Software Development Engineer, Glacier

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, Glacier 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

Level rates this software engineer role Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
The listed pay starts close to the typical software engineer posting on Level.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Java, distributed systems and low level coding.
Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
Level lists 20,000+ other open roles at Amazon.

AI in this role

Design and implement a distributed storage service operating at cloud scale for Amazon Glacier.

Java

distributed-systemslow-level-coding

The vast majority of data in the world is cold -- durably and securely retained for long periods of time, but rarely ever accessed. Conventional storage systems are a poor fit for this domain as they are typically optimized for speed rather than space and cost. Amazon Glacier has been designed from the very start to provide secure, durable and scalable data storage at a very low cost. This unusual set of constraints requires us to solve fascinating scaling and algorithmic problems that have never been tackled at our scale.

As an engineer on our team, you'll have the opportunity to lead the design and implementation of a distributed storage service that operates at cloud scale. Your design and development work would range from distributed system service development in Java, to low level systems coding that interfaces directly with hardware. You'll be working to bring brand new systems to production use, and to do so you'll need to solve challenging computer science problems. We are looking for an engineer who is keen to lead, invent in this space, and build what could become the largest data storage service on the planet.

Our team works together to provide work/life balance for all team members. We recognize that the circumstances of our team members vary, and we balance work across the team so that we’re all able to maintain high standards on behalf of our customers, while at the same time allowing for rich and happy personal lives.

Glacier services are highly available, but there are times when we occasionally stray away from our SLAs. In order to minimize the impact of such excursions, we do have On-Call rotations. However, we set these up so there are focused time periods when you are on-call and when you are not, you can focus on your day job :)

We have a formal mentor search application that lets you find a mentor that works best for you based on location, job family, job level etc. Your manager can also help you find a mentor or two, because two is better than one. In addition to formal mentors, we work and train together so that we are always learning from one another, and we celebrate and support the career progression of our team members.

Utility Computing (UC)
AWS Utility Computing (UC) provides product innovations — from foundational services such as Amazon’s Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), to consistently released new product innovations that continue to set AWS’s services and features apart in the industry. As a member of the UC organization, you’ll support the development and management of Compute, Database, Storage, Internet of Things (Iot), Platform, and Productivity Apps services in AWS, including support for customers who require specialized security solutions for customers who require specialized security solutions for their cloud services.

Key job responsibilities
As an engineer on our team, you'll have the opportunity to lead the design and implementation of a distributed storage service that operates at cloud scale. Your design and development work would range from distributed system service development in Java, to low level systems coding that interfaces directly with hardware. You'll be working to bring brand new systems to production use, and to do so you'll need to solve challenging computer science problems. We are looking for an engineer who is keen to lead, invent in this space, and build what could become the largest data storage service on the planet.
Some of the projects that you'll have an opportunity to work and lead:

Some of the projects that you'll have an opportunity to work and lead:
1. Reduce the internal cost of migrating customer data to Glacier storage media
2. Effectively placing customer data for easier and faster retrievals/GC.
3. Owning the migration pipeline from discovering customer data until generating the media-ready data units.
4. Optimizations to migrate data fast and secure.
and much more

About the team
ABOUT AWS:
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

- 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

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

Software Development Engineer, Glacier 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, Glacier is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $168k-$227k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Seattle.
The job was posted on June 18, 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 SystemsLow Level CodingJava

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python C++Kubernetes TypeScript React Docker

Pay

This job starts at: $168k
Typical software engineer job: $167k

This posting starts close to 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 low level coding was part of your work. What did you do?
What are the limits of Java that you've run into, and how did you work around them?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Low Level Coding, and Java. 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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