Director AWS, OpenSearch

Amazon Web Services (AWS); Austin (TX); On-site; USD 264,100 - 350,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Parental leave

Adoption and surrogacy reimbursement

Job summary

Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc. in Austin, TX seeks a Director of Software Development to lead OpenSearch, guiding technical vision and product innovation across three pillars: traditional search, vector search, and log analytics.

You will drive autonomous development with AI agents and shape engineering culture at scale. The role requires 15+ years in software development and 10+ years in leadership, with a focus on customer-facing technical leadership and strategic influence across global

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a technical field required.
• 15+ years of software development experience.
• 10+ years in senior engineering leadership roles.

Responsibilities

• Lead the transformation of engineering workflows into an agentic-first model with AI agents.
• Own the product engineering decisions: what to build and how to ship quickly.
• Engage with external customers to translate needs into product direction.
• Publish perspectives and drive forward-looking technical leadership.
• Scale a large distributed engineering organization across geographies.
• Foster a high-EQ culture that attracts and retains top talent.
• Drive innovation across search, vectors, and log analytics for competitive edge.

Skills

Agentic-first

Product Engineering

Customer Engagement

Thought Leadership

Team Leadership

Continuous Learning

Technical Strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Job description

We are seeking a highly innovative Director of Software Development to lead within the AWS OpenSearch organization, a $2.4B service powering search, vector, and log analytics workloads at a massive scale. This leader will serve as a strategic right-hand to the General Manager, driving technical vision, agentic-first development practices, and product innovation across three core pillars:

• Traditional and Agentic Search- powering customer experiences for companies like AirBnb, Intuit, and Zoom.
• Vector Search- enabling LLMs and AI agents to digest chunked data at low latency and scale.
• Log Analytics- ingesting and securing customer data including access control and credential management.

This is a transformational leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of deep technology, product thinking, and customer obsession, a leader poised to disrupt how we deliver agentic search products and anticipate the evolving needs of our customers.

Key job responsibilities

• Agentic-First Development: Lead the transformation of engineering workflows into an agentic-first model, changing how teams develop, test, and ship code autonomously using AI agents.
• Product Engineering (30%): Own the "what" and "how" of product engineering, design, build, deploy, and support. Drive decisions on what to build and how to ship code fast.
• Customer Engagement (20%): Serve as a customer-facing technical leader, engaging directly with external customers to deeply understand their needs and translate insights into product direction.
• Thought Leadership: Operate as a strong writer and forward thinker, leading from the front with published perspectives, external presence, and a clear vision for adaptive, agent-to-agent experiences.
• Team Leadership & Scaling: Lead and scale a large, distributed engineering organization including teams in India. Build a high-EQ culture that attracts and retains top talent.
• Continuous Learning & Innovation: Foster a culture of continuous learning. Look around corners, anticipate customer needs, build adaptive agent experiences, and drive recommendations that evolve with usage.
• Technical Strategy: Drive innovation across search, vectors, and log analytics ensuring OpenSearch remains competitive against other players in the database/analytics/search landscape.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 15+ years of software development experience
• 10+ years in senior engineering leadership roles

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in search engines, recommendation systems, or data analytics platforms.
• Experience driving AI/ML-powered or agentic development workflows
• Deep technical expertise in databases, analytics, search, or related distributed systems at scale
• Proven experience scaling large engineering organizations across multiple geographies
• Track record of delivering customer-facing products with high velocity in a fast-moving, competitive landscape
• Experience leading product engineering, from ideation through design, build, deploy, and support
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; demonstrated thought leadership
• Track record of leading open-source projects or communities
• Experience with vector databases, embedding models, or LLM infrastructure
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a customer-facing technical executive

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, TX, Austin - 264,100.00 - 350,000.00 USD annually

Company - Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc.

Job ID: A10459720