Senior Software Development Engineer, AWS RDS for SQL Server

Amazon; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

RSUs

Sign-on bonus

Paid time off

401(k)

Job summary

Amazon AWS RDS for SQL Server team seeks a Senior Software Development Engineer to design and deliver scalable, highly available distributed systems, and mentor engineers across geographies. You will own end-to-end features from design to deployment, shaping reliability and performance for SQL Server deployments in the cloud.

Work closely with product and operations, balance short-term delivery with long‑term resilience, and present technical narratives to leadership.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience.
• 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience.
• 5+ 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.

Responsibilities

• Design and operate highly available distributed systems that serve production customer workloads at scale.
• Define strategy in ambiguity and design long-term solutions with stakeholder input.
• Lead end-to-end delivery from scoping and design through execution.

Skills

5+ years dev exp

Programming languages

Design/architecture lead

Mentor / tech lead

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science

Job description

Senior Software Development Engineer, AWS RDS for SQL Server

Job ID: 10437244 | Amazon Development Center U.S., Inc.

RDS provides customers with databases that have multiple-nines of durability and availability. Achieving this level of reliability requires building control and monitoring systems that automatically detect and handle failures within seconds, and data replication options that accommodate various geographical distribution and disaster recovery objectives, all while supporting huge numbers of databases, multiple database engines, and a wide variety of customer workloads.

This role is on the AWS RDS for SQL Server team, responsible for making it easy for customers to set up, operate, and scale SQL Server deployments in the cloud. We build and operate the high availability, automated failover, patching, and lifecycle management systems that keep customers' SQL Server databases running with minimal interruption.

We are looking for a Senior Software Engineer who thrives on solving fundamental problems in distributed systems, state machine logic, performance, and fault tolerance. You will lead the design and delivery of complex features end-to-end, mentor engineers on the team, and drive technical decisions that directly impact customer availability. You bring a strong sense of ownership, passion for great customer experience, and excellent troubleshooting skills in high-pressure situations.

Key job responsibilities

• Design and operate highly available distributed systems that serve production customer workloads at scale
• Define strategy in ambiguity: Identify problems and opportunities where the path forward isn't clear, and design long-term solutions using sound judgment and stakeholder input
• Lead end-to-end delivery: Own the full lifecycle of solutions, from scoping and design through execution, simplifying complexity for the best outcome
• Drive cross-functional influence: Collaborate across teams, organizations, and geographies to align on goals and deliver results across one or more programs
• Solve complex problems: Tackle challenging business and technology issues, define project requirements, and resolve escalations decisively
• Communicate at all levels: Write strategic narratives and present to senior leadership; build consensus across diverse stakeholders
• Balance short-term and long-term: Make trade-offs between immediate delivery needs and sustainable, scalable solutions while mitigating long-term risks
• Mentor and develop talent: Coach and grow team members, raising the bar on team capability
• Drive operational excellence: Champion best practices and process improvements that elevate team performance
• Clear blockers and drive resolution: Navigate difficult situations, elevate appropriately, and keep programs moving forward
• Deliver lasting impact: Produce work that shapes long-term team direction and goals

A day in the life

As a Senior SDE, you'll split your time between hands‑on coding and leading technical direction for your team. Day‑to‑day, you're designing systems, reviewing architectures, unblocking engineers, and writing narratives to align stakeholders, from product managers and designers to senior leadership. You own ambiguous, cross‑cutting problems end-to-end: figuring out what to build, driving consensus when people disagree, making trade‑off calls, and mentoring junior devs along the way. It's part IC, part tech lead, and you're expected to find the path forward even when the problem isn't well‑defined.

About the team

We're the team behind Amazon RDS for SQL Server, making it simple for customers to run SQL Server in the cloud without wrestling with infrastructure. We tackle complex distributed systems challenges (automated failover, zero‑downtime patching, scaling at cloud speed) for customers ranging from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises. The culture is collaborative, high‑ownership, and low on bureaucracy: we ship fast, learn from our customers, and genuinely enjoy the work. If you like solving puzzles that millions of people quietly depend on every day, you'll fit right in.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of non‑internship professional software development experience
• 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
• 5+ 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

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
• Experience with full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations, or experience managing teams

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

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.