We are looking for a Principal Engineer to own the full structured data stack powering agentic AI - from connectivity to query engines to the agents that operate across it all. This is a large, live production system serving millions of customers, not a greenfield build. You will provide full-stack technical leadership, balancing a major architectural transformation (agents replacing dashboards as the primary interface) with the stability and reliability that our existing customer base depends on. You will diagnose deep systemic problems, shape product direction, define multi-year technical strategy, and drive execution across teams - all while operating at a scale where correctness and performance directly determine customer trust. You will also drive the modernization of how the team builds software - advancing AI-native engineering practices including AI-assisted development, automated testing, and LLM-driven code generation.
This role requires a leader who thrives in ambiguity, can move fluidly between low-level system diagnosis and high-level architectural vision, and has a proven track record of evolving large-scale production systems without disrupting the customers who rely on them. You don't just architect - you ship. We need someone who takes unscoped problems end-to-end, from defining the approach to landing production code.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
• 10+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
• 8+ years of programming with at least one modern programming language experience
• 8+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability, and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
• Experience operating and evolving large-scale distributed systems in production (this is not a theoretical or greenfield role)
• Experience as a technical leader, driving architecture and engineering excellence across multiple teams
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Full-stack data systems experience spanning connectivity, query engines, and semantic layers
• Background in data warehousing, lake houses, or query processing at scale
• Experience with agentic AI or AI-powered data interfaces
• Familiarity with semantic layers or BI platforms at scale (e.g., QuickSight, Tableau, Looker, Power BI)
• Track record of balancing existing-system stability with large-scale architectural transformation
• Experience at companies such as Databricks, Snowflake, Google (BigQuery/Looker), or Elastic
• 10+ years of full software development life cycle experience, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations
• Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent
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, WA, Seattle - 200,100.00 - 270,600.00 USD annually