Senior Software Engineer, Vector Index Research

The role

This senior engineer will research, evaluate and build vector indexing and retrieval algorithms for Milvus, Zilliz Cloud and Vector Lakebase. The role mixes research with production engineering, focused on speed, recall and cost efficiency of similarity search.

What you will do

• 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, quantization and GPU acceleration
• Build high-performance vector indexing components, including index building, query paths and memory layout
• Optimize vector retrieval performance across latency, throughput, recall, memory usage and cost
• Design benchmarks and evaluation frameworks using real data scale and query patterns
• Debug complex performance issues across CPU/GPU execution, SIMD, memory access, concurrency and I/O
• Turn research prototypes into maintainable, testable, production-grade indexing capabilities
• Use AI tools across research and engineering workflow, including prototyping, testing and performance analysis

Required qualifications

• 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
• Strong interest in research-driven engineering: reading papers, evaluating tradeoffs, building prototypes
• Interest in using AI tools to improve research, coding, testing, benchmarking and documentation

Nice to have

• Experience with vector similarity search, ANN algorithms, index structures, quantization, compression or reranking
• Experience with performance optimization and systematic debugging, especially around CPU/GPU, SIMD, memory layout, concurrency or I/O

Benefits

• 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
• Unlimited PTO
• 401(k) with company match

Before you apply

• Zilliz is an Equal Opportunity Employer

About the company

Zilliz builds data infrastructure for AI, founded in 2017 by the creators of Milvus, an open-source vector database. Its products include Zilliz Cloud and Zilliz Vector Lakebase.