Amazon Architecture Jobs in Silver Spring, MD (NOW HIRING)

Are you a builder that lives and breathes PostgreSQL. Have you spent years tuning vacuum behavior, diagnosing lock contention under heavy OLTP workloads, reasoning about query planner decisions, managing replication topologies, and guiding large-scale migrations from commercial engines like Oracle and SQL Server. Are you the person your organization turns to when a Postgres system is misbehaving at 3 AM and when leadership needs a whiteboard session on where the data platform is headed next.

As a Specialist Solutions Architect for Aurora PostgreSQL, you will be the technical authority that AWS's largest and most complex customers rely on to architect, migrate, and operate PostgreSQL workloads on Amazon Aurora and Amazon RDS.
This is not a generalist database role. You will focus on Aurora PostgreSQL, going deep where others go broad. You will partner directly with customer engineers and CTOs to design well architected production architectures that hold up under real-world pressure and the operational patterns that distinguish battle-tested Postgres practitioners from those with only surface-level familiarity

You will have experience with migrations (Oracle/SQL Server/on premises Postgres to Aurora). You will collaborate closely with the Aurora service team to surface customer patterns, escalate feature gaps, and drive the product roadmap on behalf of the customers you serve.
Equally important, you will operate as a thought leader and force multiplier across the broader Specialist SA organization, mentoring teammates, publishing technical content, presenting at AWS re:Invent and AWS Summits, and establishing repeatable frameworks that raise the bar for PostgreSQL engagements worldwide.
Key job responsibilities
Serve as the technical advisor for AWS's key customers running or migrating to Aurora PostgreSQL and RDS for PostgreSQL, providing hands-on architectural guidance from design through production operation.
Guide customers on Aurora PostgreSQL operational best practices including performance & scaling, high availability & durability, monitoring & observability, maintenance & patching, backup & recovery, security and operational hygiene
Design and validate Aurora PostgreSQL architectures that leverage Aurora-specific capabilities including storage auto-scaling, read replica scaling, Global Database, HA/DR, Serverless, ensuring customers realize the full value of the platform.
Partner with the Aurora service team as the voice of the customer, surfacing recurring pain points, advocating for feature enhancements, and participating in roadmap reviews.
Engage with customer engineers in whiteboard sessions, architecture reviews, and technical deep dives, providing candid guidance and pushing back diplomatically when a proposed design will not hold up at scale.
Develop and publish technical thought leadership content including blogs, reference architectures, white papers, and re-usable artifacts, that elevate the broader PostgreSQL community on AWS.
Advise customers complex database migrations (Oracle, SQL Server, and other engines to Aurora PostgreSQL).
Present at key industry events including AWS re:Invent, AWS Summits, PostgreSQL community conferences (PGConf, PGDay), and customer-facing workshops.
Stay current with PostgreSQL community developments (new major versions, extensions ecosystem, community tooling) and translate those advancements into actionable guidance for AWS customers.
About the team
Diverse Experiences
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
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Our employee-led and company-sponsored affinity groups promote inclusion and empower our people to take pride in what makes us unique. Our inclusion events foster stronger, more collaborative teams. Our continual innovation is fueled by the bold ideas, fresh perspectives, and passionate voices our teams bring to everything we do.
Mentorship & Career Growth
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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
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When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can't achieve.