Applied Science Manager, Prime Air

Amazon is hiring an Applied Science Manager, Prime Air in Seattle, United States. It pays $184k-$249k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Builds AI ●●●● is how Level rates this role: the job is building AI systems.
The posting mentions Python, Reinforcement learning and Graph Neural Networks among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a lead role.
Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Lead a team of applied scientists and engineers building ML and reinforcement learning algorithms for autonomous drone path planning.

PythonReinforcement learningGraph Neural NetworksGis

machine-learningpath-planningoptimizationroboticsautonomous-systems

The Challenge
How do you orchestrate a fleet of autonomous drones to deliver packages safely in under an hour, while maximizing every minute of flight time? How do you scale a mission planning system to handle thousands of concurrent deliveries in complex, shifting environments?

Our team of scientists, engineers, and aerospace professionals is solving these exact problems. We are looking for an Applied Science Manager to lead the evolution of our Mission Planning and Orchestration System. You will be at the forefront of defining how Prime Air moves from point A to point B with maximum efficiency.

The Role
As an Applied Science Manager, you will lead a high-caliber team of scientists and engineers focused on the "brains" of our fleet orchestration. You will bridge the gap between Geospatial Intelligence and Machine Learning to revolutionize our path planning and scheduling algorithms. Your primary north star? Increasing deliveries per hour (DPH) through intelligent, automated optimization.

Key Responsibilities:

Lead & Mentor: Manage a cross-functional team of Applied Scientists and Engineers, fostering a culture of scientific rigor and rapid iteration.

Innovate Path Planning: Leverage ML/RL and heuristic search techniques to develop dynamic path-planning algorithms that navigate complex airspace and weather patterns.

Optimize Orchestration: Drive the development of high-scale scheduling systems that manage battery life, maintenance cycles, and delivery windows to maximize fleet utilization.

Geospatial Mastery: Utilize deep geospatial data (3D maps, urban topology, etc.) to improve situational awareness and mission safety.

System Architecture: Define the long-term technical roadmap for mission orchestration, ensuring our systems are modular, scalable, and resilient.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Hardware, Flight Safety, and Supply Chain teams to translate business requirements into technical breakthroughs.

Basic Qualifications
Experience managing a team of scientists and/or engineers in a production environment.

PhD or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Operations Research, or a related field.

Strong foundation in Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis.

Proven track record of applying Machine Learning (e.g., Reinforcement Learning, Graph Neural Networks) to optimization problems like path planning or vehicle routing.

Preferred Qualifications
Experience with autonomous systems, UAVs, or large-scale logistics networks.

Knowledge of combinatorial optimization and real-time scheduling constraints.

A knack for turning ambiguous "blue sky" research into deployed, high-impact features.

Export Control License: This position may require a deemed export control license for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Placement is contingent on Amazon’s ability to apply for and obtain an export control license on your behalf.

Key job responsibilities
Strategic Technical Leadership & Throughput: Lead the development of path planning and geospatial orchestration models to maximize deliveries per hour, ensuring complex algorithms are production-ready and integrated into the mission system.

Team Management & Delivery: Build and scale a world-class science team by mentoring talent and fostering career growth, while maintaining a high bar for operational excellence to deliver mission-critical software on schedule.

A day in the life
In a typical day, you lead an agile squad through high-velocity sprints, starting with a stand-up to unblock path-planning prototypes and ensure the team is on track for mission-critical delivery milestones. You spend your time bridging the gap between research and reality, reviewing code and design docs to ensurealgorithms for geospatial orchestration are production-ready and optimized for real-world drone throughput. Between deep-dive technical reviews, you focus heavily on people development—conducting 1:1s to mentor scientists and architecting career growth paths—while collaborating with cross-functional leads to ensure your team's innovations seamlessly integrate into the live mission planning system.

About the team
We're a mix of software developers, applied and research scientists, and geospatial experts as well as system developers.

Basic qualifications

- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience directly managing scientists or machine learning engineers
- Experience with the Scrum methodology (or similar alternatives) for agile software development

Preferred qualifications

- Experience communicating with users, other technical teams, and management to collect requirements, describe software product features, and technical designs
- Experience hiring and growing top talent
- Knowledge of engineering practices and patterns for the full software/hardware/networks development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, certification, and livesite operations

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Seattle - 183,800.00 - 248,700.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Applied Science Manager, Prime Air at Amazon rates 85 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Applied Science Manager, Prime Air is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $184k-$249k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Seattle.
The job was posted on April 20, 2026.
Seniority: lead.
Applications are handled by Amazon. Apply on Amazon

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Machine learningPath PlanningOptimizationRoboticsAutonomous SystemsPythonReinforcement learningGraph Neural Networks

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where path planning was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where optimization was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where robotics was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where autonomous systems was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Machine learning, Path Planning, Optimization, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

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