Working as a Software Developer at Amazon for 12 years (started out of college), love it - Principal Software Engineer Amazon Employee Review

5.0
29 Aug 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I love working with such talented coworkers with such a diverse skill set. I learn a ton from others. Over my 12 years at Amazon I've worked on tons of teams from on the amazon.com website to AWS. Each team brings new challenges and keeps me interested. The culture is great, and I enjoy the cycle of busy-to-relaxed depending on the time of year and what part of development my projects are in. I love the culture of ownership, even being on call to make sure we build high quality systems. I've grown a lot at Amazon, starting as an entry-level software developer out of college.

Cons

Amazon asks a lot of managers, so they're often stretched somewhat thin. And with people switching teams, it's common to have a different manager every year or so. This just makes it important to occasionally write down what you've been working on to hand context to your next managers(s). But this is a useful exercise for reflecting on your recent work, so it's not that big of a deal.

Explore other reviews about Amazon

5.0
20 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very talented co workers. Access to world class mentorship, Hyper scale projects. Nice culture

Cons

Stack ranking could be stressful.

5.0
10 Jan 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.

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