Amazon reviews

Launching products is considered more important than ensuring that code is robust and documenting how things work. Despite Amazon's large size it doesn't have a lot of well developed work processes & groups often have different goals & missions. This makes getting things done for a project challenging since a team that needs to do work for your project might not think it's important and might not be able to accommodate your needs. It's a pretty competitive and political environment. There are people who will take credit for your work (since they are looking for their next promotion) so make sure your keep your manager informed of what you are working on. Most teams don't get it right the first time so make sure you get everything tested.

1. Extremely detail oriented culture. It is expected (and considered a strength) that management "dive deep" into all details. This can be very trying at times. 2. Organization is very lean in terms of staffing. While there is the argument this can drive innovation, and has positioned the company well in the current economic climate, it means there is ALWAYS more to do than time to do it. You need to be able to draw your line (in terms of what you are willing to give) and hold to it while delivering on the top priorities. 3. Not the place to go to be "developed". It's very much a "sink or swim" type of culture. The expectation is to hire smart people and then it's up to them to deliver and make their way through the organization.