Staff Software Engineer, Search Evaluation and Quality Team

Google's software engineers develop the next-generation technologies that change how billions of users connect, explore, and interact with information and one another. Our products need to handle information at massive scale, and extend well beyond web search. We're looking for engineers who bring fresh ideas from all areas, including information retrieval, distributed computing, large-scale system design, networking and data storage, security, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, UI design and mobile; the list goes on and is growing every day. As a software engineer, you will work on a specific project critical to Google’s needs with opportunities to switch teams and projects as you and our fast-paced business grow and evolve. We need our engineers to be versatile, display leadership qualities and be enthusiastic to take on new problems across the full-stack as we continue to push technology forward.

As the Evaluation and Quality Engineer on the Search Evaluation Infrastructure team, you will pioneer and institutionalize Evaluation-Driven Development (EDD) as the core technical foundation for generative AI features across Search Verticals and International (SVI). By shifting evaluation earlier in the development lifecycle, we replace subjective quality assessments with objective, metrics-based from day one of product definition.

In Google Search, we're reimagining what it means to search for information – any way and anywhere. To do that, we need to solve complex engineering challenges and expand our infrastructure, while maintaining a universally accessible and useful experience that people around the world rely on. In joining the Search team, you'll have an opportunity to make an impact on billions of people globally.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $207000 - $301000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Maximize fine-tuned evaluation model quality, streamline data upstream signals, and establish precise AutoRater alignment in collaboration with horizontal teams.
• Lead the core vertical AutoRater hillclimb and manage continuous vertical data contributions while scaling evaluation capabilities across different requirements.
• Align evaluation metrics with long-term user growth metrics and direct user feedback signals to bridge the functionality readiness gap before feature launches.
• Develop scalable automated rating infrastructure, high-quality evaluation rubrics, and continuous tracking systems to enable objective, metrics-based exptertise.
• Shift evaluations left to eliminate subjective quality assessments and implement metrics-based expertise starting with critical dimensions like "helpfulness."

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience.
  
• 8 years of experience in software development.
  
• Experience integrating generative AI tools or LLM interfaces into workflows.
• Experience with machine learning model training or fine-tuning (e.g., LLMs, generative AI).
• Experience developing or executing evaluation frameworks or metrics for machine learning models.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience with LLM auto-rater architectures or agentic evaluation methodologies.
• Experience driving the technical design, implementation, and deployment of ambiguous infrastructure projects from end to end.
• Experience transforming technical innovations into user-facing products.
• Experience using artificial intelligence assistance tools to prototype and deliver software features.
• Experience collaborating across engineering teams to prioritize and execute project milestones.