Senior Applied Scientist, Data Processing Agents Science

Amazon is hiring a Senior Applied Scientist, Data Processing Agents Science in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $192k-$260k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this applied scientist role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
Pay on this posting starts 13% higher than the typical applied scientist posting on Level.
The posting mentions Python, AWS and Machine learning among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a senior role.
Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Design and build agentic AI and machine learning solutions to automate and optimize big data processing workflows at AWS.

PythonAWSMachine learning

agentic-aidistributed-systemsdatabasesresearch

The Data Processing Agents science team is looking for a passionate, inventive Applied Scientist with a strong background in agentic AI/ML applied to systems problems in databases, programming languages, and distributed systems, to help create industry-leading agentic experiences for big data processing.

AWS provides a comprehensive set of services for all data analytics needs and enables organizations of all sizes and industries to reinvent their business with data. From storage and management, data governance, actions, and experiences, AWS offers purpose-built services that provide the best price-performance, scalability, and lowest cost.

Key job responsibilities
As part of the Data Processing Agents science team you will have the opportunity to apply your agentic AI/ML and systems skills to impact some of the largest analytics services in the industry and their customers. You will innovate by designing and building agentic solutions and ML-powered automation to simplify, optimize, and automate the big data processing workflows of AWS customers. You will collaborate with a talented team of applied science peers to drive scientific impact and with engineering, product, and business leaders to launch your work in production at Amazon scale.

A day in the life
A mix of the following activities: talking to product leaders and customers to define science features; researching the state of the art and creating science plans to build them; building and rigorously benchmarking the science implementations of such features; partnering with engineering teams to onboard science work and launch it in production; preparing, publishing, and presenting scientific work at top-tier science venues and evangelizing it within the company; upgrading your science knowledge by participating in reading groups and science presentations by internal or external scientists; mentoring applied science interns and science peers in all of the above functions.

About the team
We are a team dedicated to delivering transformative, science-driven agentic big data processing experiences for Amazon customers and having fun doing so. Our leadership team fosters an inclusive team culture and encourages work-life balance to bring out the best in each team member. Collaboration and mentorship are key tenets of our fabric. We are a growing team dedicated to supporting new members achieve their aspirations.

Diverse Experiences
Amazon 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.

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 flexible work hours and arrangements are part of our culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

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 and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship and 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.

Basic qualifications

- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
- 5+ years research experience applying agentic AI or ML techniques to systems problems in programming languages, databases, or distributed systems.

Preferred qualifications

- Experience with large scale distributed systems such as Hadoop, Spark etc.
- Experience with conducting research in a corporate setting
- Experience in solving business problems through machine learning, data mining and statistical algorithms
- Experience in professional software development

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 - 192,200.00 - 260,000.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Senior Applied Scientist, Data Processing Agents Science at Amazon rates 90 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

Senior Applied Scientist, Data Processing Agents Science is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 4 of 4: Builds AI.
The listed salary is $192k-$260k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Santa Clara.
The job was posted on July 30, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
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

Agentic AIDistributed SystemsDatabasesResearchPythonAWSMachine learning

Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level

Deep learning LLM Generative AI NLP Reinforcement learning TensorFlow

Pay

This job starts at: $192k
Typical applied scientist job: $169k

This posting starts 13% above the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where agentic ai was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where databases was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where research was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used Python in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Agentic AI, Distributed Systems, Databases, Research, 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.
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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