Software Development Engineer, Amazon Aurora DSQL

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, Amazon Aurora DSQL in Seattle, United States. It pays $144k-$194k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.

Level's read on this job

Level rates this software engineer role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
The posting mentions Rust, AWS Cdk and distributed systems among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Design and develop high-performance distributed database systems and infrastructure for Amazon Aurora DSQL using Rust.

RustAWS Cdk

distributed-systemsdatabase-architecturehigh-availabilityscalabilitycloud-computing

Aurora DSQL is a serverless, distributed SQL database with virtually unlimited scale, high availability, and zero infrastructure management. Aurora DSQL automatically scales compute, I/O, and storage, so it can efficiently adapt to any workload needs. The active-active serverless design automates failure recovery, so customers don't have to worry about traditional database failover. Aurora DSQL helps customers to build and maintain applications that are always available at any scale.

Aurora DSQL’s Dataplane Frontend team is responsible for services and components critical for providing security in a multi-tenant environment (Firecracker µVMs), protocol correctness for connections and transactions, high availability for established and new sessions, infinite horizontal compute scalability, and low latency for transactions by optimally mapping them to available compute resources. This role requires delivering highly operable and maintainable software, continuous innovations to improve scalability, availability, latency, and efficiency. The team develops mostly in Rust and uses CDK (Amazon Cloud Development Kit) to define cloud infrastructure.

If you are excited to contribute to a next generation hyper-scale database service and architecture and are curious and get things done, we would like you to consider our team. Join us during this formative period of the product and be a leader in shaping the future of databases at Amazon and beyond!

A day in the life
As you design and code solutions to help our team drive efficiencies in software architecture, you’ll create metrics, implement automation and other improvements, and resolve the root cause of software defects. You’ll also:

* Design, implement and deliver state-of-the-art distributed, high-performance data and transaction processing algorithms and solutions.
* Participate in design discussions, code review, and communicate with internal and external stakeholders.
* Deploy and monitor new features in a highly available and fault tolerant system running in the cloud.
* Work cross-functionally to help drive business decisions with your technical input.
* Work in a startup-like development environment, where you’re always working on the most important stuff.

About the team
Mentorship & Career Growth
Our team is dedicated to supporting new members. We have a broad mix of experience levels and tenures, and we’re building an environment that celebrates knowledge-sharing and mentorship. Our senior members enjoy one-on-one mentoring and thorough, but kind, code reviews. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects that help our team members develop your engineering expertise so you feel empowered to take on more complex tasks in the future.

Diverse Experiences
AWS 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.

About 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, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of inclusion. We have ten employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190 chapters globally. We have innovative benefit offerings, and host annual and ongoing learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (gender diversity) conferences. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 14 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Work/Life Balance
Our team puts a high value on work-life balance. It isn’t about how many hours you spend at home or at work; it’s about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life. We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to life-long happiness and fulfillment. We offer flexibility in working hours and encourage you to find your own balance between your work and personal lives.

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
- Knowledge of professional software engineering & best practices for full software development life cycle, including coding standards, software architectures, code reviews, source control management, continuous deployments, testing, and operational excellence
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Preferred qualifications

- Master's degree in computer science or equivalent
- Experience contributing to the architecture and design (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and current systems
- Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Java, C++, or C# including object-oriented design
- Experience architecting/operating solutions built on AWS
- Experience programming with Rust.

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 - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Software Development Engineer, Amazon Aurora DSQL 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.

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. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Software Development Engineer, Amazon Aurora DSQL is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $144k-$194k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Seattle.
The job was posted on August 26, 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 SystemsDatabase ArchitectureHigh AvailabilityScalabilityCloud ComputingRustAWS Cdk

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python Kubernetes TypeScript React Docker JavaScript

Pay

This job starts at: $144k
Typical software engineer job: $167k

This posting starts 14% below 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 database architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where high availability was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where scalability 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?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Database Architecture, High Availability, Scalability, and Cloud Computing. 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.

Get your CV reviewed before you apply

Send your CV and the role you want next. Your review arrives by email within 3 days.

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