Software Development Engineer - ElastiCache

Description

This is an opportunity to join one of AWS's most foundational and high-impact engineering teams — the Data Plane team within Amazon ElastiCache and
MemoryDB. We own the core in-memory engine that powers millions of customer workloads: the data path, durability layer, replication protocol, snapshot
system, and advanced data structures. Our work sits at the intersection of systems programming, database internals, and performance engineering — every microsecond matters when you're serving the world's most latency-sensitive applications.

If you've ever found yourself deep in a conversation about write-ahead logs, copy-on-write fork semantics, lock-free data structures, or memory allocator design — and you want to apply those ideas to a system handling millions of operations per second at cloud scale — this team is where you belong. We build the engine behind Amazon MemoryDB, the only Valkey-compatible database that delivers in-memory speed with Multi-AZ durability. We're not just running an open-source cache; we're extending Valkey with novel capabilities — durable replication, active-active conflict resolution, full-text and vector search — while maintaining the sub-millisecond latencies our customers depend on.

Our customers include Disney+, Snap, Zoom, Lyft, Airbnb, and hundreds of thousands of other AWS customers who trust us with their most performance-critical workloads. You'll work in C/C++ at the lowest levels of the stack, solving problems in memory management, I/O optimization, replication protocols, and distributed data systems — all in production at massive scale.

Key job responsibilities
As a Software Development Engineer on the Data Plane team, you will take on broad ownership of the core engine that sits at the heart of ElastiCache and
MemoryDB. Your core responsibilities will include:

- Designing and building the next-generation in-memory database engine, delivering sub-millisecond latencies and millions of operations per second to the world's most demanding applications.
- Developing large-scale distributed in-memory storage systems in C/C++, extending open-source Valkey with durability, replication, and advanced data structure capabilities.
- Building and optimizing the durability layer — transaction logging, snapshotting, and replication protocols — that enables MemoryDB to deliver in-memory speed with Multi-AZ data protection.
- Designing and implementing advanced data structures and query capabilities including vector search and full-text search to support emerging workloads like generative AI.
- Driving performance engineering at the systems level — memory allocator tuning, I/O path optimization, and lock-free concurrency — to push throughput and latency boundaries.
- Contributing to active-active replication and conflict resolution mechanisms that enable globally distributed, low-latency data access.
- Mentoring and growing engineers on the team, serving as a technical leader and role model for engineering best practices.
Managing individual project priorities, deadlines, and deliverables with a high degree of autonomy and accountability.


A day in the life
Day-to-day, you can expect a dynamic mix of deep technical work and collaborative engineering. A typical week might look like:
- Writing and reviewing production-quality C/C++ code for the core in-memory engine — optimizing data structures, replication paths, and the durability layer for maximum throughput at minimal latency.
- Participating in design reviews and architecture discussions, where you'll debate trade-offs around durability guarantees, memory efficiency, and replication consistency — and then go build the solution.
- Collaborating with peer engineers to debug complex systems issues at the engine level - analyzing crash dumps, tracing memory corruption, and profiling hot paths under production-scale load.
- Working with upstream open-source Valkey contributors and internal partner teams to integrate new capabilities and ensure our extensions remain compatible and performant.
- Engaging with product teams to understand emerging customer needs — from generative AI workloads requiring vector search to globally distributed applications needing active-active replication — and translating those into engine capabilities.
- Mentoring engineers through code reviews, design feedback, and pairing sessions, helping them grow their systems programming skills and engineering judgment.
- Contributing to the team's operational excellence by participating in on-call rotations and driving improvements to engine reliability and diagnostic tooling.

About the team
The Data Plane team is a passionate group of engineers who thrive on solving hard problems at the intersection of database internals and distributed systems. We are a collaborative, intellectually curious team that values technical depth, ownership, and a bias for action. We own the core engine behind Amazon ElastiCache and MemoryDB — the in-memory data path, durability layer, replication protocol, and advanced query capabilities that hundreds of thousands of AWS customers depend on for their most latency-sensitive workloads.

Our customers include some of the world's fastest-growing startups and largest enterprises, all relying on our engine to deliver sub-millisecond performance at scale. We are deeply invested in open-source software and actively contribute to the Valkey community. As a team, we believe in growing together — senior engineers are directly involved in mentoring and developing engineers at all levels, and we take pride in building a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.

About AWS

AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the preferred qualifications and skills listed in the job description, we encourage candidates to apply. If your career is just starting, hasn't followed a traditional path, or includes alternative experiences, don't let it stop you from applying.

Why AWS? Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. We pioneered cloud computing and never stopped innovating — that's why customers from the most successful startups to Global 500 companies trust our robust suite of products and services to power their businesses.

Inclusive Team Culture Here at AWS, it's in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.

Mentorship & Career Growth We're continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth's Best Employer. That's why you'll find endless knowledge-sharing, mentorship and other career-advancing resources here to help you develop into a better-rounded professional.

Work/Life Balance We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can't achieve in the cloud.

Basic Qualifications

- 3+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 2+ years of non-internship design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- 1+ years of software development engineer or related occupational experience
- 1+ years of designing and developing large-scale, multi-tiered, multi-threaded, embedded or distributed software applications, tools, systems, and services using: C#, C++, Java, or Perl experience
- 1+ years of Object Oriented Design experience
- Bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field
- Experience programming with at least one software programming language

Preferred Qualifications

- 3+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
- Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. As a total compensation company, Amazon's package may include other elements such as sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, basic life & AD&D insurance), Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Deferred Profit Sharing Plan (DPSP), paid time off, and other resources to improve health and well-being. We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those interviewed will be advised as to hiring status.