Software Development Engineer, Special Projects

Amazon is hiring a Software Development Engineer, Special Projects in Seattle, United States. It pays $144k-$194k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Level.

AI in this role

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Are you excited about building software that empowers scientists to develop new products? As a Software Development Engineer on our team, you will design and deliver systems at the intersection of machine learning and the life sciences. We are scaling our model and method execution infrastructure so scientists can generate, analyze, and deliver new products and insights to researchers and internal teams across Amazon. Today the platform processes thousands of ML inference jobs weekly, and we need a collaborative, curious engineer to help us meet rapidly growing demand. You will work alongside scientists, engineers, and product managers in a startup-like environment where your contributions directly shape products that reach customers and accelerate scientific discovery.

Key job responsibilities
- Design and build scalable ML inference pipelines in collaboration with scientists and engineers, ensuring reliable model execution as data volumes grow.
- Architect and improve the metadata systems that track workflows and their outputs, weighing performance, maintainability, and extensibility trade-offs.
- Evaluate and integrate generative AI tools where they can accelerate development or improve code quality, applying responsible AI practices throughout.
- Contribute to every phase of the software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering and design through implementation, testing, deployment, and operations.
- Conduct thorough code reviews, mentor teammates, and document your software so the broader team can maintain and extend it confidently.

A day in the life
You might start the morning in standup, sharing progress on the inference pipeline you are optimizing. After that, you join a design review where you and your teammates debate the right data model for a new workflow. In the afternoon, you pair with a scientist to prototype a feature, then wrap up by reviewing a teammate's pull request and leaving constructive feedback. Throughout, you balance hands-on coding with cross-team coordination to keep projects moving forward.

About the team
Our team builds the ML execution platform that life-sciences researchers rely on to turn complex scientific models into products customers use every day. We are investing in scaling this platform to handle rapidly growing data, and this is a great moment to join and shape that trajectory.

We are dedicated to supporting every team member's growth. Senior engineers provide one-on-one mentoring and thoughtful code reviews, and we assign projects with an eye toward helping each person become a more well-rounded engineer. We value flexibility, knowledge sharing, and an inclusive environment where every voice is heard.

Basic qualifications

- Bachelor's degree or equivalent
- 3+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
- 3+ years of programming with at least one modern language such as C++, C#, Java, Python, Golang, PowerShell, Ruby experience
- 3+ years of experience in AWS technologies, such as Batch, S3, Lambda, CloudFormation, and SQS

Preferred qualifications

- * MS in Computer Science, Bioinformatics, Genomics or a related field
- * 3+ years of experience with scientific software such as bioinformatics tools, high performance computing or data visualization libraries (Plotly, Altair, D3)
- Experience in Databases like NoSQL, or experience in PostgreSQL or other relational relational databases and experience that includes strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and effective communication abilities

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, Special Projects at Amazon rates 14 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.