AmazonPosted 6d ago

Software Development Engineer II, OrcaLabs

Software Development Engineer II, OrcaLabs at Amazon scores 75 out of 100 on AI centrality, which makes it AI Level 3 of 4 (Works on AI) on this board. The level measures how much of the work is AI, not seniority.

US, WA, Seattlemidfull-time$144k-$194k

AI in this role

Build and evolve a tier-1 multi-tenant workflow orchestration platform for agentic AI applications and automated processes.

distributed-systemsworkflow-orchestration

ai-agentsdistributed-systemssoftware-developmentagentic-aiworkflow-automation

Do you want to build systems that sit at the heart of how Amazon runs its business and help define how AI agents interact with those systems in the future? Are you excited by distributed systems, workflow orchestration, and agentic AI at Amazon scale?

The Center of Excellence for Orchestration (ORCA) is looking for a Software Development Engineer II to help build and evolve Amazon’s tier-1, multi-tenant orchestration platform. ORCA powers mission-critical business workflows across Amazon and is used by thousands of developers to automate complex processes without building and operating their own orchestration infrastructure.

ORCA handles the hard parts of distributed workflow execution so customers can focus on business logic. We’re now evolving the platform for an AI-native world by building AI-assisted workflow development, automated testing and diagnostics, intelligent operational support, and new ways for AI agents to safely discover, invoke, and compose business capabilities.

As an SDE II on ORCA, you’ll design and build highly available distributed systems, solve challenging scalability and reliability problems, and help shape the foundation that connects traditional workflow automation with emerging agentic experiences. You’ll own projects from design through production and work closely with experienced engineers and customers across Amazon.

If you enjoy solving hard systems problems, building platforms that simplify development at scale, and shaping how workflows and AI agents come together, we’d love to have you join ORCA!

Key job responsibilities
- Design, build, test, deploy, and operate scalable features for ORCA’s tier-1 orchestration platform, owning work across the full software development lifecycle.
- Build agentic and AI-assisted capabilities that help developers design, test, troubleshoot, and operate workflows, and enable AI agents to safely discover, invoke, and compose business capabilities.
- Design reliable distributed systems that handle workflow execution, scheduling, retries, throttling, fault tolerance, scaling, and observability across a multi-tenant platform used by thousands of developers.
- Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and technical planning, providing thoughtful feedback and incorporating input from senior engineers to improve system quality.
- Collaborate with product, security, architecture, and customer teams to understand requirements, evaluate tradeoffs, and deliver simple, scalable solutions aligned with ORCA’s long-term platform strategy.
- Help shape emerging patterns for how workflows, business capabilities, and AI agents interact securely and reliably at Amazon scale.

A day in the life
Your day might start by building a new ORCA platform or agentic capability, reviewing code, or working through a design for how AI agents discover and invoke business capabilities. Later, you may collaborate with teammates on a scaling or reliability challenge, meet with customers to understand a new use case, and ship your work through the deployment pipeline. Along the way, you’ll contribute to design discussions and help shape how ORCA evolves for an AI-native future.

About the team
The Center of Excellence for Orchestration (ORCA) is a collaborative team focused on making it easier for Amazon teams to build and operate complex business processes at scale. We work across distributed systems, developer experience, and emerging agentic technologies, partnering closely with customers and teams across Amazon.

We’re shaping the next generation of orchestration, where workflows, business capabilities, and AI agents come together securely and reliably. You’ll have the opportunity to work on foundational technology with broad impact while learning from experienced engineers and helping influence ORCA’s 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

Prepare for this job

A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

AI AgentsDistributed SystemsSoftware DevelopmentAgentic AIWorkflow AutomationWorkflow Orchestration

Questions you could be asked

How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
Tell me about a project where distributed systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where software development was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where agentic ai was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where workflow automation was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: AI Agents, Distributed Systems, Software Development, Agentic AI, and Workflow Automation. 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.

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