Senior Startup Solutions Architect, San Francisco Early Stage Startups

Socket.dev; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 176,600 - 239,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Web Services (AWS) in San Francisco seeks a Solutions Architect embedded in the startup ecosystem to help founders solve hard technical problems at the earliest stages.

You’ll work with AI/ML, FinTech, ClimateTech, healthcare, B2B SaaS startups, guiding architecture decisions, data foundations, and scalable production systems while building trusted relationships.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in technology domains (software, cloud, systems, security, data & analytics)

Responsibilities

• Work hands-on with early-stage founders to design scalable architectures
• Navigate GenAI landscape and select foundation models and AI services
• Guide GenAI applications, manage model costs, latency and safety
• Build data foundations: vector databases, pipelines, RAG, fine-tuning
• Develop relationships within San Francisco's startup ecosystem
• Translate founder feedback to product and engineering teams
• Create technical content and present at startup events

Skills

8+ years tech exp

Design/implementation/consulting

IT development/consulting

Job description

Are you passionate about startups? Do you get excited about helping founders solve hard technical problems at the earliest and most critical stages of building their company? We're looking for a Solutions Architect who wants to be deeply embedded in San Francisco's startup ecosystem. Come join us!

Early-stage startups are unlike any other customer. Founders are moving fast, resources are tight, and the technical decisions they make today can either unlock their growth or become a bottleneck six months from now. Many of these companies are coming straight out of top accelerators like Y Combinator or are freshly backed by leading VC firms, and they need a trusted technical advisor in their corner. This is where you come in.

In this role, you'll work directly with early-stage founders across a wide range of industries including AI/ML, FinTech, ClimateTech, healthcare, consumer, B2B SaaS, and more. You'll help them make smart, pragmatic architectural decisions that set them up to move fast without breaking things later. You'll have the chance to build real, lasting relationships with these founders and establish yourself as one of the first trusted technical voices in their journey.

You won't be handing founders a generic playbook. On any given week you might be helping a first-time founder think through their architecture before they've written a single line of code, helping a seed-stage company figure out how to scale after an unexpected viral launch, or working through a compliance challenge with a FinTech startup that needs to move quickly but can't afford to cut corners.

Beyond your direct work with founders, you'll also get time to stay sharp and keep your technical skills fresh. You'll act as a voice for the startups you work with, making sure the right products and features are being built for their needs. And you'll have plenty of opportunities to share your knowledge more broadly by writing technical content and presenting at startup and developer events across San Francisco's ecosystem.

Key job responsibilities

• Work hands-on with early-stage founders to design and iterate on architectures that are practical for where they are today but built to scale as they grow
• Help startups navigate the fast-moving GenAI landscape, from selecting the right foundation models and AI services to building production-ready AI-powered products and services
• Guide founders through the real challenges of building GenAI applications, including managing model costs, latency, accuracy, safety, and AI best practices
• Support startups in building the right data foundations to power their AI products, whether that's vector databases, data pipelines, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), or fine-tuning workflows
• Build and deepen relationships within San Francisco's startup ecosystem, including top accelerators like Y Combinator, incubators, and leading VC firms
• Be a voice for your founders, connecting their feedback and needs directly to product and engineering teams to help shape the tools and services being built for them
• Create technical content tailored to early-stage startups, such as blog posts, reference architectures, and sample code, that helps founders move faster and spend less time reinventing the wheel
• Share your expertise at startup events, demo days, and developer meetups across the San Francisco ecosystem to build trust and visibility in the community

About the team

Diverse Experiences Amazon values diverse experiences. If your career hasn’t followed a traditional path, or includes alternative and relevant experiences that differ from what is listed in the in the job description, we encourage you to apply.

Why AWS Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that’s why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Work/Life Balance

We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why flexible work hours and arrangements are part of our culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there’s nothing we can’t achieve in the cloud.

Inclusive Team Culture

Here at AWS, we value inclusivity. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empowers us to be proud of our differences and celebrate them. Ongoing events and learning experiences continue to inspire us to embrace our uniqueness.

Mentorship and Career Growth

We’re continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth’s Best Employer. That’s why you’ll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Basic Qualifications:

• 8+ years of specific technology domain areas (e.g. software development, cloud computing, systems engineering, infrastructure, security, networking, data & analytics) experience
• 3+ years of design, implementation, or consulting in applications and infrastructures experience
• 10+ years of IT development or implementation/consulting in the software or Internet industries experience

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of infrastructure architecture, database architecture and networking experience
• Experience working with end user or developer communities

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.

Pursuant to the San Francisco 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, San Francisco - 176,600.00 - 239,000.00 USD annually