Description
Slack is looking for a Software Engineer to join our innovative Agentic Search team. Our team owns the foundational tools, sub-agents, and search capabilities that power Slack AI's information retrieval intelligence, making Slackbot the primary conversational search interface in the Agentic OS. We deliver accurate, contextual, and permission-aware results across Slack and the broader enterprise, transforming how people discover knowledge in the flow of work.
In this role, you will be at the forefront of building the next generation of AI-powered search experiences. You'll work on cutting-edge technologies including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), query understanding, search optimization, and agentic frameworks that enable intelligent information discovery across multiple data sources and platforms.
What you will be doing
Design and build intelligent search infrastructure to power information retrieval across various Slack and enterprise data sources.
Develop sophisticated agentic search capabilities including query understanding and context management to synthesize information.
Ensure optimal search performance and scalability, from real-time responses to deep research tasks.
Implement evaluation frameworks for continuous improvement of search quality and relevance.
Collaborate across teams (AI/ML, Product, Design) to integrate search into broader Slack experiences and drive technical excellence for search and AI systems.
What you should have
6+ years of software engineering experience building production web applications and distributed systems
Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, Java, Go, or similar, with experience in modern web frameworks
Search and information retrieval experience - Background in search engines, ranking algorithms, indexing, or information retrieval systems
RAG and agentic systems - Experience building retrieval-augmented generation systems, AI agents, or conversational AI applications
Distributed systems expertise - Experience with microservices, APIs, databases, and building scalable backend systems
Data-driven approach - Experience with experimentation, A/B testing, and using metrics to drive product decisions
Collaborative mindset - Strong communication skills and experience working with cross-functional teams including product managers, designers, and other engineers
Quality focus - Experience with testing, code reviews, and maintaining high-quality production systems
A related technical degree required
Nice to have
AI/ML experience - Background in machine learning, natural language processing, or working with large language models (LLMs)
Enterprise search - Experience with enterprise search platforms, federated search, or multi-source information retrieval
Real-time systems - Experience building low-latency, high-throughput systems for real-time search and recommendations
Third-party integrations - Experience integrating with external APIs, data sources, or enterprise systems (Salesforce, Google Drive, etc.)
Evaluation and benchmarking - Background in search quality evaluation, relevance tuning, or AI system benchmarking
Full-stack capabilities - Comfort working across the stack from backend services to frontend user interfaces
Why join the Agentic Search team?
Shape the future of work - Build the search intelligence that powers how millions of people find and use information in their daily work
Work with cutting-edge technology - Be at the intersection of AI, search, and conversational interfaces using the latest advances in LLMs and agentic systems
High impact and ownership - Own critical systems that directly impact user experience and enable new AI-powered workflows
Collaborative culture - Work with world-class engineers, researchers, and product teams in an environment that values innovation, learning, and technical excellence
Growth opportunities - Be part of a rapidly evolving space with opportunities to learn, grow, and influence the direction of AI-powered search experiences