AmazonSoftware Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro Networking
Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro Networking in San Diego, United States. It pays $144k-$194k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this software engineer role: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include C, Linux and systems engineering.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 21,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
AI in this role
Design and build ultra-high performance virtualized networking pipelines and software-defined networking features for the EC2 Nitro System.
The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) NX Platforms team owns the packet processing pipeline running beneath every EC2 instance — adding encryption, firewalls (security groups), routing, billing, and monitoring to every packet on every host across our worldwide fleet of 9M+ hosts in more than 30 regions. Our vision: deliver bare-metal networking performance while raising the bar on EC2's security, availability, and reliability — unlocking capabilities only possible through true Software Defined Networking (SDN).
We are growing fast and looking for senior systems engineers who can deliver ultra-high performance — our goal is processing millions of packets per second on a single CPU core. This demands highly optimized data structures, low-level hardware tuning, and expertise in C/C++. If you have a passion for systems software engineering — kernel development, embedded systems, or high-performance networking — this is a unique opportunity to define the next generation of the platform powering all new EC2 instance families and VPC features for years to come.
Your code ships to production across the entire EC2 fleet — powering services like AWS Lambda and every external workload running on EC2. With frequent deployments and full ownership from design through operation, your contributions have immediate, measurable impact at global scale.
With an extensive network and access to Principal, Sr. Principal, and Distinguished Engineers across EC2, AWS, and Amazon, there are many stretch opportunities to grow your skills and knowledge.
Ready to build the networking substrate for the world's largest cloud? Apply today.
Key job responsibilities
- Own the end-to-end design, scoping, implementation, and integration testing of new features that run on the EC2 Nitro System.
- Design and build secure and scalable services to enable monitoring, diagnostics, and automated recovery.
- Design and build next generation hardware/software validation platforms that enables efficient CI/CD.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to understand and define requirements, design system architectures, and implement robust and scalable solutions.
- Continuously improve development processes, tools, and automation to enhance productivity and quality.
- Mentor junior engineers with scoping, design, and developing scalable and maintainable code.
About the team
* 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.
*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.
* 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 (CORE) 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
- 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 in embedded development in C/C++
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
- Knowledge of system performance, memory management, and parallel computing principles
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, San Diego - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Software Development Engineer, EC2 Nitro Networking 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
Also common in software engineer jobs at this level
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 systems engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where networking was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where kernel development 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?
- Walk me through how you've used C in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Systems Engineering, Networking, Kernel Development, Distributed Systems, and C. 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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