Amazon Software Development Manager III reviews

3.4

40% would recommend to a friend

(119 total reviews)
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Andrew Jassy

37% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Software Development Manager III employees have rated Amazon with 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 119 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Software Development Manager III professionals have a good working experience there. Amazon is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Software Development Manager III professionals compared to other employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

119 reviews
5.0
Aug 26, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Lot's of autonomy. -Decent compensation -An attempt to keep Amazon from being driven from the top down, like lot's of big companies. It's actually partially successful. -If data is available it rules the conversation, no matter what the rank are of the people involved. I'll take data driven over ego driven decisions any day. Amazon is a VERY data driven environment. -Because Amazon has such a large variety of systems and technologies in use its an easy place to get lots of exposure to large scale systems used for lots of cool stuff without job hopping.

Cons

-Amazon has an odd culture, due to the fact that it's made up of lots and lots of relatively small teams. While this promotes lots of bottom up innovation, it also leads to having to sometimes deal with a lot of people to get things done - and their priorities don't always line up with yours. It makes for an environment where informal relationships make all the difference. -If you're on a team responsible for systems with significant software issues or a team that hasn't made the investment in documentation to get the support team to take most pages, pager duty can be hell. It's a lot better today than in times past and there are corporate level initiatives in place to drive changes for the better. It seems to be working. -Like all workplaces if you don't set some boundaries Amazon will take all of your time and ask for more. During peak season expect to work lots of extra hours if the heat is on your team. Otherwise, if you're burning out you'll need to have enough spine to set some boundaries.

2.0
Jan 25, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good opportunity to learn about eBusiness at a large scale. Innovation does happen at Amazon. One can move around within the company and gain exposure to various aspects of the business. Compensation is pretty good but not if you consider the benefits and time demands.

Cons

Culture of micromanagement - very little trust or delegation of ownership. Management is encouraged to drill into every detail and required to defend every decision at every level. Metrics driven customer focus does not take the employee into consideration. There is no work-life balance at this company. Management applies manufacturing discipline to all aspects of the business. So if you want to feel like a factory worker while writing software, this is the place for you. Very little time off. If your salary looks good, make sure you consider the benefits too. Poor 401K matching, poor time off, poor holidays, etc.

Viewing 115 - 117 of 119 Reviews

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