Startup Accelerator Director Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Would you like to drive cloud computing and GenAI adoption by working with promising early-stage startups and accelerator programs? Do you have the technical knowledge and business acumen to help establish AWS as the foundation for innovative technology companies?
Trusted by more startups around the world, AWS makes the power of cloud computing accessible to all. We give founders everywhere access to the same technology that powers the world's largest companies. With nearly 20 years of experience, gained from supporting hundreds of thousands of startups, the AWS Startups team helps founders prove that their world-changing ideas are possible, at any stage of growth, and any level of funding. This is why more startups, and over 80% of unicorns, choose to launch on AWS.
As a Senior Startup Investor Manager, Universities within AWS, you will build and manage AWS's institutional relationships with top global research universities to uncover the world's best startups at the earliest possible point in their journey. You'll develop a multi-channel discovery engine - working across tech transfer offices, faculty with commercialization track records, entrepreneurship programs, and regional VCs - to identify high-potential spinouts before they've chosen a cloud provider. Your technical understanding of cloud technologies will enable you to engage credibly with PhD founders and research-stage teams, while your relationship-building skills will establish AWS as the trusted infrastructure partner across the university's startup ecosystem.
Key job responsibilities
Build and maintain deep institutional relationships across multiple stakeholder types at assigned universities (tech transfer offices, faculty, entrepreneurship programs, research labs, student venture organizations) to create persistent access to emerging startups
Proactively discover pre-formation and early-formation startups through direct university relationships, regional VC networks, and faculty engagement - functioning as a multi-channel discovery engine, not waiting for cohort lists
Collaborate with investor BD (SBDI) team to leverage VC relationships in the university ecosystem, offering VCs early signal on commercializing research and accelerated AWS support for their portfolio in exchange for introductions to professors and lab spinouts
Develop and deliver a value proposition tailored to each university stakeholder: compute credits and commercialization support for professors, accelerated time-to-market for tech transfer offices, infrastructure and VC introductions for founding teams. Think Big to identify and build new initiatives - co-branded programs, research partnerships, credit frameworks, or novel engagement models - that deepen AWS's institutional position and drive our goals of early access, ecosystem insights, and cloud preference at scale
Influence cloud preference for AWS at the moment of startup formation - before founders make technology decisions - by embedding AWS resources, credits, and technical guidance into the university's commercialization pathways
Extract and report ecosystem insights: what research is being commercialized, which labs are producing founders, what technology trends are emerging from academia that signal future startup verticals
Hand off discovered startups to SUP account teams or accelerator IMs at the appropriate stage, maintaining relationship continuity and ensuring no startup falls through the gap between university engagement and standard coverage
Create and deliver business reviews on university portfolio progress, startup discovery pipeline, adoption metrics, and competitive positioning (particularly against GCP/Azure academic programs)
Assess technical and business potential of university spinouts through understanding of their research foundations, architecture decisions, and commercialization readiness
Coordinate cross-functional teams (WWPS Education, Amazon Science, SUP SA, Activate operations) to deliver integrated support to university-affiliated startups
About the team
About AWS
Diverse Experiences
AWS values diverse experiences. Even if you do not meet all of the 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
Here at AWS, it's in our nature to learn and be curious. Our employee-led affinity groups foster a culture of inclusion that empower us to be proud of our differences. Ongoing events and learning experiences, including our Conversations on Race and Ethnicity (CORE) and AmazeCon (gender diversity) conferences, inspire us to never stop embracing our uniqueness.
Mentorship & Career Growth
We're continuously raising our performance bar as we strive to become Earth's Best Employer. 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
We value work-life harmony. Achieving success at work should never come at the expense of sacrifices at home, which is why we strive for flexibility as part of our working culture. When we feel supported in the workplace and at home, there's nothing we can't achieve in the cloud.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor's degree, or 4+ years of professional or military experience
- Knowledge of cloud computing services or deployment architecture
- 6+ years of experience in technology industry with focus on startups, accelerators, or technical roles
- Strong understanding of cloud computing architectures, services, and best practices
- Experience evaluating technical solutions in startup context
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with cloud native technologies
- Knowledge of existing and developing technologies
- Experience within specific technology domain areas (e.g. software development, cloud computing, systems engineering, infrastructure, security, networking, data & analytics).
- Experience with accelerator programs and early-stage startup ecosystems
- Startup operating experience or early-stage investment experience
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.
Pursuant to the San Francisco 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 https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you're applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, CA, San Francisco - 162,700.00 - 220,200.00 USD annually