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Search Engineer Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Ardent Principles, Inc.

Software Engineer

Chantilly, VA · On-site

$130K - $260K/yr

Software Engineer Department: Data Analysis and Technology Services Employment Type: Full Time ... Building or integrating LLM-based solutions including RAG, semantic search or AI-assisted retrieval ...

LOGC2

AI/ML Engineer - ACG / AEA

Springfield, VA · On-site

$155K - $165K/yr

Ideally, the engineer should have prior successes building and deploying RAG + ML services in ... Develop ML models and supporting services for classification, clustering, similarity search, and ...

Tror AI for everyone

ELK / ESS Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

ELK / ESS Engineer Job Location: McLean, VA (100% Onsite) Job Type: Contract - * Key feature ... Designing, implementing, and managing search and analytics solutions using Elasticsearch.

Logos Technologies, Inc.

Engineer

Fairfax, VA · On-site

Overview Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC (Logos) is a diversified science, engineering and ... Search jobs. You can find this role posted under Logos Technologies, LLC We look forward to ...

Logos Technologies, Inc.

Engineer

Fairfax, VA

Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC (Logos) is a diversified science, engineering and ... Search jobs. You can find this role posted under Logos Technologies, LLC We look forward to ...

Logos Technologies, Inc.

Engineer

Fairfax, VA

Overview Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC (Logos) is a diversified science, engineering and ... Search jobs. You can find this role posted under Logos Technologies, LLC We look forward to ...

Amivero

AI Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

$75K - $190K/yr

Engineer and optimize prompt orchestration, agentic workflows, and inference pipelines for ... Implement and optimize vector search solutions using vector databases and similarity search ...

Amivero

AI Engineer

Reston, VA · On-site

$75K - $190K/yr

Engineer and optimize prompt orchestration, agentic workflows, and inference pipelines for ... Implement and optimize vector search solutions using vector databases and similarity search ...

Amivero

AI Engineer

Reston, VA

Engineer and optimize prompt orchestration, agentic workflows, and inference pipelines for ... Implement and optimize vector search solutions using vector databases and similarity search ...

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All JobsSearch Engineer JobsSearch Engineer Jobs in Virginia

Search Engineer information

See Virginia salary details

$56

$70

$92

How much do search engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average hourly pay for search engineer in Virginia is $70.38, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $60.77 and $81.01 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

How does a Search Engineer typically collaborate with other teams to improve search functionality?

Search Engineers often work closely with product managers, data scientists, and UX designers to understand user needs and analyze search performance. They collaborate with data engineering teams to ensure high-quality and well-structured data feeds, and frequently participate in cross-functional meetings to align on feature priorities and technical requirements. Effective communication skills are essential, as Search Engineers must translate complex technical concepts into actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders, ensuring that improvements enhance both search accuracy and overall user experience.

What is the difference between Search Engineer vs Data Scientist?

AspectSearch EngineerData Scientist
Required CredentialsBachelor's in CS, EE, or related; experience in search algorithmsBachelor's or higher in CS, Statistics, or related; strong analytical skills
Work EnvironmentTech companies, search engine teams, e-commerce platformsResearch labs, tech firms, finance, healthcare
Employer & Industry UsagePrimarily in search technology, e-commerce, and online servicesAcross industries like tech, finance, healthcare, and research

Search Engineers focus on developing and optimizing search algorithms and systems, while Data Scientists analyze data to extract insights and inform decisions. Both roles require strong technical skills, but Search Engineers are more specialized in search technology development, whereas Data Scientists work broadly with data analysis and modeling.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Search Engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Search Engineer, you need a solid background in computer science, expertise in information retrieval, and strong programming skills, often supported by a relevant degree. Familiarity with search platforms like Elasticsearch or Solr, experience with large-scale distributed systems, and knowledge of ranking algorithms are typically required. Analytical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and effective communication distinguish top performers in this role. These skills are crucial for building efficient, relevant search experiences that meet both user and business needs.

What are Search Engineers?

