What Software Development Managers at Amazon Really Do

The Software Development Manager (SDM) role at Amazon is a masterclass in balancing tactical execution with strategic vision. It’s not just a job—it’s a mission. From defining team culture to innovating on behalf of customers, every decision carries weight, and every action sets a precedent.

When I joined Amazon as an SDM in 2021, I quickly learned this was more than managing timelines or wrangling engineers. It was about creating impact—on the team, the customer, and the business. Here’s a deep dive into what this role entails, with real anecdotes to show you the human side of leading at Amazon.

Amazon SDM is a multi-faceted role with wide scope and accountability

1. Defining Team Identity: Tenets and Charters

When I joined my first team, the first challenge wasn’t technical—it was cultural. We were a group of talented individuals but lacked a shared understanding of what we stood for. So, I gathered the team to define our tenets and charter, the core principles guiding our decision-making.

One tenet we agreed on was: “We value correctness over speed when it matters.”

It wasn’t just lip service. During a critical release, this tenet became our North Star. A partner team requested a faster turnaround on a new feature, but we held firm, ensuring the output met our high standards. This clarity avoided chaos, built trust with our stakeholders, and solidified our team’s reputation.

Defining tenets isn’t just an exercise in alignment—it’s an investment in decision-making for when things get messy.

2. Balancing the Tactical and Strategic

Imagine you’re managing two timelines simultaneously. One is the here-and-now—your operational plans, release schedules, and on-call rotations. The other is the long game—a three-year strategy that maps out not just where your team will be but what kind of impact it will create.

I set up an internal wiki for our team at w.amazon.com. This wasn’t just documentation—it was our contract with the rest of Amazon. It outlined our release schedules, support protocols, and engagement rules.

One time, a VP reached out after reviewing our wiki and said, “Your documentation saved me two hours of back-and-forth.” That’s the kind of efficiency Amazon thrives on.

On the strategic side, I broke down our three-year vision into roadmaps spanning 12–24 months. One of the most rewarding projects was an innovative analytics pipeline that improved query response times by 50%. Getting there required meticulous resource planning and aligning with multiple teams.

3. Working Backwards from the Customer

At Amazon, the customer isn’t just king—they’re the only priority. One of my favorite examples was leading the development of PartiQL-Scribe, an open-source application layer transpiler.

The idea stemmed from a customer pain point: managing fine-grained access controls across disparate data sources. After months of planning, prototyping, and navigating organizational red tape, we delivered a solution that unified multiple SQL dialects into one cohesive framework.

I remember spending late nights refining our PRFAQ document, preparing for reviews with Distinguished Engineers. The feedback was brutal but invaluable. When the feature launched, a customer’s feedback summed it up perfectly: “This just saved us weeks of work.”

4. Leading Operations Like a Pro

Operations aren’t just about keeping the lights on—they’re about building trust. I defined our on-call rotation policy to ensure every team member was supported, not overwhelmed.

One memorable moment was during a high-severity outage. Our system went down during peak traffic, and I had to step in to coordinate the response. Thanks to our well-documented support protocols, we restored service in record time. The postmortem revealed areas for improvement, but also underscored how preparation turns crises into learning opportunities.

5. Growing and Empowering the Team

Growing a team isn’t just about headcount—it’s about capability. Over two years, I hired new engineers, mentored interns, and championed promotions for three team members.

One intern, in particular, stood out. They built a prototype for a real-time data visualization tool that surpassed everyone’s expectations. Watching them grow from a nervous college student to a confident professional was incredibly rewarding.

Empowerment wasn’t just a buzzword—it was a philosophy. Weekly 1:1s became a space for candid conversations about career goals and challenges. One of my engineers told me, “I’ve never felt this supported in my career.” That’s the power of intentional leadership.

6. Building Consensus and Resolving Conflicts

Consensus-building at Amazon can feel like navigating a labyrinth. As an SDM, I facilitated discussions to align our roadmap with broader organizational goals, often acting as the mediator between competing priorities.

One such instance involved negotiating service ownership boundaries with a partner team. It wasn’t easy—hours of debate and dozens of revisions later, we reached an agreement that allowed both teams to thrive. The key? Staying solution-oriented and inviting diverse perspectives.

7. Ruthless Prioritization and Focus

Here’s a hard truth: You can’t do it all. I had to make tough calls, shelving projects that didn’t align with our core objectives.

One time, I had to convince my team to drop a promising initiative to focus on a higher-impact project. It wasn’t easy—people were emotionally invested. But by showing the bigger picture and ensuring transparency, we rallied around the new priority.

8. Operational and Strategic Reviews

Amazon runs on reviews. Weekly and monthly reviews weren’t just checkpoints—they were opportunities to pivot, refine, and adapt.

During one monthly review, we identified a bottleneck in our deployment pipeline. Within weeks, we implemented a fix that reduced deployment times by 40%. These reviews weren’t about finding faults—they were about driving improvement.

9. Mentorship and Team Cohesion

One of my proudest moments as an SDM was organizing a team offsite where we played a live-action VR game. It wasn’t just fun—it was team-building disguised as entertainment.

I also encouraged every team member to find a mentor, creating a culture of continuous growth. One of my engineers said, “This mentorship program transformed how I approach problem-solving.” That’s the ripple effect of investing in people.

10. Expanding Influence Beyond the Team

An SDM’s impact doesn’t end with their team. By collaborating with Principal and Senior Engineers, I influenced technical decisions that shaped roadmaps across multiple teams.

One example? Proposing a shared library for analytics that became a standard across five teams. It wasn’t just a technical win—it was a testament to the power of collaboration.

The Bottom Line

The SDM role at Amazon is about more than hitting targets—it’s about leaving a legacy. It’s about balancing the tactical with the strategic, empowering your team, and always putting the customer first.

If you’re aspiring to lead at this level—or simply want to refine your leadership skills—remember this: Great leadership is about building others up, making bold decisions, and staying true to your principles.

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