Cloud Hardware Development Engineer, Storage , AWS Hardware Engineering, Hardware Engineering Services

About the role

AWS operates the world’s largest fleet of storage servers powering exabyte‑scale cloud storage services. The Cloud Hardware Development Engineer owns fleet reliability and sustaining engineering for deployed storage platforms, driving failure analysis, component lifecycle management, and the feed‑forward loop between field performance and next‑generation design.

Key responsibilities

• Fleet Reliability & Failure Analysis: Own post‑launch fleet quality metrics (annualized failure rates, unsellable server rates, component‑level failure modes). Drive root cause analysis on high‑volume failure patterns, especially connector/cable failures, storage controller faults, and power‑loss protection issues. Correlate field failure data with manufacturing lot, supplier, and test escape information to identify systemic trends and engage component suppliers on corrective actions.
• Sustaining & Component Lifecycle: Manage platform‑specific BOM variants across multiple deployed generations simultaneously.
• Feed‑Forward to Next Generation: Translate fleet failure patterns into concrete requirements for next‑generation platforms. Define test content additions based on observed failure modes and contribute to manufacturing test coverage and data‑center vetting automation.
• Validation & Debug: Define and execute validation strategies from PCBA bring‑up through server and rack integration, covering power sequencing, signal integrity, thermal characterization, and NVMe/SSD subsystem performance. Own hardware debug during EVT/DVT/PVT builds, correlating failures across PCIe, power rails, NVMe links, and storage controller subsystems. Triage hardware issues at ODM facilities and datacenters, conduct root cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.
• Cross‑Team Collaboration: Work with storage service teams, datacenter operations, and NPI engineering to align on fleet quality targets and resolution priorities. Drive ODM/JDM partners through corrective action implementation. Collaborate with firmware, software, and operations teams to ensure diagnostic tooling and fleet dashboards provide visibility into fleet health.
• Travel: May require occasional (

A day in the life

You start the day reviewing overnight unsellable inflow data and a supplier’s failure analysis report on a connector lot. Mid‑morning, you join a design review for the next‑generation platform to present failure‑mode‑driven test content additions based on your fleet findings. In the afternoon, you triage a fleet quality signal—correlating component‑level failure data with manufacturing lot information to identify a systemic issue. You end the day aligning with architecture teams on second‑source qualification criteria for a component approaching end‑of‑life.

About the team

The Storage Server Hardware Engineering team designs and delivers the storage platforms that power Amazon S3, EBS, and other critical AWS storage services. The team owns platforms cradle‑to‑grave: from architecture definition through NPI, manufacturing, fleet deployment, and end‑of‑life. Sustaining engineers are the backbone of fleet reliability, ensuring deployed platforms continue to meet quality and performance targets throughout their operational life.

Basic qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• 2+ years of hardware design, development, and validation experience for server or compute platforms.
• Experience in one or more server technologies: thermal/mechanical design, power delivery, high‑speed signal integrity, or accelerator subsystems.
• Experience developing functional specifications, design verification plans, and validation test procedures.

Preferred qualifications

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience working with ODMs through product development and manufacturing lifecycle.
• Experience with fleet reliability engineering: failure analysis, root cause methodology, and corrective action processes at scale.
• 2+ years experience with hardware bring‑up, debug, or validation of storage server platforms (NVMe/SSD subsystems, drive interconnects, power‑loss protection).
• Experience with PCIe topology, NVMe, SSD controllers, connector/cable reliability, and component lifecycle management.
• Experience developing and executing test procedures for electrical or mechanical systems.
• Experience working in large‑scale datacenter or cloud environments.

Compensation

Base salary ranges (USD annually):

• Cupertino, CA: $157,300 – $212,800
• Denver, CO: $136,000 – $184,000
• Seattle, WA: $136,000 – $184,000

Amazon’s total compensation package includes sign‑on payments, restricted stock units (RSUs), and other components based on experience, qualifications, and location.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription)
• Basic Life & AD&D insurance with optional supplemental life plans
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and mental health support
• Medical advice line
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Adoption and surrogacy reimbursement coverage
• 401(k) matching
• Paid time off and parental leave