Software Development Manager, Accessibility, Devices & Services, Trust, Privacy & Accessibility

Amazon • Sunnyvale, CA

2d

About The Position

We are looking for a talented and enthusiastic Software Development Manager who
has strong customer obsession and a track record of delivering innovative
products and features. You will lead a globe-spanning team of engineers,
technical program managers, and accessibility testers, along with their managers
as they develop new accessibility features for our devices and Alexa, as well as
to create AI-powered tooling for accessibility testing, and to improve developer
efficiency to help them deliver accessible offerings for our customers. Your
team will work at the intersection accessibility and AI, for both our mature
Fire OS operating system, for our recently introduced Vega OS (whose
accessibility framework we built from scratch), as well as for Alexa.

This role requires a significant autonomy, drive, and the ability to problem
solve. You will be well suited to this role if you are customer-focused,
resourceful, team-oriented, and have an ability to work independently under time
constraints. You will work and influence internal and external stakeholders,
manage cross functional programs, and be able to help prioritize amidst
ambitious goals and timelines.

In this role, no two days are the same — and that’s by design. You will spend a
good part of your time engaging with a wide range of partner teams across
product, UX, research, engineering, legal, and other product teams to gather
insights, clarify accessibility requirements, and uncover both issues and
opportunities.

You’ll participate in regular brainstorming sessions to shape new ideas, solve
complex accessibility problems, and design fixes that address not just immediate
needs, but also set us up for long-term success.

You will meet with customers at disability conferences throughout the year,
representing Amazon and our accessibility offerings, and learning about what
customers love, what could work better, and what they wish we might offer.

You would be joining Amazon’s longest tenured, accessibility team. Over the past
13 years, their work was recognized by American Foundation for the Blind with
their Helen Keller Achievement award, by Disability:IN with their Marketplace
Innovator award, and by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai with the FCC Chairman’s Award for
Advancements in Accessibility (among others). Your colleagues bring over a
century of combined experience in the field, and include Amazon’s sole MacArthur
Fellow, and two of the only three people to be recognized twice with Helen
Keller Achievement Awards for their work.

Requirements

• 5+ years of engineering team management experience
• 10+ years of engineering experience
• 5+ years of Software Engineer, Software Developer, or related occupational experience
• Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
• Knowledge of engineering practices and patterns for the full software/hardware/networks development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, certification, and livesite operations
• Experience partnering with product or program management teams
• Experience partnering with product and program management teams
• Experience managing multiple concurrent programs, projects and development teams in both Agile and waterfall environments

Nice To Haves

• Experience in communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior leadership to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy
• Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring/coaching and managing teams of Software Engineers to improve their skills, and make them more effective, product software engineers
• Knowledge of mobile and web design patterns and accessibility standards
• Deep understanding of disability needs and accessibility solutions
• Track record of delivering accessible products and assistive technologies
• Experience with Generative AI tools, both for efficiency gains and use in prototyping

Responsibilities

• You will be responsible for leading a strong team of engineers, both directly and through their engineering managers, to innovate and deliver accessibility solutions for our customers with disabilities
• You will leverage AI to build developer and QA tools to increase developer & testing velocity, as well as in customer-facing features
• You will work backwards from the customer to invent new solutions and to improve existing software
• You will work with the executive leadership and technical leaders to define the product direction; create vision and execution documents; and insist on the high bar for technical documentation and the quality of the developed software
• You may periodically perform hands-on code reviews and other technical deep dives to ensure the right thing is being built and delivered to customers
• You will hire, coach, and promote your staff

Benefits

• 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: Manager