Software Development Manager, Core Search

AI in this role

Lead an engineering team developing LLM and deep learning-powered search relevance and ranking systems at scale.

llmsgpus

distributed-systemsmachine-learning-infrastructuresearch-enginesteam-management

The Search Engine organization designs, builds, and operates highly performant, fault-tolerant and scalable distributed search engine used by millions of Amazon customers worldwide every day.

We are evolving our search engine to better understand natural language queries and to be more personalized. This involves leveraging LLMs and other Deep Learning models in different parts of the search stack to improve the search experience.

Ideal candidates are expected to have an extensive background in distributed systems and experience with machine learning infrastructure. Strong candidates will have knowledge of LLM fundamentals and some experience in GPU programming.

Key job responsibilities
Technical Leadership
- Lead development of LLM/deep-learning relevance and ranking systems serving billions of queries at scale
- Improve search engine efficiency to reduce infrastructure cost
- Drive architecture and design decisions aligned with the search org vision
- Own full development and operations lifecycle of your team’s products

Team & People Management
- Manage engineering team: staffing, day-to-day execution, delivery commitments, and mentoring and career growth
- Report on development progress, quality, operations, and system performance

Strategy & Collaboration
- Define long-term vision and growth plans in partnership with Science and Engineering leaders
- Set development priorities and evangelize the team's work across the org

Basic qualifications

- 5+ years of engineering team management experience
- 10+ years of working directly within engineering teams experience
- 8+ years of developing large-scale, multi-tiered distributed software systems using distributed programming experience
- Knowledge of engineering practices and patterns for the full software/hardware/networks development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, certification, and livesite operations
- Experience delivering products against plan in a fast-paced, multi-disciplined, distributed-responsibility and often ambiguous environment

Preferred qualifications

- Experience in communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior leadership to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy
- Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring/coaching and managing teams of Software Engineers to improve their skills, and make them more effective, product software engineers
- Experience in written and verbal communication with the ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to executives and non-technical leaders
- Deep familiarity with the ML/DL infrastructure space and technologies, and experience owning large-scale, low-latency distributed systems that deploy and run ML models

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, Palo Alto - 212,700.00 - 287,700.00 USD annually

How we rate this

Software Development Manager, Core Search at Amazon rates 85 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.

●●●● 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. Open the description and count.

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

Distributed SystemsMachine Learning InfrastructureSearch EnginesTeam ManagementLLMsGpus

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 machine learning infrastructure was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where search engines was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where team management was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used LLMs in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Distributed Systems, Machine Learning Infrastructure, Search Engines, Team Management, and LLMs. 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.
Lead with what you built, trained or shipped — this role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.

Want an expert to read your CV for this job?

Free. Send your CV and the role you want next. We reply by email within 2 to 4 business days.

Get a free CV review