Amazon

Senior Software Development Engineer, Time & Pay Innovation

Hyderabad · On-site · 5+ yrs · Senior · Full-time

Sr. SDE for time and pay systems at Amazon, leading design of distributed systems for millions of associates.

Apply on Amazon's site Ask for a referral Interview prep

Posted 16 Oct 2026 · found on Amazon's own careers page

Interview prep: questions this posting points to

Written from 8 current Engineering postings on Amazon's own careers page — not questions Amazon has asked.

  1. Walk me through how you'd design a GenAI-based test tool that multiple independent teams across Amazon could plug into for their own testing pipelines. What would the extensibility points look like, and how would you avoid it becoming a one-off script that only your team can use?
    From the posting: “design and develop GenAI tools, frameworks and testing infrastructure to facilitate the testing by multiple teams and Amazon business. This includes analyzing requirements, assessing testability, identifying automation opportunities and implementing them for projects where the work will be run by multiple businesses in parallel.pen_spark/ ... for projects where the work will be run by multiple businesses in parallel.pen_spark/ ... facilitate the testing by multiple teams and Amazon business.pen_spark/ ... pen_spark/Design and develop GenAI tools, frameworks and testing infrastructure to facilitate the testing by multiple teams and Amazon business.pen_spark/Lead effort towards simplifying test tools and technologies in terms of efficiency, effectiveness stability, extensibility, and scalability.”
  2. The HR conversational AI assistant starts giving employees confidently wrong answers about a leave policy that recently changed. Walk me through how you'd triage and fix this in production.
    From the posting: “driving the operational fundamentals (accuracy, latency, quality) that earn employee trust”
  3. The Payroll and Freight postings talk a lot about 'ambiguous problems' and 'solving complex problems, applying appropriate technologies and best practices.' Tell me about a time when you had to turn an ambiguous or fuzzy requirement into a clear technical solution.
    From the posting: “You will solve ambiguous business problems and map them to elegant technical solutions”
See all 67 questions More on this prep
Read the full job description

The Time and Pay Innovation team is chartered to build a world-class product that meets attendance and pay computation needs for millions of hourly associates across Amazon businesses. People Technology is the central hub for all Amazon people data. Our technology provides the foundation and orchestration for a multitude of key human resource processes — from onboarding tens of thousands of temporary employees during peak holiday season to integrating critical employee data with internal and external systems. We design and build highly secure, global software that allows Amazon to effectively manage the workforce, resulting in a better employee experience and a better bottom line.

We are looking for a Sr. Software Development Engineer to lead the design and development of Time and Pay systems at Amazon's scale and complexity. These systems reside on the critical path of Amazon operations. As a Sr.

SDE, you will invent new technologies and build custom solutions to help Amazon track time, attendance, and productivity of employees — directly impacting the employee experience for millions of associates. You will own problems end-to-end and work with some of the best minds at Amazon. This role is for a full-stack senior developer with an emphasis on designing highly scalable and extensible applications. You will design flexible and scalable solutions, and tackle some of the most complex challenges in computing by utilizing your skills in data structures, algorithms, and programming principles.

Your responsibilities will span the full software development lifecycle — design, development, testing, deployment, and operations. You will also have access to Principal Engineers to collaborate on ideas and discuss technical solutions. Key job responsibilities * Design, develop, and operate large-scale distributed systems that process time, attendance, and pay data for millions of associates worldwide * Own the end-to-end architecture and delivery of critical features, from ideation through production * Drive technical excellence by establishing best practices, conducting design and code reviews, and raising the engineering bar * Mentor and develop junior engineers, fostering a culture of ownership and continuous improvement * Collaborate cross-functionally with product managers, stakeholders, and partner teams to define technical roadmaps * Identify and resolve ambiguous problems, making sound trade-off decisions in a fast-paced environment

Basic qualifications

- 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience - 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience - 5+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience - Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team - Bachelor's degree in computer science or equivalent

Preferred qualifications

- 5+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience 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.

Members get roles like this as soon as we find them on the company's careers page, and paid plans email the ones that match their resume.

Get new roles first — free

More at Amazon