Software Development Engineer, Leo Autopilot

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, Leo Autopilot. It pays $144k-$194k 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.
Tools and skills the posting cites include Java, Python and AWS.
Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
Level lists 21,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
The role was posted in the last few days.

AI in this role

Software Development Engineer building automated mission planning and execution services for the Amazon Leo satellite constellation.

javapythonaws

software-developmentdistributed-systemssatellite-automationcloud-native

Amazon Leo is an initiative to increase global broadband access through a constellation of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). Its mission is to bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world. Amazon Leo will help close the digital divide by delivering fast, affordable broadband to a wide range of customers, including consumers, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations operating in places without reliable connectivity.

Export Control Requirement
Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Key job responsibilities
- Work with our peer teams and customers to design suitable software systems to fulfill the mission needs.
- Develop cloud native software systems in Java and Python.
- Utilize AWS and other Amazon technologies to build highly-available software services.
- Design and develop performant software systems that meet the mission criteria and requirements.
- Help on-board and mentor new team members.
- Lead technical roadmap definition efforts and decide which features and performance improvements to build.

A day in the life
As a Software Development Engineer, you will play a crucial role in the development of services to support the automation of the Leo mission. You will work with a dynamic group of passionate engineers and collaborators across peer teams to identify automation needs, design novel solutions that meet customer requirements, and write software to automate key behaviors for our constellation's space and ground assets. You will be building low-latency, highly-scalable architecture to generate and execute our mission plans safely and effectively.

About the team
The Autopilot team builds software which supports the automated planning and execution of satellite activities, empowering humans to automate key tasks and take themselves out of the loop as we scale the Leo constellation. We own services that model spacecraft behaviors, predict future vehicle state, capture operational constraints on our system, and generate mission schedules that serve our customers while preserving vehicle health and safety.

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 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, Redmond - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Software Development Engineer, Leo Autopilot at Amazon rates 20 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, Leo Autopilot is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $144k-$194k a year.
The role is based in US, WA, Redmond.
The job was posted on October 27, 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

Software DevelopmentDistributed SystemsSatellite AutomationCloud NativeJavaPythonAWS

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

C++Kubernetes TypeScript React Docker JavaScript

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 software 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?
Tell me about a project where satellite automation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where cloud native 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: Software Development, Distributed Systems, Satellite Automation, Cloud Native, 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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