Lots of challenge, lots of opportunity, lots of work - Software Development Manager Amazon Employee Review

4.0
Apr 10, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

In my experience, Amazon's leadership principles guide the company. There's emphasis on working backwards from the customer to deliver value, on innovation, and on technical excellence. There's willingness to take risk, and willingness to learn from poor outcomes, rather than look for someone to blame.

Cons

Amazon's out dated personnel system means competition, rather than collaboration, among those who understand there must be a low performer, and low performers are moved out of the business. Excessive demand on development teams, coupled with poor support structures, mean dev's and dev managers are constantly pushed to do more with less, then held accountable for not having time to go deep, deliver value, etc.

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5.0
Apr 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Strong engineering culture with emphasis on ownership and scalability Opportunity to work on large-scale distributed systems Good compensation and benefits compared to industry average Exposure to modern cloud technologies and internal tools

Cons

Work-life balance can be inconsistent depending on team On-call responsibilities can be demanding High expectations and performance pressure Internal processes can sometimes be complex

5.0
Jan 10, 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.

3159
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