Software Engineer 3, Atlas Vector Search

Join the Vector Search team and help build a cutting-edge vector database on top of MongoDB. Our team is responsible for the syntax and implementation of MongoDB's $vectorSearch aggregation, which enables approximate nearest neighbor queries over high-dimensional vectors.

We are a small team with a large and rapidly growing customer base, providing engineers an opportunity to make a highly-visible, broad impact. When scaling search to billions of vectors, performance is paramount. We're looking for engineers who enjoy solving complex and open-ended problems that directly impact users' performance.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA with a hybrid work model.

You would get to:

• Implement new features within MongoDB's $search and $vectorSearch aggregation operators


• Work cross-functionally with Product teams to define new query and index syntax


• Identify and address performance bottlenecks in filter queries and nearest neighbor search


• Have the opportunity to lead projects and own subsystems


• Perform code reviews with peers, review technical designs, and mentor junior developers

Ideally you will be:

• 3+ years of experience working on large-scale backend systems


• Experience writing high-performance applications in Java or another JVM language


• A growth mindset and the desire to learn quickly through taking on challenges, reflecting on outcomes, and incorporating feedback


• Passionate about optimization, code quality, and problem solving


• Bonus: experienced with Apache Lucene, vector databases, or high-throughput web services

Success Measures

• In 3 months you'll have a solid high-level understanding of what our team does and how we operate


• You'll have contributed to the development of an existing project and completed several small improvements or bug fixes


• In 6 months you'll be reviewing code and project designs, and be an active participant in team meetings


• In 12 months you'll have a thorough understanding of the systems our team owns and have led a small project. You'll have proposed small improvements to our code, product, or team processes

About MongoDB

MongoDB is built for change, empowering our customers and our people to innovate at the speed of the market. We have redefined the database for the AI era, enabling innovators to create, transform, and disrupt industries with software. MongoDB’s unified database platform—the most widely available, globally distributed database on the market—helps organizations modernize legacy workloads, embrace innovation, and unleash AI. Our cloud-native platform, MongoDB Atlas, is the only globally distributed, multi-cloud database and is available across AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

With offices worldwide and nearly 60,000 customers—including 75% of the Fortune 100 and AI-native startups—relying on MongoDB for their most important applications, we’re powering the next era of software.

Our compass at MongoDB is our Leadership Commitment, guiding how and why we make decisions, show up for each other, and win. It’s what makes us MongoDB. 

To drive the personal growth and business impact of our employees, we’re committed to developing a supportive and enriching culture for everyone. From employee affinity groups, to fertility assistance and a generous parental leave policy, we value our employees’ wellbeing and want to support them along every step of their professional and personal journeys. Learn more about what it’s like to work at MongoDB, and help us make an impact on the world!

MongoDB is committed to providing any necessary accommodations for individuals with disabilities within our application and interview process. To request an accommodation due to a disability, please inform your recruiter.

MongoDB, Inc. provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and makes all hiring decisions without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Req ID: 4263333188