Search Engineers are specialized software engineers who design, build, and improve search systems that help users find relevant information quickly and efficiently. Their work often involves developing algorithms for indexing, querying, and ranking large volumes of data, as well as optimizing search accuracy and speed. Search Engineers may also work with natural language processing, machine learning, and relevance tuning to enhance the user search experience on websites, apps, or internal databases.

What Does a Search Engineer Do?

A search engineer has two primary responsibilities: to develop and program search engines and to optimize web content to achieve the best possible rankings in search results. As a search engineer, your job duties depend on your employer. If you work for a search engine company, like Google or Bing, then your job is to create the web application and algorithms that index websites and web pages to aggregate and rank search results. If you work for an e-commerce website or another business reliant on products or services, then your focus is on website analysis, keyword research, and content marketing.

More about Search Engineer jobs
What are popular job titles related to Search Engineer jobs in Virginia? For Search Engineer jobs in Virginia, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Search Engineer jobs in Virginia look for? The top searched job categories for Search Engineer jobs in Virginia are:
What are popular job titles related to Search Engineer jobs in VA? For Search Engineer jobs in VA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Search Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Search Engineer job openings in Virginia as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 89% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 8% Contract. Highlights an 94% In-person, 3% Hybrid, and 3% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $146,400 per year, or $70.4 per hour.
Software Engineer

Software Engineer

Bespoke Technologies, Inc

Chantilly, VA • On-site

Full-time

Posted 16 days ago

Job description

BT-331 - Software Engineer - SME
Location: Chantilly, VA (fully on-site, no remote option)
**Please do NOT apply if you do not have an active Poly clearance. Those without a Poly will not be considered.**
KEY TASKS:
  • Participate in all Lean Agile scrums, sprints and grooming sessions.
  • Consult and coordinate appropriately for problem resolution, task scheduling, new resource requirements, and task clarification.
  • Work in partnership with an integrated team of staff and contractors.
  • Understand the cloud environments, such as AWS or Azure.
  • Coordinate and collaborate with security, operations, engineering, testing and other teams to provide system information and technical support.
  • Design, develop and modify software systems.
  • Document and track vendor software roadmaps for software and patch version updates.
  • Unit test their software and perform code.
  • Design and implement scalable search and retrieval systems leveraging Elasticsearch.
  • Develop and integrate LLM-powered capabilities, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND DEMONSTRATED EXPERIENCE:
  • Demonstrated experience working in Lean Agile Development environment.
  • Demonstrated experience building or integrating LLM-based solutions, including RAG, semantic search, or AI-assisted retrieval systems.
  • Demonstrated experience developing detailed design and associated deliverables.
  • Demonstrated experience translating customer and system requirements into design.
  • Demonstrated experience designing system interfaces.
  • Demonstrated experience developing Single Page Applications using React (modern hooks-based architecture), HTML5, and CSS3.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience developing RESTful APIs using Node.js and Express (or comparable modern backend frameworks).
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience with and troubleshooting of Internet and Web related protocols and technologies such as Tomcat, Nodejs, Web Services, or SSL.
  • Demonstrated experience with testing platforms such as Jest or Karma.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience working with DevOps tools such as Git, Jenkins, or Nexus.
  • Demonstrated hands-on experience with Elasticsearch (index design, querying, relevance tuning, and scaling).
  • Demonstrated experience designing or implementing data pipelines to support search and/or RAG workflows (e.g., ingestion, chunking, embeddings, vector search).

HIGHLY DESIRED SKILLS AND DEMONSTRATED EXPERIENCE:
  • Demonstrated recent experience with the client's Lean Agile methodology.
  • Experience evaluating, selecting, and integrating LLMs (e.g., OpenAI, open-source models) into enterprise applications.
  • Experience with vector databases, hybrid search (keyword + semantic), and relevance optimization.
  • Ability to lead or mentor teams in adopting search + AI/LLM best practices (strong preference for candidates who can elevate team capability, not just contribute individually).

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