Akash Verma grows with the most customer obsessed business on Earth

Akash Verma is the quintessential Amazonian. A Software Development Manager (SDM) in the Seller Success and Growth team, Akash’s journey with Amazon has been one of tremendous growth and learning. He shares his journey from being a manager to learning the traits of being a good leader.

Can you share a recent career development opportunity or milestone you've achieved at Amazon that made you feel proud or motivated?

My team's customers are Amazon Sellers. We focus on the customer satisfaction of our sellers as much as we focus on our retail user’s satisfaction. We listen to them and introduce new products and features aimed at facilitating their growth.

Recently we introduced the Sale Event Planner for Sellers in the Indian marketplace. This tool empowers them to strategically configure deals for upcoming Sale Events. The positive response from sellers has been a source of prime and motivation for our team. Another is a feature called Top Brands which is part of the Detail and Search pages on the retail website. This helps Brands fight lack of visibility and empowers customers to buy from high quality, lesser-known Brands with confidence. It started as an India first initiative, and I have collaborated to expand it to various geographies.

Are there any specific areas or initiatives Amazon provides to better support employees' career progression?

I transitioned from an IC role (SDE) to a managerial position (SDM). Throughout my journey, I received support from my mentors and managers on how to delegate, effectively conduct project management activities and look at the big picture. I also attended several training sessions like SDM Bootcamp, Ethics, Project lifecycle, AWS technical essentials, Engagement model between product and tech etc.

In addition, Amazon emphasizes holistic well-being in the workplace by including sessions addressing both financial literacy and mental health. In other words, Amazon walks the talk.

Can you describe a specific mentor or role model within the company who has positively influenced your career development journey?

My career trajectory has been significantly shaped by both my teammates who assisted me in navigating challenging situations and tasks and my manager. My manager's formal and informal feedback has played a pivotal role in my progress. He is open to suggestions and has a non-rigid approach that has been critical in aligning our efforts. For example, during a time critical project, I had to pull all developers to launch a product before Prime Day’23. I spoke with my manager about pressing pause on Operational Excellence (OE) activities for the product launch (Amazon has a very high bar for OE) and he agreed.

What advice would you give to new employees looking to navigate their career within our organization successfully?

If you are clueless about where you see yourself, start with the basics. Evaluate how tools and technologies and your work impacts business. Once you clear these stepping stones, work with your mentor/manager and discuss your passion. It could be related to work, or abstract like organizing, communicating with stakeholders, photography, or writing a book. Your manager/ mentor will help you towards your goal by providing opportunities in your areas of interest. It is always possible to take a U turn and start towards a new path. Always consider embracing challenges that may evoke discomfort, as they often serve as catalysts for professional growth and skill development

From my personal experience, I have been given references to books like Radical Candor, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which help in my day-to-day activities. I also take part in interviews which provide me with a wider lens through which I understand the various roles across Amazon. My intent is to do something new every 3 months (videos, read a 6 pager, try out Gen AI/ LLM models etc).

What are some of your long-term goals, both in your career and personal life? Are there any specific experiences or stories that inspire these goals?

As a manager, I've come to recognize that fostering the growth of my team members brings me a profound sense of accomplishment. Since childhood, I used to teach/clarify doubts for my peers which now in hindsight is my trait. At work this has translated into mentoring teammates during design, career discussions and how to do effective communication. At Amazon, my motivation is rooted in contributing to projects and initiatives that drive significant impact (Top Brands, Product Sampling). These engagements instill in me a heightened sense of responsibility. I want to evolve towards leading an organization dedicated to addressing and fulfilling customer needs and demands.

?If you want to apply for a similar role at Amazon, please click here - https://www.amazon.jobs/en/jobs/2651699/sde-2-amazon-seller-experience-tech?cmpid=EC_LIIS200993B

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