistent with applicable "Fair Chance" laws, including but not limited to the NYC Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act.

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