Embedded Software Development Engineer, Amazon Leo Optical Inter-Satellite Link

Amazon Inc.; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Leo is building a low Earth orbit satellite network to deliver fast, reliable broadband beyond the reach of existing networks. As a Software Engineer on the Optical Inter-Satellite Link team, you’ll help design and implement the switching fabric that routes data across the constellation, and you’ll work on the networking stack in embedded Linux for high-speed inter-satellite links.

You’ll collaborate with hardware, optics, systems, and operations teams to deploy scalable, low-latency

Qualifications

• Experience with distributed systems and high-performance networking.
• Familiarity with embedded Linux and flight software development.
• Ability to design robust software for space-grade environments.
• Strong collaboration across hardware, software, and operations teams.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and enhance the switch-management software — from translating routes received from a centralized SDN controller into forwarding-table entries, to building MAC-learning and loop-prevention logic for a redundant switch topology — that enables deterministic, low-latency packet forwarding across the constellation
• Design and optimize the networking layers of flight software for optical inter-satellite link systems, spanning network device drivers and protocol implementations on embedded Linux
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams — including hardware, optics, systems, communications, and operations engineers — to integrate, test, and deploy high-speed optical communication systems and the networking stack that underpins space-based connectivity
• Build and extend operational tooling for network diagnostics and observability — including routing-table inspection, packet capture and analysis, structured logging, and metrics emission — that enables rapid fault isolation and performance trending across the satellite mesh

Job description

Amazon Leo is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast, reliable broadband connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From households to small businesses, schools, hospitals, and government agencies, Amazon Leo will serve communities and organizations operating in places without dependable internet access.

Innovation is part of our DNA! Our goal is to be Earth's most customer-centric company, and we are just getting started. We need people who want to join this ambitious program that continues to push the state of the art in distributed systems and software design. Come work at Amazon!

Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Key job responsibilities

• Design, implement, and enhance the switch-management software — from translating routes received from a centralized SDN controller into forwarding-table entries, to building MAC-learning and loop-prevention logic for a redundant switch topology — that enables deterministic, low-latency packet forwarding across the constellation
• Design and optimize the networking layers of flight software for optical inter-satellite link systems, spanning network device drivers and protocol implementations on embedded Linux
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams — including hardware, optics, systems, communications, and operations engineers — to integrate, test, and deploy high-speed optical communication systems and the networking stack that underpins space-based connectivity
• Build and extend operational tooling for network diagnostics and observability — including routing-table inspection, packet capture and analysis, structured logging, and metrics emission — that enables rapid fault isolation and performance trending across the satellite mesh

A day in the life

As a Software Engineer on the Optical Inter-Satellite Link team, you won't just write code — you'll see it fly. Your software will control and monitor high-speed laser communications between satellites moving at orbital velocities, and you'll be there for every stage of the journey: from early design and ground-based verification to watching your code commission an optical link for the first time in orbit. On the networking side, you'll design and debug the switching fabric that routes traffic across the constellation — ensuring packets traverse inter-satellite links with minimal latency and maximum reliability.

About the team

You will join a multi-disciplinary team of exceptional engineers whose work spans an unusually broad scope: embedded flight software running on satellites in orbit, cloud-based systems powering mission and network operations, automation frameworks that keep a growing constellation healthy, and AI-driven capabilities that make our optical links smarter with every orbit. We collaborate closely with optical, electrical, firmware, opto-mechanical, and operations teams — and with partner organizations including Mission Operations and Optical Network Operations — to deliver one of the most advanced optical communication systems ever built.