Software Development Engineer II, AWS EKS

We are looking for a Software Development Engineer II (SDE-2) to join the EKS Compute Platform team. In this role, you will design, build, and operate large-scale distributed systems that form the backbone of EKS compute. You will work close to the infrastructure layer, writing software that provisions and manages compute across diverse environments and directly impact how millions of customers run their containerized workloads.

As an SDE-2, you will own the end-to-end delivery of significant features, drive technical design decisions, and raise the bar on engineering and operational excellence across the team.



Key job responsibilities
Design & Build: Architect and implement scalable, highly available distributed systems that provision, manage, and orchestrate compute for EKS (Managed Node Groups, Hybrid Nodes, Fargate Profiles).

Operate at Scale: Own the operational health of services handling millions of customer workloads; participate in on-call rotations and drive operational improvements.

Technical Leadership: Lead the design and implementation of complex features end-to-end, from requirements through deployment and production validation.

Kubernetes Expertise: Work deeply with Kubernetes internals, controllers, and APIs to build seamless compute experiences across cloud, on-premises, and edge environments.

Cross-Team Collaboration: Partner with other EKS teams, AWS service teams, and open-source communities to deliver integrated, customer-centric solutions.

Mentorship: Mentor junior engineers, conduct thorough code reviews, and contribute to a culture of engineering excellence.

Operational Excellence: Drive improvements in CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, alarming, and incident response processes.

Innovation: Identify opportunities to simplify customer experiences, reduce operational burden, and push the boundaries of what's possible with managed compute.

About the team
The EKS Compute Platform team builds and operates the compute infrastructure that powers Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS). We own EKS Managed Node Groups, EKS Hybrid Nodes, and EKS Fargate Profiles - the systems responsible for provisioning, scaling, and managing the compute that runs millions of customer workloads across AWS.

Our team tackles challenges at the intersection of distributed systems, Kubernetes, and cloud infrastructure. We're building the next generation of compute experiences that let customers seamlessly run containers on AWS, on-premises, and at the edge through a unified EKS control plane.

Inclusive Team Culture
Here at AWS, we embrace our differences. We are committed to furthering our culture of
inclusion. We have ten employee-led affinity groups, reaching 40,000 employees in over 190
chapters globally. We have innovative benefit offerings, and host annual and ongoing learning
experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences. Amazon’s culture of inclusion is reinforced within our 14 Leadership Principles, which remind team members to seek diverse perspectives, learn and be curious, and earn trust.

Work/Life Balance
Our team puts a high value on work-life balance. It isn’t about how many hours you spend at
home or at work; it’s about the flow you establish that brings energy to both parts of your life.
We believe striking the right balance between your personal and professional life is critical to
life-long happiness and fulfillment. We offer flexibility in working hours and encourage you to
find your own balance between your work and personal lives.

Mentorship & Career Growth
Our team is dedicated to supporting new members. We have a broad mix of experience levels
and tenures, and we’re building an environment that celebrates knowledge sharing and
mentorship. Our senior members enjoy one-on-one mentoring and thorough, but kind, code
reviews. We care about your career growth and strive to assign projects based on what will help
each team member develop into a better-rounded engineer and enable them to take on more
complex tasks in the future.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 2+ years of non-internship design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Java, Go, C++, or Python

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience with distributed systems at scale
- Experience communicating technical details verbally and in writing
- Strong understanding of Kubernetes architecture, including controllers, operators, CRDs, and the API server
- Experience with cloud infrastructure services (EC2, networking, IAM, auto-scaling)
- Familiarity with container runtimes and Linux systems programming
- Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools (CloudFormation, Terraform, CDK)
- Track record of delivering complex, ambiguous projects with minimal guidance
- Experience with hybrid or edge computing architectures
- Contributions to open-source projects, especially in the Kubernetes/CNCF ecosystem
- Strong operational mindset - experience with monitoring, observability, and incident management at scale

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

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, WA, Seattle - 143,700.00 - 194,400.00 USD annually