Software Development Engineer II, AWS EKS

Amazon • Seattle, WA

1d • $143,700 - $194,400 • Onsite

About The Position

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.

Requirements

• 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

Nice To Haves

• 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

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.

Benefits

• sign-on payments
• restricted stock units (RSUs)
• 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
• parental leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level