Not great, but not terrible either. - Software Development Engineer I Amazon Employee Review

3.0
Aug 5, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is some of the best in the industry for a new grad, up there with Google and MS. Benefits are decent. Most teams work normal 40-hour weeks, unless you get unlucky enough to get put on a team with an insane workload or on-call rotation.

Cons

The culture hates developers and treats them like second-class citizens. Due to Jeff Bezos's obsession with miserliness (which he mistakenly calls "frugality") you will be given one standard monitor, one slow desktop, and one slow laptop with not enough RAM. If you want anything else, take it from an intern's desk after he/she leaves, or buy it yourself. In the same vein, funding to fix "developer pain" issues is non-existent. Could everyone's job satisfaction or productivity be vastly improved by having a few developers work on environment, tooling, or build system issues? Doesn't matter! You can either voluntarily spend your free time working on it, or do without. Actually lots of business-critical internal tooling is maintained this way, by "volunteers". Be prepared for tools you use every day to fall over when whatever random guy maintains them leaves the company! Management doesn't care. All hail "frugality"! Your manager will probably technically be a former engineer. But teams are informally run by business people here, not engineers. They love to strong-arm engineering managers into committing to dates for project launches without spending an appropriate amount of time investigating and scoping out the work. Oh, and the main reason projects take so long is because given a choice between spending two months on doing something correctly, and one month on some horrible hack that makes it kinda work but convolutes your entire architecture, guess what the non-technical people who run your org will pick EVERY time... It's gotten to the point that we have business code no one understands or is willing to touch, simply by "death by a thousand cuts" with no time ever allocated for refactoring. Don't even get me started on the space... I hope for your sake that you get put in one of the new buildings that are "only" normal high-density seating, not Amazon high-density seating. Otherwise, your work environment will sound like a high school cafeteria and be about as productive.

Explore other reviews about Amazon

5.0
Jan 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working as a Data Center Engineering Operations (DCEO) technician at AWS has been an incredibly fulfilling experience. Every day, I know that my work directly supports the infrastructure that powers services used by millions of customers worldwide—from Netflix streaming to NASA processing Mars rover images. What makes this role special is the sense of ownership and responsibility. DCEO technicians are truly the heartbeat of the data center, maintaining the critical power, cooling, and life safety systems that keep AWS running at 99.999% uptime. The mission is clear: be stealthy in action and swift in recovery, solving problems before they impact customers. The technical challenges keep the work engaging. Whether I'm monitoring building management systems, responding to alarms, managing preventative maintenance programs, or coordinating with vendors, there's always something new to learn. The role demands both hands-on technical skills and critical thinking, which makes every shift dynamic and rewarding. AWS invests heavily in training and development. The comprehensive onboarding process, detailed standard operating procedures, and access to subject matter experts across Field Engineering and other support teams ensure you're never alone in solving complex problems. The emphasis on safety is genuine—leadership truly prioritizes that everyone goes home in the same condition they arrived. Working alongside dedicated teams like DCO, Infrastructure Delivery, and Logistics creates a collaborative environment where everyone understands how their role contributes to the bigger picture. The 24/7 nature of the work means building strong relationships with your shift team, and there's real camaraderie in knowing you're all working toward the same critical mission. For anyone who enjoys hands-on technical work, values operational excellence, and wants to be part of maintaining world-class infrastructure at global scale, DCEO at AWS offers a challenging and meaningful career path.

Cons

Time constraints, and demands can be overwhelming.

5.0
Jan 10, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Really smart people, a lot of opportunity for growth, always encouraged to be innovative, think big, and create something new. Competitive salary and benefits with other major tech companies. 100% self motivating work environment. No dress code and 4 legged friends are welcome.

Cons

You have to be self motivated. NO ONE will hold your hand and tell you that you're doing a great job. If you need constant affirmations from management, this company isn't for you.

3159
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