My experience working at Amazon 🌲

Hi everyone 👋 I wanted to share my experience working at Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a front-end engineer in the CloudFormation team. I joined AWS in July 2022 and worked there until January 2023.

During my time at AWS, I had the opportunity to work on an exciting project which was the Feature Spotlight, which helps users learn how to use CloudFormation. I championed this project and worked closely with the product team to build out its specs and requirements.

Working at AWS was my first experience at a FAANG company, and it was an incredible opportunity to learn and grow as a front-end engineer. At Amazon I used the unique systems to build and deploy full stack applications including brazil build, 🚰 Pipelines, CR (code review - Amazon lingo for PR), Isengard and much more.

Some other interesting pieces of Amazon culture include the concept of the flywheel, writing, 2 way doors, and 2 pizza teams to aid agility when developing software in large organizations. There are also the leadership principles (LPs) which help guide Amazonians to make better decisions; some of the LPs that I like are Invent and Simplify, and Be Curious.

Unfortunately, I was laid off in late January, which was tough to deal with. However, I am still grateful for the experience and the skills that I gained during my time at AWS. As a front-end engineer, I feel that my skills have improved, and I am now better equipped to tackle new challenges in my career.

One of the things I would have improved in hindsight was my code quality, by paying more attention to silly mistakes before submitting for CR.

Looking back, I am reminded that setbacks are a part of life, and they can help us grow and become better. I am excited to see what new opportunities await in the future.

---

Additional sources/links

The Everything Store - Brad Stone 1

Invent and Wander - Jeff Bezos 2

---

Disclaimer:

This blog post is a personal account of my experience working at Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a front-end engineer in the CloudFormation team. The views and opinions expressed in this post are solely mine and do not represent the views, opinions, or official stance of Amazon, Amazon Web Services (AWS), or any of its affiliates.