Skip to main content
Amazon logo

Senior Software Development Engineer, EC2 Instance Networking

Amazon

SANTA CLARA, CAJob$193–262K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

Most applications go out cold — see where you stand first. No sign-up to start.

You apply on the employer's site, with no Olive account needed.

Watch jobs like this.

Don't just apply. Show up ready.

Olive works from this exact posting.

At a glance

Compensation
$193–262K/yr
Location
SANTA CLARA, CA
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Job overview

Amazon’s EC2 Instance Networking team builds and operates the software-defined networking stack for AWS virtual machines. The Senior Software Development Engineer writes low-level systems software for custom networking hardware, working on network virtualization, packet processing, and availability at scale. The role spans hardware, firmware, and software, with responsibility for leading engineers, delivering networking systems, and resolving complex production issues.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Software Development, requiredProgramming, requiredSystems Design, requiredSystem Architecture, requiredMentoring, requiredTechnical Leadership, requiredSoftware Development Lifecycle, nice to haveCoding Standards, nice to haveCode Reviews, nice to haveSource Control Management, nice to haveBuild Processes, nice to haveTesting, nice to haveOperations, nice to have

Qualifications

7+ Years Software Development Experience, required7+ Years Programming Experience, required7+ Years Design or Architecture Experience, requiredBachelor's in Computer Science or Equivalent, nice to have8+ Years Software Development Lifecycle Experience, nice to have

Benefits

Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Parental Leave

Full job description

Description

Do you want to build the networking infrastructure that powers every virtual machine in the world's largest cloud? Are you excited by the challenge of writing systems software that runs on millions custom networking cards across millions of hosts?

The Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Instance Networking team builds and operates the software-defined networking stack at the heart of AWS. Our code is what makes Virtual Private Clouds (VPC) work, what enforces customer security policies, and what enables workloads to scale from a single instance to clusters of tens of thousands. Every packet that enters or leaves an EC2 instance flows through software we write, running on custom silicon designed in-house.

This work sits at the intersection of cloud infrastructure and the AI revolution. As machine learning workloads grow to unprecedented scale - training runs spanning thousands of accelerators, clusters demanding millions of network endpoints, and fabrics pushing hundreds of gigabits per second. We build the networking primitives that make these workloads possible: high-performance interfaces, low-latency data plane protocols, and scalable network virtualization that operates predictably even under heavy churn. When the world's most ambitious AI companies scale on AWS, they're relying on the software we build.

You'll write low-level systems code in C and Rust running on custom hardware in a real-time

embedded environment. You'll work on network virtualization protocols, packet processing pipelines, and availability mechanisms that must perform correctly at massive scale with sub-second latency requirements. You'll solve problems that span hardware, firmware, and

software, and see the direct impact of your work on customers running some of the largest and most demanding workloads in the cloud.

Key job responsibilities

  • Lead and mentor junior engineers on impactful and challenging projects

  • Design and implement data plane networking software on custom hardware, working across the full software lifecycle from design through deployment and operations

  • Build and improve network virtualization systems that deliver VPC connectivity, security policy enforcement, and performance isolation for EC2 customers

  • Investigate and resolve complex production issues across distributed embedded systems, driving root cause analysis and permanent fixes

  • Collaborate with partner teams across hardware, control plane, and ML platforms to deliver end-to-end solutions

Basic Qualifications

  • 7+ years of non-internship professional software development experience

  • 7+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience

  • 7+ 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

Preferred Qualifications

  • 8+ 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

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, SANTA CLARA - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually

USA, WA, Seattle - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually

How this job compares

Set against the 8,695 open Software Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$193–262K/yr
  • California median$189–278K/yr1,318 salary ranges
  • US median$147–251K/yr6,569 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $227K, is close to the California median midpoint ($232K) — in the middle half of Software Engineering salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 1,811 open Software Engineering jobs in California and 8,695 across the US. 9% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 7 years of experience; Software Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 7 years at the median (6,621 postings).
Education
2,176 of the 8,695 open Software Engineering jobs (25%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

Prepare for this role

You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.