Principal Applied Scientist, Automated Reasoning

Amazon Web Services (AWS); Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 269,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance and benefits

401(k) matching

Paid time off

Parental leave

Job summary

Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc. seeks a Principal Applied Scientist to lead research and development in automated reasoning, formal verification, and program analysis. You will drive innovation to make formal methods practical for real-world cloud-scale systems.

You will mentor applied scientists and engineers, design novel algorithms, and collaborate with product teams to transition research into production. This role shapes technical strategy and represents AWS in the academic community.

Qualifications

• MS or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related technical field.
• Industrial/academic experience in formal verification, and theorem proving.
• Experience with program analysis, program verification or synthesis.
• Experience with programming languages such as Rust, C, C++, Java, Dafny, OCaml or Haskell, and open source technologies.
• Experience in design and analysis of algorithms and data structures.

Responsibilities

• Lead research initiatives in automated reasoning, formal verification, SMT solving, model checking, or program analysis.
• Design and implement novel algorithms and techniques that advance the state of the art.
• Mentor and guide applied scientists, research scientists, and engineers.
• Collaborate with product teams to transition research into production systems.
• Define technical vision and strategy for automated reasoning initiatives.
• Represent AWS in the academic and research community.
• Drive cross-organizational impact through technical leadership.

Skills

Formal verification

SMT solving

Model checking

Program analysis

C/C++

Java

Rust

OCaml/Haskell

Education

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics

Tools

Dafny

OCaml

Haskell

Job description

We are seeking a Principal Applied Scientist to lead research and development in automated reasoning, formal verification, and program analysis. You will drive innovation in making formal methods practical and accessible for real-world systems at cloud scale.

Key job responsibilities

• Lead research initiatives in automated reasoning, formal verification, SMT solving, model checking, or program analysis
• Design and implement novel algorithms and techniques that advance the state of the art
• Mentor and guide applied scientists, research scientists, and engineers
• Collaborate with product teams to transition research into production systems
• Define technical vision and strategy for automated reasoning initiatives
• Represent AWS in the academic and research community
• Drive cross-organizational impact through technical leadership

About The Team

The Automated Reasoning Group at AWS develops and applies cutting-edge formal methods and automated reasoning techniques to ensure the security, reliability, and correctness of AWS services and customer applications. Our work innovates tools and services to perform verification at scale and apply them to build safe and secure systems at AWS. We are also pioneering the use of formal verification and automated reasoning to develop agentic systems, ensuring AI agents operate within defined safety boundaries.

Basic Qualifications

• MS or Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related technical field.
• Industrial/academic experience in formal verification, and theorem proving.
• Experience with program analysis, program verification or synthesis.
• Experience with programming languages such as Rust, C, C++, Java, Dafny, OCaml or Haskell, and open source technologies.
• Experience in design and analysis of algorithms and data structures.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or related technical field
• Demonstrated track record of project delivery for large, cross-functional projects with evolving requirements
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication with an ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to a variety of audiences
• Exceptional customer relationship skills including the ability to discover the true requirements underlying feature requests, recommend alternative technical and business approaches, and lead engineering efforts
• 5+ years of professional software engineering practices for the full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations
• Familiarity with machine learning and generative AI techniques

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.

• 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
• parental leave

USA, WA, Seattle - 198,900.00 - 269,000.00 USD annually

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

Job ID: A3204310