Sr. Software Development Manager, Relational Database Services

About the role

Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) is one of the fastest growing services in AWS, running millions of customer databases across every commercial and sovereign region. Keeping those databases current, secure, and healthy at that scale is one of the hardest and most consequential problems in managed databases. Our vision is to provide the best in class release and patch management available.

We are looking for a Senior Software Development Manager to build the next generation of how RDS patches, upgrades, and manages the software lifecycle of every database we operate.

You will lead multiple engineering teams reinventing how we deliver operating system, engine, and platform software updates to customer fleets, with the goal of making patching and upgrades a best-in-class, low-touch, and trustworthy experience.

You will own the strategy and delivery of advanced patching and upgrade systems designed for the next generation of the cloud: safer automation, richer customer control, and near-zero-downtime maintenance. You will set the multi-year technical vision, hire and grow a strong org, and partner across RDS, database engines, and AWS security to raise the bar on how customers keep their databases current.

The right leader is equally comfortable defining strategy in ambiguity and diving deep into the mechanics of fleet-wide software delivery. You think in terms of customer trust, operational safety, and long-term platform leverage, and you build teams that ship durable systems rather than one-off fixes.

Key job responsibilities

• Own the vision, strategy, and roadmap for RDS patching, upgrades, and software lifecycle management across the entire managed fleet.
• Build and lead several engineering teams delivering net-new systems for advanced patching and upgrade orchestration, safety, and automation.
• Raise the bar on maintenance safety: minimize customer-visible downtime, expand automated validation and rollback, and shorten the time from CVE disclosure to fleet-wide remediation.
• Partner with database engine, security, and operations teams to align on a coherent software lifecycle strategy for the next generation of the cloud.
• Hire, develop, and retain a high-performing organization; grow managers and senior engineers and set a high standard for operational and engineering excellence.
• Represent the patching and lifecycle strategy to senior AWS leadership and to customers, and drive alignment on long-term direction.

A day in the life

You spend your morning in a design review for a new upgrade-orchestration system, pushing the team on how it behaves during partial failure and how it earns customer trust. Midday you review fleet health and remediation metrics with your leads, decide where to invest to raise the bar on critical patch SLAs, and unblock a cross-team dependency with the engine teams.

In the afternoon you work with a principal engineer on the multi-year lifecycle vision, then meet with a manager on their team's hiring and growth plans. Throughout, you are balancing near-term operational commitments against the net-new platform you are building.

Basic Qualifications

• 10+ years of engineering experience
• 5+ years of engineering team management experience
• 10+ years of planning, designing, developing and delivering consumer software experience
• Experience partnering with product or program management teams
• Experience managing multiple concurrent programs, projects and development teams in an Agile environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience partnering with product and program management teams
• Experience designing and developing large scale, high-traffic applications

Additional information

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If the country/region you're applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Pay and benefits

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.

USA, TX, Austin - 220,100.00 - 297,700.00 USD annually