Amazon Software Development Engineer II reviews

As with any company, there are a few kinds of people at Amazon, those who sail through well, and then move on to other opportunities and always have a positive feeling about their short stint. Others start seeing the cons and start planning to get out. A few stay around and do well for themselves. Depending on which group you fall in, the cons will be magnified. There seems to be one focus - the bottom line and making sure your boss and their boss is happy. It's Kafkaesque. This is a result of the top down culture where everything coming from the S and D teams is sacred and non-negotiable. There is very little time to learn and the focus is on delivering products. If not you, someone else will do your job. The leadership is uninspiring and the projects, depending on your group, aren't exactly cutting edge. Depending on which group you are in, throwing more money at customers sometimes seems to be the next big innovation - another way to get more customers to sign up for amazon and for prime.

You feel overwhelmed. You end up working insane hours, dropping things on the floor, or doing a half-assed job.