The worlds largest startup - Senior Technical Program Manager Amazon Employee Review

4.0
Jan 15, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There is always a problem to solve and something interesting to work on so its hard to get bored. Pay is good, though most of it is stock based which means significant pay cuts as the market shifts. A lot of smart people to work with which is fun. If you like to get things done and getting them done quickly then Amazon is a great place to work--same can be said if you have a lot of great idea's and want the freedom to explore those idea's. Great place for creativity. Lots of opportunities to change teams and grow internally. If you love change and hate rigid organizational structure then you will love Amazon. In a lot of ways Amazon is managed like the worlds largest start-up which is great if you like growth and change without a lot of structure.

Cons

TONS of churn. In the 4 years I've been at Amazon I've had 8 new managers and 6 new positions--only 2 of those by choice. There are a lot of re-orgs where work is just dropped and a tremendous amounts of previous work and effort are lost. Poor communication from leadership around changes of direction. Stressful environment due to the significant amount of constant change. Promo for technical roles is absurdly convoluted and difficult once you get past L5. In many cases its easier to leave Amazon and rebound back to a higher level role by interview than it is to promo to any role above L6, this usually results in a higher salary due to bonuses for new hires. If you are the type of person who like lots of documentation and process Amazon will drive you nuts--it changes and moves too fast to keep up and documentation and process are generally more like rough drafts if they exist at all. Next to no defined project/program management process outside of using agile for software dev. Work-life balance can be hard to achieve but not impossible--you need to be good at saying no or managing your time. Vacation time and paid holidays are probably the worst in the industry. We get 8 paid holidays a year, 2-3 weeks paid vacation and 1.5 days of PTO. Many times you will work through those paid holidays for on-call or if you work in core fulfillment during Peak and Prime.

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5.0
Apr 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Long days but rewarding if you work with a good team and leadership group

Cons

long days and long weeks

5.0
Jan 10, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Really smart people, a lot of opportunity for growth, always encouraged to be innovative, think big, and create something new. Competitive salary and benefits with other major tech companies. 100% self motivating work environment. No dress code and 4 legged friends are welcome.

Cons

You have to be self motivated. NO ONE will hold your hand and tell you that you're doing a great job. If you need constant affirmations from management, this company isn't for you.

3159
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