Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London
Senior Software Engineer, Code Search

Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London

London Full-Time 70000 - 90000 ÂŁ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Kubelt

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Develop and scale innovative code search technology that impacts millions of developers worldwide.
  • Company: Join GitHub, a leader in shaping the future of software development with AI.
  • Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, remote work options, and opportunities for professional growth.
  • Other info: Dynamic environment with a focus on collaboration and continuous learning.
  • Why this job: Be part of a diverse team making a real difference in the tech world.
  • Qualifications: 6+ years in software engineering with experience in languages like Python, Java, or C++.

The predicted salary is between 70000 - 90000 ÂŁ per year.

GitHub is shaping the future of software development in the age of AI agents — and search is at the heart of it. As GitHub's lexical and semantic code search engine, Blackbird powers context retrieval for business‑critical experiences across the platform and our Copilot products, including Cloud Agent, Code Review, Copilot CLI, and VS Code. We're looking for a Senior Software Engineer to help develop, scale, operate and extend Blackbird. This role is specifically focused on infrastructure, operations, automation, CI/CD, DX, observability, and security. You'll be part of our Copilot Agents organization, positively impacting millions of software developers and AI agents around the world who are building everything from open source to global enterprises.

The ideal candidate has strong experience with distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, reliability engineering, as well as the ability to work autonomously, learn quickly, and communicate and set technical direction. You will be working within a strong team of staff and principal engineers as well as collaborating with partner teams across the Copilot Agents organization.

As a software engineer at GitHub, you will enhance the collaboration experience at GitHub by working closely with a community of engineers and designers with a distributed, diverse and passionate team delivering the services that millions of developers depend on. In this role you will design, prototype, implement, ship and support highly performant and globally scalable code search technology with your team.

Responsibilities
  • Own and advocate for the health and quality of the systems that the team builds, including participating in on‑call and first responder rotations.
  • Drives efforts to collect, classify, and analyze data on a range of metrics (e.g., health of the system, where bugs might be occurring).
  • Drives the refinement of products through data analytics, and makes informed decisions in engineering products through data integration.
  • Considers and drives comprehensive application of automation within production and deployment of a product.
  • Runs code in simulated or other non‑production environments to confirm functionality and error‑free runtime for products.
  • Improves development quality, development velocity, and team performance through modeling contributions to improvement of developer tooling.
  • Drives efforts to ensure the correct processes are followed to achieve a high degree of security, privacy, safety, and accessibility.
  • Creates and ensures the presence of visible evidence (e.g., audit logs, system reports, security compliance) to demonstrate compliance for products.
  • Leverages subject‑matter expertise of product features, incorporates service health indicators (e.g., SLOs) to prioritize work focused on, and partners with appropriate stakeholders (e.g., project managers) to drive collaboration on the workgroup's project plans, release plans, and work items.
  • Write architecture briefs and proposals, carry out code experiments, and build prototypes to learn how we can achieve planetary scale with our systems.
  • Design and implement APIs to facilitate seamless integration between software components.
  • Utilize CI/CD tools to set up automated pipelines for continuous integration and delivery.
  • Become intimately familiar with the systems you build and take pride in writing maintainable code.
  • Design, develop, test and ship high‑quality technical solutions that scale across multiple GitHub services.
QualificationsRequired Qualifications:
  • 6+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
  • OR Associate’s Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 5+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
  • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 4+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
  • OR Master's Degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 2+ years experience in Software Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical discipline with proven experience maintaining and delivering production software coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python.
  • OR Doctorate in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Math, Physics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field OR equivalent experience.
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Understanding of production system monitoring and observability with skills across network, application, caching, queuing, load‑balancing, storage and distributed services layers.
  • Passionate about fostering good engineering practices and processes with solid understanding of testing principles and high‑quality software.
  • 2+ years experience in systems programming, search index internals and information retrieval.
GitHub values
  • Customer‑obsessed
  • Ship to learn
  • Growth mindset
  • Own the outcome
  • Better together
  • Diverse and inclusive

Equal Employment Opportunity: GitHub is made up of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. We embrace diversity and invite applications from people of all walks of life. We don't discriminate against employees or applicants based on gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other differences. Also, if you have a disability, please let us know if there's any way we can make the interview process better for you; we're happy to accommodate!

Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London employer: Kubelt

At GitHub, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, offering a vibrant work culture that fosters collaboration and innovation. As a Senior Software Engineer, you'll have the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology in a diverse team, while benefiting from continuous learning and growth opportunities. Our commitment to inclusivity and employee well-being ensures that you can thrive both personally and professionally in a supportive environment.
Kubelt

Contact Detail:

Kubelt Recruiting Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫

We think this is how you could land Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London

✨Tip Number 1

Network like a pro! Reach out to current or former employees at GitHub through LinkedIn or other platforms. A friendly chat can give you insider info and maybe even a referral, which can really boost your chances.

✨Tip Number 2

Prepare for the technical interview by brushing up on your coding skills and system design principles. Practice common algorithms and data structures, and don’t forget to review distributed systems concepts since they’re key for this role.

✨Tip Number 3

Showcase your passion for software development during interviews. Share personal projects or contributions to open source that highlight your skills in automation, CI/CD, and cloud infrastructure. It’s all about demonstrating your hands-on experience!

✨Tip Number 4

Don’t just apply; engage with GitHub’s community! Join forums, attend meetups, or participate in hackathons. This not only builds your network but also shows your commitment to the tech community, making you a more attractive candidate.

We think you need these skills to ace Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London

Distributed Systems
Cloud Infrastructure
DevOps
Reliability Engineering
Automation
CI/CD
Observability
Security
Data Analytics
API Design and Implementation
Software Development in C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, Rust, or Python
Testing Principles
High-Quality Software Practices
Systems Programming

Some tips for your application 🫡

Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the role of Senior Software Engineer. Highlight your experience with distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and any relevant coding languages. We want to see how your skills align with what we're looking for!

Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you're passionate about working at GitHub and how you can contribute to our Copilot Agents organisation. Be genuine and let your personality come through.

Showcase Your Projects: If you've worked on any interesting projects, especially those related to code search or automation, make sure to mention them. We love seeing real-world applications of your skills, so don't hold back!

Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply directly through our website. It’s the best way to ensure your application gets into the right hands. Plus, it shows us that you're serious about joining our team!

How to prepare for a job interview at Kubelt

✨Know Your Tech Stack

Make sure you’re well-versed in the languages and technologies mentioned in the job description, like C, Java, or Python. Brush up on your knowledge of distributed systems and cloud infrastructure, as these are crucial for the role.

✨Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills

Prepare to discuss specific challenges you've faced in previous roles, especially related to automation, CI/CD, and observability. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers and highlight your impact.

✨Understand GitHub's Culture

Familiarise yourself with GitHub’s values such as being customer-obsessed and fostering a growth mindset. Be ready to share how you embody these values in your work and how you can contribute to a diverse and inclusive environment.

✨Ask Insightful Questions

Prepare thoughtful questions about the team dynamics, ongoing projects, and how success is measured in the role. This shows your genuine interest in the position and helps you assess if it’s the right fit for you.

Senior Software Engineer, Code Search in London
Kubelt
Location: London

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