Systems and methods are disclosed for processing queries against a common storage utilizing dynamically allocated partitions operating on one or more worker nodes. The common storage can include one or more data stores, which collectively contain a data set divided across multiple buckets of data. To query the common storage, a query coordinator can retrieve metadata regarding the multiple buckets, in order to determine a subset of buckets that are potentially relevant to a query. The query coordinator can then dynamically allocate partitions operating on worker nodes to retrieve and intake individual buckets of the subset into a phased search process. The dynamic allocation can be selected to maximize parallelization of the buckets across partitions, thus increasing a speed at which the common storage can be searched.