Software Development Manager, Production and Post Production Technology

Overview Software Development Manager III to lead engineering teams building the Studio in the Cloud (SITC) platform for Amazon MGM Studios. SITC transforms entertainment content creation by moving major production and post-production workflows from on‑premises to AWS cloud-based solutions. The initiative covers nine core workflows—Dailies, Editorial, VFX, Sound, Conform, Color, Mastering, QC/Delivery, and Remote Production—spanning the full content creation lifecycle from Original Camera Footage (OCF) ingestion through final delivery. You will independently lead a software development team that owns critical SITC components. Depending on your domain, you may own engineering for workflows such as Dailies ingestion and transcoding infrastructure, Editorial collaboration systems, VFX rendering platform, or QC/Delivery pipelines. You will architect and deliver distributed systems enabling global collaboration for creative professionals with integration to AWS cloud and industry-standard tools. Your team will address complex technical challenges including high‑bandwidth media transfer, low‑latency playback for creative review, GPU virtualization for rendering workloads, and real-time collaboration across global productions. As an SDM III, you will operate with minimal guidance, owning your team’s structure, software architecture, and strategic technical direction. You will define a 1–2 year technical vision for your domain, make critical architectural decisions to scale SITC to 100+ concurrent productions, and balance feature velocity with operational excellence. You will partner with Product Management (PMT) to translate product vision and customer requirements into technical execution. Your team will integrate with leading creative tool providers including Avid, Adobe, Colorfront, and Blackmagic, ensuring their applications perform optimally in cloud environments. You will architect solutions meeting the demanding requirements of directors, editors, colorists, and VFX artists who expect near‑instantaneous response times, 4:4:4 10‑bit color fidelity, and reliability comparable to local workstations. The systems will support Amazon MGM Studios’ production slate spanning 150+ titles annually across International Originals and Global Originals. This role requires deep technical expertise in distributed systems, media processing pipelines, high‑performance computing, and cloud infrastructure. You must understand the constraints of media workflows—large file sizes (terabytes per production), latency‑sensitive operations, specialized hardware (GPUs for rendering/color), and integration with proprietary vendor systems. Success requires balancing technical excellence with pragmatic delivery, building scalable architectures while meeting production timelines. Key responsibilities Independently lead a software development team (6–12 engineers) that owns critical SITC platform components, managing team structure, software architecture, technical strategy, and delivery for workflows such as Dailies infrastructure, Editorial collaboration systems, VFX rendering platform, or Mastering/QC pipelines Own team‑wide and product‑wide architectural decisions for your domain including system design, technology choices, API contracts, data models, and integration patterns. Define a 1–2 year technical vision and roadmap to enable SITC to scale from 70+ to 150+ concurrent productions Architect and deliver distributed systems that handle OCF ingestion (terabytes per production), real‑time transcoding and processing, low‑latency media playback, GPU‑accelerated rendering, and global asset distribution across AWS regions. Ensure solutions meet creative quality requirements Solve complex technical problems including high‑bandwidth/low‑latency challenges for varied network infrastructures, elastic compute scaling for rendering workloads, multi‑region disaster recovery for live productions, and integration with vendor systems (Avid, Adobe, Blackmagic) with specific infrastructure requirements Partner with Product Management (PMT) to translate customer needs and workflow requirements into technical solutions, providing feasibility assessments, effort estimates, and architectural options. Challenge product assumptions when constraints require alternative approaches Lead technical discussions with Principal Engineers and Senior Engineers on system design trade‑offs, contribute to architectural reviews across the SITC platform, and facilitate cross‑team collaboration Establish and own operational excellence for your systems including SLAs (uptime, latency, throughput), monitoring and alerting, incident response, capacity planning, and cost optimization. Productions cannot tolerate downtime during active shoots Contribute to OP1/OP2 planning for Studios Tech, influencing roadmaps and resource allocation. Align with peer SDMs and product leadership on cross‑team dependencies and technical standards Build and develop your engineering team through hiring, performance management, career development, and sustainable work/life harmony. Delegate oversight to grow future technical leaders; may manage 1–2 other managers (SDM IIs) or senior ICs Communicate technical vision, system architecture, and delivery status to engineering stakeholders, product leadership, and Studios executives. Write technical narratives and architecture documents; contribute to PR/FAQs explaining how solutions enable outcomes Basic Qualifications 3+ years of engineering team management experience 7+ years of engineering experience 8+ years of leading the definition and development of multi‑tier web services experience 3+ years of Software Engineer, Software Developer, or related occupational experience 1+ years of providing technical leadership and project management for all aspects of the software development lifecycle 1+ years of developing large‑scale, multi‑tiered distributed software systems using Java, C#, or C++ 1+ years of developing large‑scale, multi‑tiered distributed software systems using service‑oriented architecture 1+ years of developing large‑scale, multi‑tiered distributed software systems using distributed programming Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related field Knowledge of engineering practices and patterns for the full software/hardware/networks development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, certification, and livesite operations Experience partnering with product or program management teams Preferred Qualifications Experience in communicating with users, other technical teams, and senior leadership to collect requirements, describe software product features, technical designs, and product strategy Experience in recruiting, hiring, mentoring/coaching and managing teams of Software Engineers to improve their skills Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status. Los Angeles County applicants: Job duties for this position include: work safely and cooperatively with other employees, supervisors, and staff; adhere to standards of excellence despite stressful conditions; communicate effectively and respectfully with employees, supervisors, and staff to ensure exceptional customer service; and follow all federal, state, and local laws and Company policies. Criminal history may have a direct, adverse, and negative relationship with some of the material job duties of this position. These include the duties and responsibilities listed above, as well as the abilities to adhere to company policies, exercise sound judgment, effectively manage stress and work safely and respectfully with others, exhibit trustworthiness and professionalism, and safeguard business operations and the Company’s reputation. Pursuant to the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 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 for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner. Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The base pay for this position ranges from $166,400/year in our lowest geographic market up to $287,700/year in our highest geographic market. Pay is based on a number of factors including market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Amazon is a total compensation company. Dependent on the position offered, equity, sign-on payments, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits. For more information, please visit . This position will remain posted until filled. Applicants should apply via our internal or external career site. Based on your recent activity, you may be interested in: Posted: November 25, 2025 (Updated 29 days ago) Posted: October 17, 2025 (Updated about 1 month ago) Posted: July 7, 2025 (Updated 3 months ago) Posted: July 31, 2025 (Updated 7 days ago) Posted: December 11, 2025 (Updated 10 days ago) Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status. #J-18808-Ljbffr