AmazonSoftware Development Engineer III, AWS Transactional Services (Database & Distributed Systems)
Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer III, AWS Transactional Services (Database & Distributed Systems) 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
- On Level's scale, this software engineer role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
- Pay on this posting starts in line with the typical software engineer posting on Level.
- The posting mentions S3, EC2 and DynamoDB among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a senior role.
- Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
Leads the design and delivery of foundational distributed storage and database systems supporting AWS scale services.
The Transactional Services organization builds foundational distributed systems that power some of AWS's largest services. We specialize in high-performance, strongly consistent data systems operating at massive scale. Today, our systems process more than 4 million writes per second, and that scale continues to grow. The systems we build sit on critical paths for AWS, so the work has broad technical and customer impact.
Our team is executing on a multi-year roadmap of complex, high-impact engineering work. We are investing in an already high-performing storage layer to drive even lower latency, higher availability, and new capabilities for customers at scale. This is an opportunity to work on foundational systems with meaningful headroom for innovation in performance, efficiency, and reliability.
As a Senior Software Development Engineer, you will be a technical leader within the team, helping drive the design and delivery of our most important engineering work. You will partner closely with your manager and Principal Engineers to translate roadmap goals into executable technical plans, raise engineering quality, and mentor other engineers on the team. This role is well suited for someone who combines strong distributed systems design skills with sound engineering judgment, consistent execution, and a willingness to help the broader team succeed.
If you want to lead the evolution of distributed systems at AWS scale, this is the role.
Key job responsibilities
- Lead the design and architecture of highly available, low-latency distributed log and database systems that support critical AWS services.
- Own complex and ambiguous technical problems end to end, from framing the problem and defining the approach to driving delivery into production.
- Set technical direction across foundational services, making architecture decisions that balance performance, durability, availability, and operational simplicity.
- Work with partner teams on shared designs and dependencies to ensure successful delivery of team-owned initiatives.
- Mentor and develop engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and hands-on technical guidance, helping raise the bar across the team.
- Advance engineering excellence by improving operational rigor, strengthening development practices, and shaping the team's technical culture.
About the team
WS 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.
Why AWS?
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and continue to innovate, which is why customers ranging from startups to Global 500 companies trust our products and services to power their businesses.
Inclusive Team Culture
At AWS, learning and curiosity are part of how we work. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion and help us celebrate different perspectives and experiences. Ongoing events and learning opportunities, including Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon, support an environment where employees can grow and feel a sense of belonging.
Mentorship & Career Growth
We're continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth's Best Employer. You'll find knowledge-sharing, mentorship, and career development resources designed to help you grow into a more well-rounded professional.
Work/Life Balance
We value work-life harmony. Success at work should not come at the expense of life outside of work, and we strive to offer the flexibility needed to support both. When people feel supported at work and at home, they are better able to build and innovate for customers.
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
- Experience contributing to the architecture and design (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and current systems
- Experience debugging, profiling, and implementing best software engineering practices in large-scale systems
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
- Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Java, C++, or C# including object-oriented design
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 III, AWS Transactional Services (Database & Distributed Systems) 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
- $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 software architecture was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where database design was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where c was part of your work. What did you do?
- Walk me through how you've used S3 in your day-to-day work.
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Software Architecture, Database Design, C, and S3. 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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