Director, Software Development, Content AI

Description At Audible, we believe stories have the power to transform lives. It’s why we work with some of the world’s leading creators to produce and share audio storytelling with our millions of global listeners. We are dreamers and inventors who come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences to empower and inspire each other. Imagine your future with us. ABOUT THIS ROLE As a Director of Software Development, you'll lead a high-performing team building innovative AI/ML systems that power content understanding and discovery experiences across our platforms. This position requires a leader with strong technical acumen in machine learning systems, proven people management experience, and the ability to drive technical strategy while delivering customer-focused solutions. You'll be responsible for the end-to-end development lifecycle of complex ML systems that process, analyze, and derive insights from diverse content signals. ABOUT THE TEAM The Content AI team's mission is to revolutionize customer discovery experiences by building intelligent content understanding systems that leverage advanced NLP and AI technologies. We develop scalable frameworks that transform unstructured content into meaningful customer insights, enabling personalized, contextual, and engaging digital experiences across our platforms. Our teams work with cutting-edge ML technologies and large-scale distributed systems to process billions of content interactions and deliver real-time personalized experiences. ABOUT YOU You're a strategic technical leader who thrives on solving complex problems at scale. You have deep experience building and leading engineering teams, with a strong foundation in machine learning systems and distributed computing. You're passionate about developing talent and creating an inclusive team culture that drives innovation. You demonstrate excellent judgment in balancing technical tradeoffs while maintaining unwavering focus on customer experience and business impact. As a Director of Software Development, you will... Lead and grow a team of ML/software engineers, providing technical mentorship and career development while fostering an inclusive and collaborative environment Own the technical strategy and roadmap for content understanding systems that power discovery experiences Drive architectural decisions and technical excellence in building scalable ML pipelines and frameworks Partner with product, science, and platform teams to define and execute on the team's technical vision Establish and optimize development processes that enable rapid experimentation while maintaining high quality standards Build mechanisms to measure and improve the customer impact of our ML systems Lead hiring and development of diverse technical talent Drive operational excellence in deploying and maintaining large-scale ML systems Influence cross-team technical decisions and contribute to broader organizational strategy Champion best practices in ML engineering, including experimentation, testing, and monitoring ABOUT AUDIBLE Audible is the leading producer and provider of audio storytelling. We spark listeners’ imaginations, offering immersive, cinematic experiences full of inspiration and insight to enrich our customers daily lives. We are a global company with an entrepreneurial spirit. We are dreamers and inventors who are passionate about the positive impact Audible can make for our customers and our neighbors. This spirit courses throughout Audible, supporting a culture of creativity and inclusion built on our People Principles and our mission to build more equitable communities in the cities we call home. Basic Qualifications 7+ years of software engineering experience with 3+ years of people management experience Experience building and operating large-scale ML/AI systems in production Technical background in distributed systems, data processing, and ML infrastructure Experience delivering complex technical projects through effective team leadership Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering or related field Preferred Qualifications Experience with NLP, recommendation systems, or related ML applications Track record of building and growing high-performing engineering teams Strong understanding of ML development lifecycle and operational excellence Experience with cloud platforms (AWS) and modern ML frameworks Excellent communication skills with ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders History of mentoring and developing technical talent Amazon is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status. For individuals with disabilities who would like to request an accommodation, please visit https://www.amazon.jobs/en/disability/us.