AmazonSenior Software Dev Engineer , AWS Elastic Container Service
Amazon is hiring a Senior Software Dev Engineer , AWS Elastic Container Service in Seattle, United States. It pays $168k-$227k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
- The posting mentions Linux, Containerd and Runc 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
Lead system design and architecture for low-latency container startup performance within AWS Elastic Container Service.
The Workload Optimization team is a greenfield team tackling one of the most impactful challenges in container compute. As a Senior SDE, you will lead the system design and technical direction for low-latency container startup at massive scale. You'll work deep in the stack — Linux kernel, containerd/runc, Bottlerocket, and container networking — to reimagine the launch path from instance creation to workload execution.
Key job responsibilities
- Own the architecture and technical roadmap for container start-up optimization at scale
- Drive system design across the container runtime, OS, and networking layers
- Mentor and grow a team of engineers building foundational infrastructure
- Work directly with senior ECS leadership to shape the future of Fargate performance
- Ensure strong operational practices across your team, including appropriate monitoring, telemetry, runbooks, and retrospective processes, while proactively identifying and resolving root causes of systemic issues.
A day in the life
You start your morning reviewing operational metrics and addressing any alerts from overnight. By mid-morning, you are deep in a design discussion with engineers on your team, working through trade-offs for a new feature that spans multiple services. After lunch, you pair with a teammate on a tricky implementation, then join a cross-team architecture review where your expertise helps shape a shared interface. You wrap up the afternoon writing a technical design document and providing feedback on a colleague's code review.
About the team
Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) makes it easy for customers to run, scale, and secure containerized applications on AWS. ECS powers some of the most demanding workloads on the planet — from startups launching their first container to enterprises running millions of tasks across global infrastructure.
The Workload Optimization team is a brand-new team within ECS, based in Seattle, with a focused mission: fundamentally reduce the time it takes for a containerized workload to become ready to run on AWS Fargate. For the vast majority of Fargate customers, launch latency is one of the biggest factors in their end-to-end experience — and we believe a step-function improvement is achievable.
This is a greenfield team, which means you won't be inheriting legacy systems or processes — you'll be building from scratch. You'll work deep in the systems stack (Linux kernel, container runtimes, OS, networking) alongside a small, senior group of engineers who care deeply about performance, correctness, and customer impact at scale.
We value engineers who think from first principles, are comfortable with ambiguity, and are energized by hard problems that don't have obvious solutions. Our culture is direct, low-ceremony, and high-ownership — you'll have real influence over what we build and how we build it from day one.
Basic qualifications
- 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
- 5+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
Preferred qualifications
- 5+ 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
- Experience building or operating container-based services, microservices platforms, or cloud infrastructure on AWS.
- Familiarity with container technologies such as Docker, Kubernetes, or ECS.
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 - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Senior Software Dev Engineer , AWS Elastic Container Service at Amazon rates 0 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.
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. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where container runtimes was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where system architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where performance optimization was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where technical leadership was part of your work. What did you do?
- Walk me through how you've used Linux in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Container Runtimes, System Architecture, Performance Optimization, Technical Leadership, and Linux. 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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