Amazon Leo is an initiative to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities around the world. In this position, you will be a valued member of payload network team designing and developing network stack (routing, forwarding, control, data and distribution planes) for an end-to-end system of satellites, interchanges, ground gateways & customer terminals.
Are you passionate about building and leading high-performing engineering teams that deliver software systems at scale? We're looking for a Software Development Manager to lead a team responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining satellite networking software systems that solve real customer problems. In this role, you will own the technical and strategic direction of your team's products, shaping a 1–2 year roadmap while tackling complex, ambiguous challenges. You'll collaborate across teams, drive architectural decisions, and create an environment where engineers do their best work. If you thrive on turning customer needs into impactful software and developing the next generation of engineering talent, we'd love to hear from you.
Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Key job responsibilities
- Lead and grow a software development team through the full software lifecycle — design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance — ensuring delivery of high-quality, maintainable systems aligned with organizational goals.
- Define and own your team's technical vision, product roadmap, and architectural direction, balancing tactical needs against long-term strategic objectives to maximize customer impact.
- Collaborate with cross-functional partners including product management, technical program management, and peer engineering teams to align priorities, resolve dependencies, and deliver cohesive solutions.
- Coach, mentor, and develop engineers at multiple levels, creating growth plans, providing actionable feedback, and building a sustainable team culture where members can perform and advance their careers.
- Establish operational metrics and audit mechanisms to monitor system health, service quality, and team performance, proactively identifying and mitigating risks before they become roadblocks.
Take responsibility for designing and delivering a modern, flexible, high throughput, low latency data distribution network protocol architecture spanning space and ground segments.
- Lead and implement custom routing and L2/L3 control data distribution protocols that incorporate mission critical network security, quality of service and dynamic communications infrastructures for best-in-class network services that delight our customers.
- Develop flexible and cost-effective inter-networking solutions in support of connecting and peering with other public and private networks.
A day in the life
As a Software Development Manager of Amazon Leo's Payload Networking you will be responsible for leading the design of embedded networking software used in the Amazon Leo products. You will work in a collaborative environment with teams inside and outside of Amazon. You will mentor a team of software engineers on best practices while you guide your software designs from requirements gathering through mass production. You will need to be flexible and responsive to high priority issues.
Your morning might start with reviewing system metrics and operational dashboards, then shifting into a design review where you challenge architectural proposals and guide your engineers toward scalable solutions. After lunch, you could find yourself partnering with product and program managers to refine upcoming deliverables, followed by a one-on-one coaching session with a direct report on their career development. You'll balance time between technical depth and people leadership, ensuring your team has what it needs to deliver confidently.
About the team
Our team builds and maintains software systems that directly support Amazon's mission to be the most customer-centric company on earth. We operate in a collaborative, inclusive environment where engineers are empowered to take ownership of their work and innovate on behalf of customers. We are focused on building scalable, reliable solutions and investing in the growth of every team member. If you're excited about leading a team that values technical excellence, thoughtful problem-solving, and continuous improvement, this is the place for you.
