AmazonSr Software Dev Engineer, Stores Foundational AI -SFAI
Amazon is hiring a Sr Software Dev Engineer, Stores Foundational AI -SFAI in Seattle, United States. It pays $193k-$262k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- On Level's scale, this role is Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
- The posting mentions vLLM, PyTorch and JAX among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a senior role.
- Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.
- Posted in the last few days.
AI in this role
Key job responsibilities
In this role you will leverage your engineering background and expertise to help develop generative AI for shopping. As a Senior Software Development Engineer, you will:
Architect and build scalable ML infrastructure that powers the training and deployment of large language models—directly shaping the future of AI-driven shopping experiences for all Amazon customers
Drive technical innovation by designing experimentation frameworks and tooling that accelerate breakthrough insights, enabling scientists and engineers to iterate faster and smarter
Lead cross-functional initiatives partnering with applied scientists and engineering teams to translate frontier research into production systems that delight customers
Mentor and elevate the team through technical leadership, code reviews, and architectural guidance—raising the bar for engineering excellence across the organization
Own impactful projects end-to-end across diverse technologies—from distributed computing and ML operations to prompt engineering—while navigating ambiguity and making strategic trade-offs that balance innovation with delivery
A day in the life
On any given day, you may work on:
Design and build end-to-end RL post-training pipelines (rollout → reward → optimization) at cluster scale
Improve RL training stability (PPO / GRPO / RLOO) by monitoring and tuning key metrics such as reward, KL divergence, and policy stability
Optimize RL post-training efficiency (GPU utilization, batching, sequence packing, async rollouts)
Partner with research scientists to translate new RL algorithms into scalable, production-ready systems
Profile and eliminate bottlenecks across compute, networking, and storage
Build observability systems for training dynamics, system health, and experiment tracking
Collaborate cross-functionally to run experiments, iterate quickly, and unblock research progress
Mentor engineers and contribute to system design and long-term technical roadmap
Basic qualifications
- 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
- 4+ 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
- Demonstrated ability to drive technical direction and influence engineering decisions across teams
Preferred qualifications
- Knowledge of ML frameworks including JAX, PyTorch, vLLM, SGLang, Dynamo, TorchXLA, and TensorRT
- Knowledge of Machine Learning and LLM fundamentals, including transformer architecture, training/inference lifecycles, and optimization techniques
- Experience with distributed systems, big data technologies, and machine learning infrastructure
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 - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Seattle - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Sr Software Dev Engineer, Stores Foundational AI -SFAI at Amazon rates 94 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.
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. 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
Questions you could be asked
- How do you structure and test a prompt to get consistent output from a language model?
- Walk me through how you've used vLLM in your day-to-day work.
- What are the limits of PyTorch that you've run into, and how did you work around them?
- What's a project where you used JAX hands-on?
- How would you decide a model or AI system is ready to ship?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Prompt engineering, vLLM, PyTorch, and JAX. 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.
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