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, 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.

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.

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Additional sources/links

The Everything Store - Brad Stone 1

Invent and Wander - Jeff Bezos 2