Description
Are you a Software Engineer who thrives on solving ambiguous, cross-cutting technical problems at scale? Are you looking to own the architecture and developer experience of a mobile platform used by tens of millions of customers worldwide?
We're building the next generation of the Alexa Mobile App and are looking for a Senior SDE to lead the design, architecture, and delivery of foundational Android platform capabilities. In this role, you won't just write features - you'll define the technical direction for how features get built. You'll own critical platform systems (build tooling, OS integration, performance infrastructure), drive architectural decisions across multiple teams, and raise the engineering bar through mechanisms, mentorship, and technical standards. You'll operate with significant autonomy, decompose complex problems into actionable plans, and influence roadmaps beyond your immediate team to ensure the platform scales with our device portfolio.
Key job responsibilities
Own the technical vision and architecture for Android platform systems - build/test infrastructure, OS integration layers, and shared frameworks
Lead design reviews, drive architectural decisions, and document trade-offs for systems that span multiple teams
Mentor and raise the bar through code reviews, design guidance, and engineering standards
Identify and resolve systemic technical debt, performance bottlenecks, and developer experience gaps proactively
Partner with product, TPMs, and peer tech leads to align platform investments with device launch timelines
Define and enforce engineering best practices: instrumentation, testing strategy, CI/CD pipeline health
Deliver independently on ambiguous, multi-quarter initiatives with minimal direction
A day in the life
You start by reviewing a teammate's design doc and sharpening the architecture. Then you're hands-on - profiling a startup regression, shipping a fix with instrumentation. After lunch, you lead a cross-team discussion to unblock a device bring-up dependency. You proto@type a build tooling improvement, review CRs, and unblock a junior engineer stuck on an Android framework issue. Your day blends deep coding, architectural leadership, and mentorship - you measure success by how much faster you make the entire team ship.
About the team
You'll be part of the team that creates scalable solutions that make up the Mobile Architecture of the Alexa app. Our team provides the building blocks to effortlessly build scalable, secure, robust and performant code. We own developer productivity, Android OS integration, and foundational platform capabilities. Our mission is to make Alexa available anytime, anywhere. We're mobile experts who mentor and develop the best.
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
5+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
5+ years of Android development experience, or Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
Experience taking a leading role in building complex software or computing infrastructure that has been successfully delivered to customers
Experience working in a fast-paced environment similar to a high-tech start-up
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.
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, Santa Cruz - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually
USA, CA, Sunnyvale - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually
