[SAGE] Amazon.com hiring: Looking to hire software developers with good sysadmin experience

["Melissa D. Binde" <binde@terindell.com>]

Two disclaimers:

    (1) I've not seen many job postings here, but I've been assured by
        several people that this isn't an inappropriate use of the list.
	Flames to me, please.  If there's a policy (official or unofficial)
	against it, I couldn't find one on the web page: please post one and
	I'll never do this again.

    (2) These are for full-time development positions.  I need people who
        have worked on programs of at least 10,000 lines of code who are
        interested in coding all day, not sysadmining.  BUT, we also want
	people with a strong systems background.

It has been hard to find the candidates that we need: excellent developers,
but also people who have had strong experience in sysadmin, inftrastructure,
etc.  roles, who can bring their knowledge to bear on the problems.  I would
love to have a SAGE member, since I have a lot of respect for the technical
and professional abilities of SAGE members (I'm a member of SAGE, yes.)

We're not kidding about is the language requirements: you really do have to
have several years of working in a software development role or having that
as a primary job function.  If you are interested in a development position
where you're chartered with finding broken things and writing applications
to fix them, then you're a good match.


We also have at least one pure systems administration position open in other
teams -- I've provided the job description for that at the end of this post.

Please: make it clear in the subject line whether you are emailing me for
one of the SDE (Software Development Engineer) positions or the SE ("Systems
Engineer" aka "Administrator") position.


Please contact me (binde@amazon.com) with resumes (indicating which job(s)
you're interested in) or questions.  For resumes, I'll also forward them on
to our recruiter to make sure they get into the system so they can also be
considered for other jobs.

I've heard from friends looking for jobs that there's some skepticism about
whether job postings are for "real jobs" or just ways to get resumes for
when a job actually opens.  Please rest assured that these are real jobs
(I'm a manager -- you know that managers never lie!)  While I have a variety
of interesting, exciting, and entertaining character traits, pretending that
I have an open position when I don't isn't one of them.


Quick summary of Amazon:

(1) We're in Seattle; telecommuting from out of state is not possible
    (i.e. you have to be willing to move to Seattle, Washington)
(2) All of these jobs are on UNIX
(3) I've been here for four years and am not planning on leaving anytime
    soon; it's a great company with high hiring standards



> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Software Development Engineer -Automation and Tools, #02-007034
>
> Amazon.com is looking for an exceptional software developer for our
> Development Team that handles trouble ticketing, change management, asset
> management and various support applications. The team utilizes SQL and other
> programming languages to deliver a set of applications that core to tracking
> the availability of the retail web site. The work consists of translating
> business requirements into usable applications. All team members are
> expected to solve problems end-to-end and own the solution; there's no
> separation of design, implementation, documentation, or maintenance. The
> team works with a mix of technical and non-technical customers.
>
> The ideal candidate has thorough knowledge of and 3+ years experience with
> SQL and perl, as well as object-oriented design and at least one other
> language (preferably C/C++.). Knowledge of Remedy is also a
> plus. Undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science or equivalent
> experience required; BSCS or MSCS highly desired. Knowledge of UNIX,
> object-oriented design, SQL, algorithms, data structures, the ability to
> work on a team or independently, define project technical requirements, work
> with technical and non-technical users, set appropriate project schedules,
> and produce robust, supportable software with comprehensive, usable
> documentation is a must. Experience working with existing code, GUI
> development, LDAP, creating client/server applications, designing large
> scalable internal systems, interacting with management, technical, and
> less-technical users is a plus. Previous experience in a multi-vendor UNIX
> environment and exposure to any of networking, database administration,
> systems administration, or security is desired.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Software Development Engineer, Infrastructure Applications, #02-006752
>
> Amazon.com is looking for an exceptional software developer for our
> Infrastructure Applications group. Infrastructure Applications builds
> applications and frameworks for enterprise scaling and automation. We play a
> critical role in creating cost-effective, agile business by designing
> unified applications and processes and working with other software groups.
> The team is highly self-directed, the work is varied, and all team members
> are expected to solve problems end-to-end; there's no separation of design,
> implementation, testing, documentation, or maintenance.
>
> The ideal candidate has 3+ years experience with perl and/or C++, as well as
> object-oriented design.  Undergraduate or graduate degree in computer
> science or equivalent experience required.  Knowledge of UNIX, the ability
> to work on a team or independently, work with technical and non-technical
> users, set appropriate schedules, and produce robust, supportable software
> with comprehensive documentation is a must. Experience working with existing
> code, user interfaces, SQL, LDAP, creating client/server applications,
> designing large scalable systems, interacting with management, technical,
> and less-technical users is a plus. Previous experience in a multi-vendor
> UNIX environment and exposure to security, systems administration, or
> database administration is also a plus.
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Software Development Engineer, Enterprise Deployment Framework, #02-007227
> 
> Amazon.com is looking for an exceptional software developer to build a
> world-wide application deployment framework for our extensive network of
> data, applications and servers.  We need to create a highly scalable,
> configurable system that can manage a wide variety of content across the
> entire infrastructre, and the person who fills this role will be the lead
> and primary implementor of the project.
> 
> 3+ years experience with perl and/or C++, as well as object-oriented design
> is ideal.  Undergraduate or graduate degree in computer science or
> equivalent experience required.  Knowledge of UNIX, the ability to work on a
> team or independently, define project technical requirements, work with
> technical and non-technical users, set appropriate schedules, and produce
> robust, supportable software with comprehensive documentation is a must.
> Experience with data modelling, QA tools, SQL, creating user interfaces,
> designing large scalable systems, interacting with management and end-users,
> or previous experience designing build/release systems is a plus.
> 


Finally, here's the non-development position.  Remember to make it clear in
the subject line if this the job you're interested in, because I'll need to
pass it on to someone else...:

> Unix Systems Engineer, #02-007081
>
> Amazon.com is seeking a Unix systems engineer who is proficient in all
> aspects of Unix administration and engineering. This candidate requires
> strong leadership skills and a successful track record of driving projects
> to completion. Responsibilities include: monitor and maintain critical
> systems, design highly available and efficient systems, participate in
> capacity planning reviews, coordinate project activities with customer and
> team members, provide on-call technical support and technical consultation
> to Amazon.com internal customers. In addition, a successful candidate will
> have knowledge of TCP/IP networking, advanced performance analysis,
> administrative scripting, and the common network services are
> crucial. Must haveextensive experience with one or more of: Linux, HP/UX,
> Solaris, True64. Excellent verbal and written communication skills are a
> must, in addition to strong interpersonal skills. Ideal candidate will
> interact with all levels of our organization. A B.S. degree in computer
> science or equivalent experience, as well as a minimum of 5 years of Unix
> systems administration/engineering is required. Management potential
> desired.



-- 
Melissa Binde / Manager, Infrastructure Tools / binde@amazon.com

Hire people with a special kind of stupidity, who ignore or reject how
things are 'supposed to be done around here.'         -- Robert Sutton