What is the difference between SDE II and SDE III at Amazon?

SDE II owns a service and is judged on whether it works. SDE III owns a problem that crosses services and is judged on what the solution costs neighbouring teams. Because Amazon uses fewer bands than most, this single step covers roughly what two rungs cover elsewhere.

Is Amazon SDE III the same as Google L6?

Roughly, and only roughly. Amazon compresses six bands into four, so SDE III spans ground that Google splits between senior and staff. Compare the scope of the decisions rather than the label.

Amazon engineering levels: SDE I to Principal

Amazon runs SDE I, SDE II, SDE III and Principal on the individual-contributor ladder, commonly numbered L4 to L7. It compresses into four bands what Google spreads across six, so one Amazon level can span two elsewhere - which makes Amazon level conversions the least reliable of any pair.

The compression is the thing to understand. SDE II covers a range that Google splits between L4 and L5, and SDE III covers ground that elsewhere is senior and staff. An engineer moving in either direction can find the same title describes a different job.

It also means the SDE II to SDE III step is unusually large. It is not one rung so much as two, and the evidence expected reflects that: ownership that crosses teams, rather than a service done well.

Amazon Principal is a genuinely small population, and it is where the deliverable becomes direction rather than design, in the same way L7 does at Google. The numbers here are convention rather than published policy and they drift.

What to actually study

Real modules from the curriculum, in the order they make sense. Every video each one points at is free.

Common questions

What is the difference between SDE II and SDE III at Amazon?: SDE II owns a service and is judged on whether it works. SDE III owns a problem that crosses services and is judged on what the solution costs neighbouring teams. Because Amazon uses fewer bands than most, this single step covers roughly what two rungs cover elsewhere.
Is Amazon SDE III the same as Google L6?: Roughly, and only roughly. Amazon compresses six bands into four, so SDE III spans ground that Google splits between senior and staff. Compare the scope of the decisions rather than the label.

No course promotes anyone. Levels are awarded by employers against their own ladder, on evidence collected over months. What material like this can do is close a specific knowledge gap that is currently in the way.

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