Amazon EMR is a web service that enables customers to run massive clusters with open-source data processing frameworks like Apache Spark, Hive, Presto, Hadoop, HBase and more, with the ability to effortlessly scale up and down as needed. EMR runs across multiple deployment modes — EC2, EKS, and Serverless — serving millions of clusters across all AWS regions. The ODA Fundamentals team owns the end-to-end lifecycle of releases across Amazon EMR (EC2, EKS, Serverless), AWS Glue, and Amazon Athena. We build, validate, register, and distribute AMIs and Docker images that power every cluster. We own the Kamino pipeline — the automated system that takes open-source frameworks and packages them into production-ready releases. We also own patching (in-place and OS-level), region builds (launching services in new AWS regions), and release automation tooling. We are looking for a Software Development Engineer to help us build the next generation of release automation. You will design and implement services that automate the build, validation, and distribution of releases across all deployment modes and services. You will work on distributed systems that must be reliable, scalable, and secure — our pipeline directly impacts every EMR, Glue, and Athena customer. You will also contribute to reducing operational toil through automation, improving release velocity, and ensuring our services are available in every AWS region. Successful candidates will have strong software development skills, experience with distributed systems, and a bias for automation. You should be comfortable owning end-to-end delivery — from design through deployment and operations. Experience with CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, or release engineering is a plus. A day in the life You will work across the full stack — from CDK infrastructure to Java/Python services to operational tooling. You will collaborate with engine teams (Spark, Hive, Presto), platform teams (EC2, EKS, Serverless, Glue, Athena), and security teams. You will participate in on-call rotations and drive operational excellence for the release pipeline. About the team The ODA Fundamentals team is part of Open Data Analytics Engines (ODA-E) within AWS. We are the team behind every EMR, Glue, and Athena release — responsible for building, patching, and distributing releases across all AWS regions and deployment modes. Our mission is to make releases fully automated, zero-touch, and always green. We are currently rebuilding our core infrastructure (Kamino) as a unified serverless architecture to replace platform-specific services. 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.