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Amazon Web Services

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Pay is good but cyclical due to stock grants and prices - Sr. Solutions Architect Amazon Web Services Employee Review

4.0
Nov 9, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay is good but the way they pay you, you get your only big stock grant on hire. It vests 5%, 15%, 40%, 40% over the first four years. They give you a target comp that used to be base salary plus about 50% more in RSUs but now they pay higher base and it might be more like 15% RSUs. Once those all vest, they give you very few additional RSUs thereafter, but enough to keep you at hiring target at least. Last year was way over target, this year was still over target, and next year is only going to be over target because they topped me up a little this year.

Cons

When they calculate target comp for the year they assume that stock will be appreciating every year. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Note that "target comp" varies every year because they calculate how much of your previously granted stock will be vesting that year, and that plus your base is the target comp for the year. While the total comp has been up over the target at which I was hired the last few years, that target has not officially moved. At one point they adjusted salary to be a larger percentage of comp to be more competitive in terms of offers and also due to shareholder pressure about using shares as comp. There's a curve on performance ratings and they "manage out" the bottom 10% every year, from what I have heard.

Explore other reviews about Amazon Web Services

5.0
Jul 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Team I worked on and comp

Cons

They provided limited stability on team

3.0
Jul 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Great place to learn -Work with some of the smartest people in the industry -Flexibility/autonomy in schedule (not impacted by RTO)

Cons

-Constant reorgs and shifts in leadership: I went through a reorg almost every January and had 6 managers in 2.5 years. Inconsistent leadership makes it hard to feel aligned to a company/team vision or to feel supported. -Promotions are highly political and your manager plays a huge role in whether you advance. Managers rarely have career conversations with reps, which leaves little real path for growth. Good managers want to see their team develop and help them get there. -Comp plan changes reduced sellers' ability to accelerate and lowered pay year over year. Comp plans are dictated by Operations, not Sales Leadership.

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