Software Development Engineer, Nitro SSD

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, Nitro SSD in Cupertino, United States. It pays $165k-$224k 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.
Pay on this posting starts in line with the typical software engineer posting on Level.
The posting mentions C, Firmware and embedded systems 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

Design and develop custom firmware for non-volatile memory devices and Nitro SSDs in AWS cloud infrastructure.

CFirmware

embedded-systemsssdhardware-validationstorage-systemsnand-flash

AWS Hardware Engineering Services support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we’re looking for talented people who want to help.

You’ll join a diverse team of software, hardware, and network engineers, supply chain specialists, security experts, operations managers, and other vital roles. You’ll collaborate with people across AWS to help us deliver the highest standards for safety and security while providing seemingly infinite capacity at the lowest possible cost for our customers. And you’ll experience an inclusive culture that welcomes bold ideas and empowers you to own them to completion.

The AWS Hardware Engineering team is driving rapid innovation in the server and storage infrastructure used by Amazon Web Services. Our designs are industry-leading in frugality and operational excellence, and are critical to the success of the AWS business and the more than one million customers who use AWS today. Our Firmware Engineers solve challenging technology problems, and build architecturally sound, high-quality components to enable AWS to realize critical business strategies.

The ideal candidate for this role will be an innovative self-starter. You will be an SSD firmware expert with experience in making architectural tradeoffs to optimize SSD reliability and performance for a variety of use cases. You will work with engineers across the company as well as external companies and lead firmware development efforts on custom solid-state devices. You will collaborate with internal and external development engineers (architecture, hardware, validation, software services). AWS Engineers are shaping the way people use computers and designing the future of cloud computing technology – come help us make history!

What you will do: You will be a member of a team designing AWS-specific hardware, firmware and software for non-volatile memory devices, including NAND-based SSDs. You will be a part of the firmware effort from conception, through validation and into production. You will contribute to FW development and support device characterization and benchmarking efforts. You will work closely with AWS software engineers to tailor devices for the AWS environment.

Why it matters: Public cloud IT services represent the majority of growth in the overall IT services market and will continue to do so for several years to come. The scale of AWS, combined with an understanding of how our hardware is used, creates a unique opportunity for component customizations that will directly benefit our customers.

Why you will love it: You will work with engineers across the company to build next-generation devices. You will have a direct impact on our bottom line and the ability to deliver improvements for our developers. You will be part of a growing, fast paced, and fun team. You will have ownership for the implementation of your work. You will see direct product improvements based on the results of your work.

Key job responsibilities
- Work backward from customer input and storage product requirements to design, plan, and build SSD product
- Deliver SSD firmware design and code while working closely with a diverse team of engineers
- Own innovation on architecture and design
- Work with external vendors and partner teams to collaborate on firmware development
- Work closely with Hardware, Software, Firmware, validation teams, to drive product integration
- Build at-scale operational excellence into product development and deployment practices
- Deliver using Agile/Scrum development methodology and software development practices

A day in the life
- Participate in Sprint and operational standups
- Design and develop firmware for production and validation
- Lead Design Reviews and technical discussions
- Lead cross-team technical collaborations
- Drive integrations and deployment at-scale
- Report progress and updates for Leadership review
- 1:1's with leadership team and key partners
- Audit quality and identify production improvements

About the team
Nitro SSD is the fastest growing NAND flash-memory based storage solution for AWS. The 3rd generation Nitro SSD is now available for AWS customers on both Intel and Graviton storage platforms. This is the latest milestone in the AWS Nitro SSD strategy. We deliver industry leading performance and tail latency, while offering a cost competitive, high density storage solution for AWS customers. We own ALL the firmware, hardware, software and telemetry/monitoring for ALL the devices in the fleet. We partner will global NAND vendors, SoC vendors and manufacturing partners to drive the full product-lifecycle for Nitro SSD.

AWS Hardware Engineering Services organization support all AWS data centers and all of the servers, storage, networking, power, and cooling equipment that ensure our customers have continual access to the innovation they rely on. We work on the most challenging problems, with thousands of variables impacting the supply chain — and we’re looking for talented people who want to help.

Basic qualifications

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent
- 3+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 3+ years of non-internship design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- 3+ years of computer science fundamentals (object-oriented design, data structures, algorithm design, problem solving and complexity analysis) experience
- Experience with full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations
- 3+ years of embedded firmware development experience

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
- Deep understanding of SSD hardware architecture and SSD concepts such as wear-leveling, garbage collection, etc.
- 5+ years of hands-on experience developing firmware for SSD and other related storage devices.
- High-level understanding of storage technologies and associated block interface protocols.
- Meets/exceeds Amazon’s leadership principles requirements for this role
- Meets/exceeds Amazon’s functional/technical depth and complexity for this role.

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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, CA, Cupertino - 165,200.00 - 223,600.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Software Development Engineer, Nitro SSD 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, Nitro SSD is an open job at Amazon.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $165k-$224k a year.
The role is based in US, CA, Cupertino.
The job was posted on September 22, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
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

Embedded SystemsSsdHardware ValidationStorage SystemsNand FlashCFirmware

Also common in software engineer jobs at this level

Python Java C++Kubernetes TypeScript React

Pay

This job starts at: $165k
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 embedded systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where ssd was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where hardware validation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where storage systems was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where nand flash was part of your work. What did you do?

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Embedded Systems, Ssd, Hardware Validation, Storage Systems, and Nand Flash. 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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