Amazon Software Engineer Salary

Amazon is a top software engineering employer in the tech industry, attracting software engineering professionals across a wide range of specialties. Known for offering competitive software engineer salaries, Amazon compensates its software engineers generously—but pay varies based on role level, location, and other factors. So, how much can you expect to earn as a software engineer at Amazon? Our salary negotiation team is here to help you figure that out.

With experience negotiating hundreds of tech job offers, we offer insights grounded in real-world Amazon software engineer salary negotiations and compensation research. In this guide, you’ll find detailed information on Amazon software engineer levels, the key components an Amazon software engineer salary, and a breakdown of average base salaries and total compensation packages by Amazon SDE level and location.

Want to Negotiate Your Offer? Get offer-specific guidance from an Amazon Salary Negotiation Coach. We help software engineers negotiate competitive job offers.

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Like many tech companies, Amazon has a tiered structure for its software engineering roles. Understanding the Amazon software engineer level is important before interviewing and accepting an offer, as they influence your software engineering responsibilities, total compensation, and career trajectory within Amazon. Amazon determines the Amazon SDE level based on a combination of factors, including years of experience, the scope of responsibilities, and the overall impact of the role.

While it may seem that by having a clearly defined Amazon SDE level it would offer a straightforward path to advancement, Amazon is unfortunately well-known for its tough promotion process, making it challenging for software engineers to move up the ladder. In this section, we provide an overview of the Amazon software engineer levels to help you navigate their role levels.

As a software engineer at Amazon, you can follow either an Individual Contributor (IC) or Engineering Manager (EM) career path. Below are the Amazon SDE levels for the IC track:

• Amazon L4 Software Engineer (SDE I)

• Amazon L5 Software Engineer (SDE II)

• Amazon L6 Software Engineer (SDE III/Senior SDE)

• Amazon L7 Software Engineer (Principal SDE)

• Amazon L8 Software Engineer (Senior Principal SDE)

We focus on the Amazon SDE levels for the IC track on this page, but for reference here are the Amazon Engineering Manager levels for the manager track:

• Amazon L5 Software Engineering Lead (Engineering Lead)

• Amazon L6 Software Engineering Manager (Engineering Manager)

• Amazon L7 Software Engineering Manager (Senior Engineering Manager)

• Amazon L8 Software Engineering Manager (Engineering Director)

In an Amazon software engineer salary package, you’ll find three core compensation components. For more in-depth details from us on Amazon’s compensation structure, you can check out our Amazon Salary Negotiation and Software Engineer Salary Negotiation articles. Below is a quick overview of what to expect before we cover the average compensation for Amazon software engineer salary.

Amazon Base Salary

This is the fixed amount you’ll receive in each paycheck at Amazon. There are set base salary ranges for each Amazon SDE level and location.

Amazon Equity Package

Upon joining Amazon, you'll receive an initial grant of Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). These vest over time: 5% in year one, 15% in year two, and 40% in both years three and four.

Amazon Sign-on Bonuses

Amazon provides software engineers two sign-on bonuses – one for the first year and one for the second year. Each are paid out monthly over the respective periods.

Amazon Stock Refreshers

These are annual Amazon RSU refresh grants that you may receive based on your annual performance review at Amazon.

It’s important to note that you will not see an annual performance bonus as part of your Amazon SDE salary.

Amazon has a set base salary and total compensation range for each Amazon software engineer level. While they typically aim to pay new hires within the lower to mid-range of these pay bands (leaning into their Frugality leadership principle), we’ve successfully negotiated Amazon software engineer salaries closer to the top end of each pay range.

Below, we’ve listed the average compensation for software engineers across the Amazon SDE levels. Note that these figures are averages based on our research and negotiation experience, and not the top end of the Amazon SDE pay bands. To identify and reach the top end of the pay range and secure a competitive SDE salary at Amazon, we recommend working with an Amazon Salary Negotiation Coach.

Amazon SDE 1 Salary (L4)

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for an L4 Amazon SDE 1 salary. 

Amazon SDE 2 Salary (L5)

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for an L5 Amazon SDE 2 salary.

Amazon SDE 3 Salary (L6)

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for an L6 Amazon SDE 3 salary.

Amazon Principal SDE Salary (L7)

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for an Amazon L7 software engineer salary.

Amazon Senior Principal SDE Salary (L8)

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for an Amazon L8 software engineer salary.

Amazon offers competitive pay for software engineers, but salaries at Amazon can vary significantly depending on the location. For example, an Amazon software engineer salary in Seattle won't be the same as an Amazon SDE salary in California, and an Amazon software engineer salary in the UK will have different compensation than those in the US. As a data-driven company, Amazon closely monitors cost-of-living differences when setting their base salary and total compensation ranges.

Below, we’ve listed the average compensation for software engineers in some of Amazon's key hiring locations for software engineers at the L6 level. These figures are based on our research and negotiation experience and represent averages, not the top end of the Amazon pay bands. To identify and reach the top end of the salary range and secure a competitive offer at Amazon in your specific location, we recommend working with an Amazon Salary Negotiation Coach.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Austin

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Austin.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Denver

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Denver.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Los Angeles

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Los Angeles. 

Amazon Software Engineer Salary New York

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary New York.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary San Francisco

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary San Francisco. 

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Seattle

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Seattle.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Vancouver, Canada

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Vancouver, Canada.

Amazon software engineer salaries vary significantly across countries and Europe locations will have different pay rates. For example, an Amazon software engineer salary in the UK won't be the same as an Amazon SDE salary in Ireland. It will also be lower than what Amazon pays software engineers in the US.

Below, we’ve listed the average compensation for software engineers in some of Amazon's key European hiring locations for software engineers at the L6 level. These figures are based on our research and negotiation experience and represent averages, not the top end of the Amazon pay bands. To identify and reach the top end of the salary range and secure a competitive offer at Amazon in Europe, we recommend working with an Amazon Salary Negotiation Coach.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary London, UK

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary London, UK.

Amazon Software Engineer Salary Dublin, Ireland

Here is the average compensation we’ve seen for Amazon Software Engineer Salary Dublin, Ireland.

Increasing the pay in your job offer at Amazon requires a deep understanding of their compensation philosophy and the right salary negotiation strategy. Our expert Amazon Salary Negotiation Coaching will help you navigate the negotiation process and secure the top end of Amazon’s pay band.