Startup Solutions Architect

About the role

We're looking for a Solutions Architect to be deeply embedded in San Francisco's startup ecosystem, working directly with early-stage founders across industries like AI/ML, FinTech, ClimateTech, healthcare, consumer, and B2B SaaS. You'll help them make smart, pragmatic architectural decisions that balance immediate needs with long-term scalability, acting as a trusted technical advisor during their most critical growth phases.

This role offers the chance to build lasting relationships with founders, influence product development based on real startup needs, and share your expertise through technical content and events across San Francisco's startup community.

Responsibilities

• Work hands-on with early-stage founders to design and iterate on architectures that are practical for their current stage but built to scale as they grow
• Help startups navigate the GenAI landscape, including model selection, AI services, and building production-ready AI-powered products
• Guide founders through real GenAI challenges like managing model costs, latency, accuracy, safety, and best practices
• Support startups in building the right data foundations for AI products (vector databases, data pipelines, RAG, fine-tuning workflows)
• Build and deepen relationships within San Francisco's startup ecosystem, including top accelerators like Y Combinator, incubators, and leading VC firms
• Act as a voice for your founders, connecting their feedback directly to product and engineering teams
• Create technical content tailored to early-stage startups (blog posts, reference architectures, sample code)
• Share your expertise at startup events, demo days, and developer meetups across the San Francisco ecosystem

Requirements

• 2+ years of experience in design, implementation, or consulting for applications and infrastructures
• 4+ years of experience in specific technology domain areas (e.g. software development, cloud computing, systems engineering, infrastructure, security, networking, data & analytics)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working within software development or Internet-related industries
• Experience migrating or transforming legacy customer solutions to the cloud
• Experience working with AWS technologies from a dev/ops perspective
• Experience working with end user or developer communities

About the Team

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world's most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, pioneering cloud computing and serving customers from startups to Global 500 companies. Our team values diverse experiences and non-traditional career paths, fostering an inclusive culture where employees can embrace their uniqueness through affinity groups and ongoing learning experiences.

We prioritize work-life balance with flexible work arrangements and offer extensive mentorship and career growth opportunities to help you develop as a professional.

Pay

• San Francisco, CA: $151,000 - $204,300 USD annually
• Boston, MA: $131,300 - $177,600 USD annually
• New York, NY: $144,500 - $195,400 USD annually

Compensation package includes base salary, sign-on payments, and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation determined by experience, qualifications, and location.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription)
• Basic Life & AD&D insurance with option for 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
• Parental leave