Staff Software Engineer, Code Search & Retrieval

📋 Description

• Own the architecture of Mercor's code search and retrieval systems end to end—hybrid retrieval
• Solve the hard problem of identifying similar code tasks—retrieval that captures code structure
• Build the system that identifies and selects the correct code-specific models for a given task, and
• Design natural-language-to-query translation that turns NLP questions into precise search over code
• Design and operate the indexing pipeline so the task index stays fresh and consistent as new tasks

🎯 Requirements

• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including 3+ years operating at a Senior
• Deep, hands-on expertise building search and retrieval systems: dense-embedding retrieval, lexical
• Strong understanding of the search algorithms and index internals—vector/ANN indices (e.g. HNSW
• A track record of making the right cost-vs-speed tradeoffs: latency budgets, throughput, memory
• Familiarity translating natural-language questions into structured search queries (query
• Excellent systems fundamentals: distributed systems, data modeling, and API design at scale.

🎁 Benefits

• Generous equity grant vested over 4 years
• Up to $15K relocation bonus (if moving to the Bay Area)
• A $10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office)
• A $1.5K monthly stipend for meals
• Free Equinox membership
• Health insurance