Senior Software Development Engineer, EC2 VPC

Company: Amazon
Location: San Diego
Posted on: April 2, 2026

Job Description:

The primary location for this position is San Diego, CA. Do you want to shape the future of virtualized (SDN) networking in the world’s biggest public cloud? The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) VPC Packet Pipeline team owns the packet pipeline that runs right beneath all our customer's EC2 VPC instances, adding features like firewalling (security groups), billing and monitoring as we touch every single packet on every single host across our massive worldwide fleet. Our vision is to combine the performance of bare metal networking while maintaining all the benefits of the cloud, including delivering features not possible on bare metal i.e. true Software Defined Networking (SDN). We are growing fast, and are looking for kernel/embedded C leaders who can deliver ultra high performance - our goal is to be processing millions of packets per second on a CPU core. This requires both being able to implement highly optimized data structures, but also low level (including by hand assembly and vectorizing) tuning to our hardware. If you have good experience in C/C++, and a passion for systems software engineering such as kernel or embedded development, then this is a unique opportunity to join us at day one of building the platform which is the basis for all new EC2 VPC features in the years to come. Your responsibilities will include: - Being the lead engineer on a small team, mentoring junior engineers, ensuring the right development practices are followed. - Be very hands-on; work with the engineering team to manage the day-to-day development activities by leading architecture decisions, participating in designs, design review, code review, and implementation. - Maintain current technical knowledge to support rapidly changing technology, always on a look out for new technologies and work with management and development team in bringing new technologies. - Communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior management to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy About the team Our team values work-life balance. Striking a healthy balance between your personal and professional life is crucial to your happiness and success here. Our team is dedicated to supporting new team members. Our team has a broad mix of experience levels and Amazon tenures, and we foster an environment that celebrates knowledge sharing. Our senior engineers truly enjoy mentoring more junior engineers and engineers from non-traditional backgrounds through one-on-one mentoring and thorough, but kind, code reviews. We care about your career growth. We try to assign projects and tasks based on what will help you develop into a well-rounded engineer. - 5 years of non-internship professional software development experience - 5 years of programming with at least one software programming language experience - 5 years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience - Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team - 1 years experience in leading a team in terms of architecture, mentoring and pushing best software development practices - Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or equivalent - Experience developing in C or C++ - 5 years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience - Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent - Effective verbal and written communication skills - Proficiency in design and analysis of algorithms and data structures - Linux operating system knowledge development experience - In-depth knowledge of TCP/IP - Kernel or embedded development, particularly Linux kernel - Knowledge of professional software engineering practices & best practices for the full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations - Experience influencing software engineers best practices within your team - Scripting (Ruby/Python) Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status. Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner. The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including 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, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits . USA, CA, San Diego - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually

Keywords: Amazon, Newport Beach , Senior Software Development Engineer, EC2 VPC, IT / Software / Systems , San Diego, California