Senior Manager, Critical Issues & Operations Readiness Amazon Leo, D2D Software

Amazon Leo is building a low Earth orbit satellite constellation to bring fast, affordable connectivity to customers around the world. Direct to Device (D2D) extends Leo to standard mobile phones and devices: a fully regenerative fifth-generation (5G) mobile base station on each satellite, delivering service to standard handsets through mobile network operators (MNOs). D2D Software builds the embedded software that flies, the cloud and ground software that runs the service, and the platform that connects them. Our target is under a day from a defect being found to the fix deployed across the entire constellation, achieved by automating everything that a person would otherwise do by hand.

Amazon Leo is building a low Earth orbit satellite constellation to bring fast, affordable connectivity to customers around the world. Direct to Device (D2D) extends Leo to standard mobile phones and devices: a fully regenerative fifth-generation (5G) mobile base station on each satellite, delivering service to standard handsets through mobile network operators (MNOs). D2D Software builds the embedded software that flies, the cloud and ground software that runs the service, and the platform that connects them. Our target is under a day from a defect being found to the fix deployed across the entire constellation, achieved by automating everything that a person would otherwise do by hand.

This role leads critical issues and operations readiness in Software Delivery & Business Ops, reporting to the Director, Software Delivery & Business Ops. It owns the severity process, incident command, Correction of Error follow-through, launch rehearsals, readiness milestones, and supplier escalations. Before anything is handed on, the bar is: owner named within 15 minutes. It hands off to its customers as follows: incident command and readiness milestones to all teams.

What the team needs to achieve

• Owner named within 15 minutes.
• Hand-offs that meet their service level: incident command and readiness milestones to all teams.
• Measured, rising capability and efficiency of the team, with manual work falling release over release.

How the team is measured

• Time to a named owner for a critical issue.
• Correction of Error actions closed on time.
• Readiness milestones met before first launch.

Key job responsibilities

• Own the severity process, incident command, Correction of Error follow-through, launch rehearsals, readiness milestones, and supplier escalations.
• Meet the bar before every hand-off: owner named within 15 minutes.
• Work directly with engineers in the boundary teams as partners, through agreed contracts and service levels.
• Automate everything a person would otherwise do twice.
• Hire, coach, and grow a small team, with clear expectations and career development for every member.
• Set the strategy and mechanisms for this area across the organization, and remove the bottlenecks that slow teams down.
• Own supplier delivery for this area: schedules, service levels, and escalation.
• Identify and mitigate risks before they become roadblocks, and escalate serious risks to senior leaders early.

This role leads a small team that runs the critical issue process and operations readiness for D2D Software: the severity process, incident command, Correction of Error follow-through, supplier escalations, and the launch rehearsals and readiness milestones that come before first launch. It matters because a severe issue in orbit or on the ground needs one owner within minutes, and the organization must be ready to operate before the first satellite flies. Without it, incidents have no clear owner, lessons are not followed through, and operations readiness is discovered after launch instead of before it.

Export Control Requirement:

Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

About the team

D2D Software is an evolving organization of many teams: Software Architecture & Specifications; Software Delivery & Business Ops; Software Integration, Verification & Reliability; DevOps & Release; Satellite Software Development; Ground Software Development; and Customer Software Engineering & Support. Each Director owns business outcomes: delivering the commitments, and the capability and efficiency of their teams. Teams work as internal customers and suppliers with agreed service levels, interfaces are agreed centrally while designs stay local, and engineers are expected to work directly with engineers across every boundary. Milestones are committed deadlines for delivery with quality, not gates to wait on, and every team runs on one toolchain and one system of record. Every measure is derived from the systems of record, never self-reported, and we improve release over release with a target of perfection.