Currently the limitation in place for search on Spaces is a "Begins with" search according to the docs here: https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/spaces/how-to/use-folders/#filter-files-in-the-current-folder

If I had a folder named "1234_max_smith" for example, I can't just search for "smith" easily in the current design.

I propose that if a wildcard character (% or *) is present, that that determines the search type, ie %max% or %_smith.