Senior Software Development Engineer, AWS RDS SQL Server

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 many types of failures within seconds, and data replication options that accommodate various geographical distribution and disaster recovery objectives. The challenge is further heightened by needing to handle huge numbers of databases, multiple database engines (RDS supports MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MariaDB, and Amazon Aurora), and a wide variety of customer workloads.

This role is for the AWS RDS for SQL Server team. SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. Amazon RDS for SQL Server makes it easy to set up, operate, and scale SQL Server deployments in the cloud. For more information on RDS SQL Server, please visit: http://aws.amazon.com/rds/sqlserver

To achieve our goals in this area, we are looking for a Software Engineer who loves to dive in and solve fundamental Computer Science and Systems problems around performance, timing, state machine logic and distributed systems algorithms. Candidates need to have a strong sense of ownership, passion to provide a great customer experience and excellent troubleshooting skills even when in high-pressure situations. If you"d like to be a part of creating always-on databases in the AWS cloud, this is the job for you!

Utility Computing (UC)

AWS Utility Computing (UC) provides product innovations - from foundational services such as Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), to consistently released new product innovations that continue to set AWS's services and features apart in the industry. As a member of the UC organization, you'll support the development and management of Compute, Database, Storage, Internet of Things (Iot), Platform, and Productivity Apps services in AWS. Within AWS UC, Amazon Dedicated Cloud (ADC) roles engage with AWS customers who require specialized security solutions for their cloud services.

Key job responsibilities

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, escalate 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 ridiculously easy for customers to run SQL Server in the cloud without wrestling with infrastructure. We tackle gnarly distributed systems challenges (automated failover, zero-downtime patching, scaling at cloud speed) for customers ranging from scrappy startups to Fortune 500 giants. The culture? Collaborative, high-ownership, and refreshingly low on bureaucracy - we ship fast, learn from our customers, and actually enjoy the work. If you like solving puzzles that millions of people quietly depend on every day, you"ll fit right in.

AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn't followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don't let it stop you from applying.

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.

Inclusive Team Culture Here at AWS, it's in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship & 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.

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 we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can't achieve in the cloud. (edited)