Software Dev Engineer, Amazon Security, ASCOT Engineering

Amazon is hiring a Software Dev Engineer, Amazon Security, ASCOT Engineering. It pays $144k-$194k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this role Works on AI ●●●○: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
The posting mentions AWS, Python and distributed systems among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
Amazon has 21,000+ other open roles on Level.
Posted within the past week.

AI in this role

Builds scalable security systems and AI-powered automation tooling for AWS cloud infrastructure.

awspython

distributed-systemssecurityai-automation

We're on the lookout for the curious, those who think big and want to define the world of tomorrow. At Amazon, you will grow into the high-impact builder. Every day will be filled with exciting new challenges, developing new skills, and achieving personal growth. How often can you say that your work changes the world? At Amazon, you'll say it often. Join us and define tomorrow.

At Amazon, we hire the best minds in technology to innovate and build on behalf of our customers. That focus on customers is why we are one of the world's most trusted brands and nowhere is that trust more on the line than in security. It is a role with real ownership from day one: every improvement we ship earns and protects the trust customers place in Amazon. And we do it like a startup: an owner's mentality in everyone, and real investment in turning new engineers into strong builders. We move fast, we ship fast, and we learn from everything we put in front of customers. Your work here is visible, it matters, and you will see its impact from day one.

Key job responsibilities
ASCOT Engineering is the engineering arm of the AWS Security Customer Outcomes Team (ASCOT), building the products, services, and automations that protect AWS customers across the supply chain. We are security builders, not security checkers, an engineering-first organization that designs and ships tooling at AWS scale to automate security outcomes across incident response, security escalation, and customer enablement. Our work spans AI-powered security automation, supply chain security, and secure delivery platforms, with a growing focus on securing AI and agentic workloads. You will build alongside a tight, high-ownership team that ships fast, operates what it builds, and collaborates closely partner teams across AWS Security.
Design, build, and own highly available, scalable, and secure distributed systems on AWS, driving architectural decisions and owning the full lifecycle from design through production deployment.

• Broad scope with cross-team influence: Work across the stack, lead technical design discussions, and collaborate with partner teams to define and deliver solutions that span team boundaries.

• Enterprise scale with startup speed: Ship frequently to customers with high expectations for availability, performance, and security. Operate autonomously to deliver projects with team-level and cross-team scope.

• Leverage AI/ML technologies and agentic AI development practices to automate detection, analysis, and response across security domains at scale. Use AI tools and best practices to multiply your velocity, quality, and creative output across greenfield and brownfield projects.

• Have significant influence on our overall strategy by helping define new product features, driving system architecture, and spearheading best practices that enable a quality product.

• Mentor and coach junior engineers on engineering excellence and Amazon's Leadership Principles. Raise the bar for the team through code reviews, design reviews, and technical guidance — helping turn new engineers into strong builders.

A day in the life
The challenges SDEs solve for at Amazon are big and influence millions of customers, sellers, and products around the world. On ASCOT Engineering, those challenges sit at the intersection of security, AI, and customer trust at AWS scale. You might start the morning building an automation that accelerates incident response, spend the afternoon shipping a feature on a secure delivery platform, and close the day prototyping agentic security tooling with your team. We are looking for builders who are passionate about creating security products from scratch, thrive in ambiguity, and want to ship at a pace where development cycles are measured in weeks, not years.

About the team
Diverse Experiences
Amazon Security values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the 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 Amazon Security?
At Amazon, security is central to maintaining customer trust and delivering delightful customer experiences. Our organization is responsible for creating and maintaining a high bar for security across all of Amazon’s products and services. We offer talented security professionals the chance to accelerate their careers with opportunities to build experience in a wide variety of areas including cloud, devices, retail, entertainment, healthcare, operations, and physical stores.

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
- 1+ years of software development engineer or related occupational experience
- 1+ years of designing and developing large-scale, multi-tiered, multi-threaded, embedded or distributed software applications, tools, systems, and services using: C#, C++, Java, or Perl experience
- 1+ years of Object Oriented Design experience
- Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- 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
- 1+ years of experience using AI tools (e.g., code generation, automated testing, AI-assisted code review) to accelerate software development workflows

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, VA, Herndon - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Software Dev Engineer, Amazon Security, ASCOT Engineering at Amazon rates 70 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● 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

Software Dev Engineer, Amazon Security, ASCOT Engineering is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The listed salary is $144k-$194k a year.
The role is based in US, VA, Herndon.
The job was posted on October 22, 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 SystemsSecurityAI AutomationAWSPython

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 security was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a workflow you automated with AI tools, end to end.
What's a project where you used AWS 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, Security, AI Automation, AWS, 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.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

Want an expert to read your CV for this job?

Free. Send your CV and the role you want next. We reply by email within 2 to 4 business days.

Get a free CV review Get an express CV review Check your resume with the ATS resume checker

Get new software engineering jobs (Works on AI ●●●○ or higher) by email

One email a week with the new software engineering jobs (Works on AI ●●●○ or higher), each rated for how much AI is in the work. No recruiter spam, unsubscribe in one click.

Free. One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click.