Systems Development Manager, Prime Air

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How do you get items to customers quickly, cost-effectively, and—most importantly—safely, in less than an hour? And how do you do it in a way that can scale? Our teams of hundreds of scientists, engineers, aerospace professionals, and futurists have been working hard to do just that! We are delivering to customers, and are excited for what’s to come. Check out more information about Prime Air on the About Amazon blog (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drone-reveal-photos).

If you are seeking an iterative environment where you can drive innovation, apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve real world delivery challenges, and provide benefits to customers, Prime Air is the place for you.

Come work on the Amazon Prime Air Team!

Prime Air is seeking a Systems Development Manager to drive strategic automation initiatives and lead a team of engineers in transforming manual workflows into efficient, reliable, and scalable automated systems. This senior role combines technical expertise with team leadership to establish best practices, mentor junior engineers, and architect solutions that enhance operational excellence.

This role requires a combination of technical excellence, leadership ability, and strategic thinking to drive automation initiatives while developing and managing a high-performing team. The successful candidate will balance hands-on technical work with people management responsibilities to deliver scalable solutions that enhance operational efficiency across Prime Air's systems.

Export Control License: This position may require a deemed export control license for compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Placement is contingent on Amazon’s ability to apply for and obtain an export control license on your behalf.

Key job responsibilities
• Lead and mentor a team of Systems Development Engineers, providing technical guidance, code reviews, and career development support
• Establish technical vision and roadmap for automation initiatives across multiple teams
• Drive architectural decisions and establish best practices for automation development and testing
• Partner with stakeholders to identify high-impact automation opportunities and define success metrics
• Oversee the design and implementation of complex automation solutions while ensuring maintainability and scalability
• Manage project planning, resource allocation, and cross-team dependencies
• Foster a culture of innovation, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement
• Collaborate with other engineering leaders to align automation strategy with broader organizational goals
• Lead technical design reviews and provide strategic input on technology choices
• Balance team workload and manage delivery timelines while maintaining high quality standards

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of systems engineering and operations leadership for an Internet service or leading edge IT organization experience
- 5+ years of managing system or software development teams experience
- 7+ years of relevant hands-on systems engineering and administrative work in networking, storage systems, operating systems experience
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- Experience in systems engineering and operations leadership for an Internet service or leading-edge IT organization
- Experience in managing system or software development teams
- Experience (hands-on) in systems engineering and administrative work in networking, storage systems, and operating systems
- Experience in agile software development methodology
- 5+ years of systems development experience
- 2+ years of team leadership experience
- Experience scripting languages and coding skills for one (1) or more of the following: Ruby, C/C++/C#, Node.JS, Java, Python, and PHP
- Experience leading the design, automation, deployment, and support of large-scale infrastructure
- Experience leading the architecture and design (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and current systems
- Experience influencing multiple stakeholders and leading cross functional teams across geographies and business units
- Experience managing Agile projects
- Experience mentoring an engineering community on complex technical issues

Preferred Qualifications

- Knowledge of professional software engineering & best practices for full software development life cycle, including coding standards, software architectures, code reviews, source control management, continuous deployments, testing, and operational excellence
- Knowledge of systems engineering fundamentals (networking, storage, operating systems)
- Experience with Agile engineering practices (Kanban, continuous delivery, etc.)
- Experience with AWS platforms, services, and design patterns
- Experience in managing an engineering team operating at scale
- 5+ years of contributing to new and current systems architecture and design (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) experience, or Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- Experience developing test strategies and plans for complex hardware/software systems or systems of systems
- 5+ years of continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) experience
- Experience with budgeting, scheduling and cost reports
- Master's degree in Computer Science or a related field
- 1+ years of in a safety-critical role experience, or experience with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations or similar technical platforms
- project management certification such as PMP, Scrum, or other Agile certification

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

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