SDE, AWS OpenSearch Service, Opensearch

Amazon is hiring an SDE, AWS OpenSearch Service, Opensearch in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $165k-$224k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Level.

AI in this role

Design, develop, and support a cloud-scale search and analytics platform with a focus on distributed systems.

javapythoncopensearchapache-lucene

distributed-systemssearch-enginescloud-computing

Are you interested in building out a cloud-scale log analytics and search platform? Do you want to revolutionize the way people manage and derive insights from vast volumes of data in the cloud? Do you want to have direct and immediate impact on a large number of AWS users? Do you want to be part of a fast-growing AWS service and work in a fast paced startup style environment?

Amazon Opensearch makes it easy to deploy, operate, and scale Opensearch for log analytics, application monitoring, full-text search, and more. Amazon Opensearch is a fully managed service that delivers Opensearch's easy-to-use APIs and real-time capabilities along with offering predictable performance and seamless scalability for production workloads.

At AWS, you’ll experience the benefits of working in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment, while leveraging the resources of Amazon.com (AMZN), one of the world's leading internet companies. The Amazon Opensearch team is part of the rapidly growing AWS Database and Analytics group. We are customer obsessed in a highly collaborative team-oriented environment.

Amazon Opensearch team designs, develops and operates software that allows customers to index, search and analyze documents at scale in a secure, responsive, and reliable environment. The team is tackling data, search and analytics problems. As we expand at a tremendous rate, we are looking for innovative engineers with a passion for data, search, analytics and distributed systems to join the team:

As a Software Development Engineer on the Amazon Open search Service team, you will:
. Design, develop and support a world-class search platform serving individuals and businesses of all sizes
· Produce bullet-proof code that is robust, efficient and maintainable; our primary languages are Java, Python, and C/C++
. Work at the core of Opensearch and Apache Lucene open source software with opportunities to contribute to open source
. Work on challenging problems in areas such as data storage, query optimization, JVM performance optimization, security, machine learning and more.
· Continually challenge what exists and explore what should be changed to best meet evolving customer needs
· Possess expert knowledge in large scale distributed system design and engineering best practices
· Participate in setting a vision and objectives for Search Services in alignment with customer needs and market opportunities
· Drive and work on algorithm and architecture design, execute and deliver results
· Invent the future of search and log analytics in the cloud
· Join a great group of motivated, top-notch, people and work with them to solve challenging problems in a fun, collaborative environment

About the team
AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don’t let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS? Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Inclusive Team Culture Here at AWS, it’s in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship & Career Growth We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Work/Life Balance We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Basic qualifications

- 3+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 2+ years of non-internship design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience programming with at least one software programming language

Preferred qualifications

- 3+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent

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

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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, CA, Santa Clara - 165,200.00 - 223,600.00 USD annually

How we rate this

SDE, AWS OpenSearch Service, Opensearch at Amazon rates 10 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● 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. Open the description and count.

Key facts

SDE, AWS OpenSearch Service, Opensearch is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $165k-$224k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on October 12, 2026.
Seniority: mid.
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

Distributed SystemsSearch EnginesCloud ComputingJavaPythonCOpensearchApache Lucene

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Kubernetes TypeScript React C#Docker Azure

Pay

This job starts at: $165k
Typical software engineer job: $168k

This posting starts close to the typical software engineer job. See software engineer jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where search engines was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where cloud computing was part of your work. What did you do?
What's a project where you used Java hands-on?
Walk me through how you've used Python in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Search Engines, Cloud Computing, Java, and Python. 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.

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