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Home / Compensation / Amazon / Software Engineer
Total compensation for a Amazon Software Engineer ranges from about $145K at the entry level to $1.5M+ at the most senior bands, with a typical mid-level package around $360K. Below is the full breakdown by level - base salary, annual equity, and bonus - from public-source data.
Public-source estimates (Beta). Last updated 2026-05. Figures are annualized USD.
| Level | Years | Base (p50) | Equity/yr (p50) | Bonus (p50) | Total (p25-p90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDE ISoftware Development Engineer I | 0-2 YOE | $125K | $25K | $25K | $145K - $220K |
| SDE IISoftware Development Engineer II | 3-5 YOE | $165K | $60K | $35K | $200K - $360K |
| SDE IIISenior Software Development Engineer | 5-9 YOE | $185K | $130K | $45K | $290K - $560K |
| PrincipalPrincipal Software Development Engineer | 10-15 YOE | $185K | $320K | $80K | $450K - $950K |
| Senior PrincipalSenior Principal Software Development Engineer | 15+ YOE | $185K | $540K | $110K | $650K - $1.5M |
Entry-level. Bonus column reflects sign-on amortized over Year 1+2. Year 3 'cliff' applies.
Mid-level. Most-common Amazon SDE level for external hires. Sign-on amortized over Year 1+2.
Senior IC. Base hits the cap; equity is the differentiator. Refresh grants critical at this level.
Principal IC. The level where Amazon comp closes the gap with Google L6+. Very few candidates hire at this level externally.
Senior Principal. Company-wide visibility. External hires extremely rare; mostly internal promotion.
7 rounds. 6 of them can be practised here - each one below links the rep that trains it.
Other levels: SDE I · SDE II · L7 Principal loops →
Recruiter screen
30-45 minutes. Background, level calibration (SDE II vs Senior SDE is contested), team interest. Recruiter often probes scope of past work as an early signal.
Online assessment (sometimes)
Skipped for many senior candidates. When present, two coding problems and a work simulation, similar to SDE II.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Phone screen
60 minutes. One coding problem (Medium-to-Hard) plus 2-3 deep Leadership Principle questions. The behavioral signal is heavier than at SDE II phone screens.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: Coding round
60 minutes. Hard problem or Medium with deep follow-ups. Edge cases and clean code expected as table stakes; the differentiator is depth on follow-ups.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: System design
60 minutes. Senior-scope designs: distributed key-value store, payment processing pipeline, real-time fraud detection, large-scale inventory tracking. Depth on tradeoffs, failure modes, and operational considerations expected.
Free rep: Design walkthrough: Design a URL Shortener (bit.ly) →Onsite: Bar Raiser
60 minutes. Cross-team senior engineer with veto power. Probes Leadership Principles at multi-team scope - 'Have Backbone,' 'Are Right A Lot,' 'Earn Trust,' 'Hire and Develop the Best.' SDE II behavioral stories often fail this round at L6 calibration.
Free rep: STAR answers: Customer Obsession (Amazon Leadership Principle) →Onsite: Hiring manager / behavioral
60 minutes. Senior IC role fit, technical leadership, mentoring signal. Manager calibrates whether you'd own a component end-to-end and grow SDE IIs to senior.
Free rep: STAR answers: Ownership (Amazon Leadership Principle) →The full Amazon prep pack → what they value, topic emphasis, and the questions candidates ask.
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