Principal Architect

Who We Are

Ema is building the next generation of AI solutions to transform enterprise productivity by automating document-intensive workflows across industries. Whether it’s drafting custom documents, automating search and extraction, or enabling reasoning over complex document workflows (such as RFPs, prospectuses, or auditing processes), our AI-powered solutions are redefining how businesses approach repetitive tasks. Founded by seasoned leaders from Google, Coinbase, and Okta, Ema is a stealth-mode startup, backed by top-tier investors and based in Silicon Valley and Bangalore.

Role Overview & Key Responsibilities

This is a high-leverage leadership role that spans architecture, execution, and org-building, and will shape the direction of our search platform for years to come. We are seeking a Head of Search engineering leader to architect, scale, and own the core systems that power Ema’s Search platform. This role is especially critical to building and scaling:

• Own the technical roadmap for Search at Ema this includes

  • Core Search Platform

  • Integrations internally with other application teams

  • Integrations with partner teams

  • Open API specs to bring in the data into Ema

• Set the roadmap for our Data Ingestion Platform – which enables Ema to securely ingest, transform, and index data from documents, spreadsheets, emails, and SaaS systems.

• Our Application Integration Platform – which connects Ema to hundreds of third-party APIs, allowing our agents to act across CRMs, ITSMs, HRIS platforms, and more.

• Design and scale our Search Platform, enabling structured and unstructured data to flow seamlessly into Ema for search, reasoning, and generation.

• Own the architecture and implementation of Ema’s Search Index.

• Drive and collaborate with the LLMOps infrastructure: influence on how 1000s of transforms can be developed by external folks as well.

• Ensure platform support for diverse data formats (PDFs, spreadsheets, databases, charts, etc.) using PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, and other relevant tools.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

• 12+ years of experience in backend systems, lucene, elastic search, vector datastores, infrastructure and scale.

• Knowledge of indexing strategies, inverted indexes, sharding/replication, and managing large document corpora.

  • Expertise in ranking algorithms (BM25, vector-based, hybrid).

  • Familiarity with relevance tuning, query understanding, and search result evaluation.

  • Proficiency with metrics (precision, recall, NDCG, MRR, etc.).

• Proven experience in building the search infrastructure and scaling real-time systems on the search engine.

• Deep understanding of knowledge search

• Deep expertise in cloud-native architecture, containerized services, and microservice orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes).

• Solid understanding of LLM-based pipelines, knowledge retrieval, and secure document processing.

• Strong experience with data systems like PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, and Redis.

Why Join Ema?

• Work at the forefront of agentic AI systems—driving real enterprise transformation.

• Own mission-critical platforms that make or break Ema’s capabilities.

• Join an elite team of engineers, product thinkers, and AI researchers who value deep execution.

• Help define the architectural, cultural, and operational DNA of a company set to define a new category.

Ema’s Culture & Values

• High Bar on Quality – We value excellence and expect world-class execution.

• Ownership & Accountability – We take full responsibility for our work and outcomes.

• Impact-Driven Approach – We set ambitious goals and measure success through real-world impact.

• Team Collaboration & Growth – We believe in continuous learning, knowledge sharing, and supporting each other.

• No Hierarchy, Just Execution – Everyone is an individual contributor, focused on delivering results.

Join Ema and lead a team committed to delivering powerful, hands-on AI solutions that transform enterprise workflows.