Job Description
We're a cooperative team at Yelp, driven by our values of individual authenticity and creative problem-solving. We deploy working code within the first week, with support from managers, mentors, and teams to broaden individual impact. Our focus is on helping users, growing as engineers, and having fun in a collaborative environment.
We leverage cutting-edge techniques in machine learning, data mining, and backend engineering to deliver relevant and delightful search experiences. Engineers work on key components of the search experience, including developing smart query auto-complete systems and improving search relevance. Their work directly impacts millions of users, helping them discover the best local businesses through a smarter, more intuitive search.
We're seeking backend engineers to join our Search teams and help build the next generation of the Yelp search experience. This role is ideal for engineers who thrive at the intersection of product and engineering. You'll work on large-scale, impactful projects and collaborate closely with PMs, ML engineers, and designers — shaping product direction with your technical and user-centric insights.
Key Responsibilities:
* Collaborate with product managers and ML engineers to define and iterate on MVPs for new search capabilities.
* Design and build backend systems that power intelligent search features such as contextual annotations, generative query auto-complete, and dynamic SERP structuring.
* Drive product and technical decisions by bringing a strong point of view to user experience, feasibility, and scalability.
* Contribute to the long-term roadmap for next-generation Yelp Search.
* Partner with other engineering teams to build cohesive backend systems supporting shared product goals.
Requirements:
* Strong product sense and a track record of working closely with PMs to shape product direction.
* Fluency in an object-oriented programming language (e.g., Python or Java).
* Experience with AWS services, databases (SQL and NoSQL), Unix-based systems, and CI/CD pipelines.
* Experience with prompt engineering, or a strong interest in learning and applying LLM-based techniques.
* Comfortable with rapid prototyping, experimentation, and iterating based on user feedback and product signals.
* Strong communication skills and the ability to advocate for both user needs and technical feasibility.
* Familiarity with search, ranking systems, or similar problem spaces (e.g., recommendations, NLP, information retrieval) is a plus.
Benefits:
* Full responsibility for projects from day one, a collaborative team, and a dynamic work environment.
* Competitive salary, pension scheme, and optional employee stock purchase plan.
* 25 days paid holiday (rising to 29 with service), plus one floating holiday.
* €150 monthly reimbursement to help cover remote working expenses.
* €95 caregiver reimbursement to support dependent care for families.
* Private health insurance, including dental and vision.
* Flexible working hours and meeting-free Wednesdays.
* Regular 3-day Hackathons, bi-weekly learning groups, and productivity spending to support career growth.
* Opportunities to participate in digital events and conferences.
* €95 per month toward qualifying wellness expenses.
* Quarterly team offsites.
Yelp's Commitment:
We value diversity and are an equal opportunity employer. We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or family status, veteran status, medical condition, disability, or any other protected status.