Software Development Engineer II

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer II 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

On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Uses AI ●●○○: an ordinary role that requires AI tools.
The posting mentions Java, Rust and C++ among its tools and skills.
Level classes it as a mid-level role.
Amazon has 21,000+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

Design credential distribution infrastructure and utilize AI-assisted operational tooling for system triage and remediation.

javarustcpppython

distributed-systemsbackend-developmentai-assisted-engineeringsecurity

Do you want to build the infrastructure that every AWS service depends on before it can start? The AWS Secrets Management team builds and operates the system that distributes credentials and certificates to AWS's internal service fleet. The system sits on the critical path for service startup, runs across every host in the fleet, and has zero tolerance for downtime. As a Software Development Engineer on this team, you will design and deliver backend services, APIs, and the host agent that powers credential distribution at massive scale. You will also lead migrations that modernize how credentials are stored and delivered, build AI-agent-driven operational tooling, and help bring the system up in new AWS regions. If you are a self-starter who thrives on solving hard distributed-systems problems with real, immediate impact, this is the role for you.

Key job responsibilities
- Design and implement production backend services, APIs, and host-level agents in Java, Rust, C++, and Python that distribute credentials and certificates across AWS's internal fleet with high availability and zero downtime.
- Own end-to-end migrations of live, heavily depended-upon systems, preserving backwards compatibility while modernizing how credentials are stored and delivered.
- Build and maintain CI/CD pipelines, automated test coverage, and AI-assisted operational tooling — including agentic coding tools for triage and remediation — to keep a fleet-wide system operable at scale.
- Collaborate with security partner teams, product managers, and principal engineers on cross-team designs, participating in written design reviews and code reviews to ensure solutions meet security and reliability requirements.
- Drive operational excellence through metrics, alarms, incident response, and on-call rotations, identifying root causes and implementing permanent fixes to reduce operational burden over time.

A day in the life
Most of your time is heads-down: writing code, reviewing designs, and working through complex migration plans for systems that thousands of other services depend on. Collaboration is concentrated at key moments — design reviews where you present your approach, code reviews where you give and receive candid feedback, and incident response where your deep knowledge of the system makes you the person others turn to. You use AI-assisted engineering tools daily, both for coding and for operational triage, applying your judgment on when to trust their output.

About the team
The AWS Secrets Management team is responsible for credential and certificate distribution across AWS's internal service fleet. Our system is a dependency for a large number of AWS and Amazon services, which means the work we do is upstream of other teams' launches, migrations, and security commitments. We operate in an inclusive environment that values knowledge sharing and mentorship. Engineers each own an area of the system outright — serving as the required reviewer, the go-to person during incidents, and the one who sets its technical direction. We are focused on modernizing credential delivery and expanding into new AWS regions, and we are looking for engineers who are excited to shape that future.

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

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 II at Amazon rates 45 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Uses AI (AI Level 2 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Uses AI. An ordinary role that requires AI tools.

●●●● 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 II is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 2 of 4: Uses AI.
The listed salary is $144k-$194k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Seattle.
The job was posted on October 9, 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 SystemsBackend DevelopmentAI Assisted EngineeringSecurityJavaRustC++Python

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

React TypeScript Kubernetes JavaScript SQL Docker

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 backend development was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where ai assisted engineering 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?
Walk me through how you've used Java in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Backend Development, AI Assisted Engineering, Security, 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.
Put the AI tool in a bullet point about what you did, not just in a skills list. This role treats it as a required part of the job.

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