Q&A with Alejandro, Business Intelligence Engineer (BIE) at Amazon Customer Partner Trust Team, in Luxembourg

Hi Alejandro,

Can you tell us more about yourself and your Amazon career journey?

I’m originally from Venezuela. Due to the complex situation in my home country, my family and I decided to leave in search of a better future. In 2016, we moved to Spain, seeking stability.

I began my journey with Amazon while finishing my university degree in Barcelona. My first role was with the Central Flow team as a Process Control Specialist. This team is responsible for overseeing the performance of fulfillment centers in Europe, creating labor plans, and managing risks.

After almost two years in Central Flow, I wanted a more technical role where I could use my programming skills, so I began exploring internal opportunities. Realizing that Luxembourg offered the best opportunities for my career growth, I went through the internal process and transitioned to a new role. Since then, I’ve been working for Risk and Compliance as a Business Intelligence Engineer (BIE). It’s an exciting role; we support our customers with analytics and data infrastructure. In my role, I primarily use SQL and Python. Since then, I’ve been promoted to Business Intelligence Engineer II.

Can you tell us more about your current team?

Our team delivers value to our customers by building and maintaining the data infrastructure essential for compliance. This includes KYC (Know Your Customer), SAM (Suspicious Activity Monitoring), and other related teams. Everyone’s ideas are heard, and each team member is valued for their unique vision and background. By utilizing multiple cutting-edge data platforms, both external and internal (including AWS), we manage to create actionable signals from mountains of data.

What truly makes our team exciting is our constant innovation through automation projects. We identify manual tasks, repetitive processes, or areas for improvement and find ways to automate them using native AWS services. The ability to turn innovative ideas into reality motivates us when anyone proposes a project, we evaluate its feasibility and then develop and implement it. This fosters a dynamic where everyone wants to create new things having an inclusive environment where creativity and technical skills flourish.

Moreover, the impact of our work is far-reaching, as it helps ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of Amazon's global marketplace. The most exciting aspect of our work is seeing the tangible benefits of our solutions, from streamlined processes to a new dashboard, directly contributing to our main stakeholders

What is your proudest moment at Amazon?

My proudest moment at Amazon happened just a few weeks ago. We successfully launched a new web application designed to automate the detection of suspicious activity, a project we’ve been working on for the past five months. We built this tool from the ground up since there was nothing like it before. It’s going to help teams across Amazon catch suspicious activity and bad actors in a highly scalable way.

What I love about our team is that, even though we’re not a software development team, we’ve managed to create this tool from scratch. Our strength lies in our deep understanding of the business because we work directly and closely with stakeholders to grasp their needs.

We’re also very strong with data, having worked with it for a long time. This experience helps us know where to find specific data points, create fast and optimized pipelines, and ensure everything is scalable, compliant with personal data legislation, and truly serves our clients.

What do you like about working at Amazon?

There are several things I really like about Amazon, but these are the two I love the most:

1.???? Day 1 mentality. No matter how much we’ve accomplished, we always approach challenges with a fresh perspective, as if we’re seeing them for the first time. This mindset helps us continuously improve and innovate, all within a safe and supportive environment.

2.???? Amazon is incredibly diverse. We have team members from all corners of the globe, which brings diverse perspectives and new ways of thinking. This diversity makes it a great place to learn and grow. You can learn more on our commitment to DEI here

How have you grown as a professional since you started working at Amazon?

When I first joined Amazon, I wasn't in a technical position. I was part of the Central Flow team. During that time, I had the chance to explore the fascinating world of fulfillment centers and outbound operations. This experience greatly enhanced my people management skills and gave me a deep understanding of how each package is delivered.

It also provided me with opportunities to start working on automation projects, which helped me develop new skills and ultimately land the Business Intelligence Engineer role. At that time, I focused on using Python for automation.

In my current role as a Business Intelligence Engineer, I've expanded my technical expertise even further. I’ve learned to build efficient data pipelines using Redshift and SQL. Depending on the requirements, I've also picked up Spark with Python, built dashboards with QuickSight, and gained proficiency in HTML, CSS, React, Git, and many other internal tools for building and deploying software.

What is your favorite leadership principle and why?

My favorite leadership principle is Learn and Be Curious. People have often told me that this principle really resonates with how I approach my work. I believe it's the foundation for any new innovation. We need to maintain this mindset to continually challenge the status quo and find ways to do things faster and better.

What is your superpower?

I believe my superpower lies in fostering a positive and inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable taking risks, making mistakes, and sharing their ideas. I understand that growth often comes from challenges and errors, so I make it a priority to create a space where team members can learn from their experiences without fear of judgment.

I’m always approachable and ensure that others know they can come to me with questions or concerns, no matter how big or small. I believe that open communication and mutual respect are key to building strong, collaborative teams. By being a supportive and accessible resource, I help others feel confident in their work, which ultimately drives the success of the entire team.

What’s your favorite Amazon product or service?

My favorite product is definitely AWS (Amazon Web Services). Beyond using it extensively for my regular work, I also rely on AWS for my personal projects outside of work. The flexibility and scalability of AWS allow me to host websites, manage databases, and utilize various other services seamlessly.

For example, I use AWS to host and manage the databases and domains for several external web pages that I’ve developed. The wide range of services offered by AWS, from AWS amplify to AWS route 53, it gives me the tools I need to build and maintain these projects efficiently.

AWS not only supports my work at Amazon but also empowers me to explore and innovate in my personal endeavors, making it an invaluable resource both professionally and personally.

What do you do outside of work?

I have two main hobbies that keep me busy outside of work: sports and cooking.

I’m passionate about staying active, and you’ll often find me enjoying outdoor activities like running, rock climbing, and hiking. When the weather isn’t ideal for outdoor sports, I switch to indoor activities like gym, kickboxing, tennis, and padel.

I also have a deep love for cooking. I enjoy experimenting with complex recipes and spending time in the kitchen, especially when I get to share the results with others. On weekends, I often invite friends over and surprise them with creative dishes that I’ve prepared. Cooking is not just a hobby for me; it’s a way to unwind and connect with others.

Follow Alejandro on LinkedIn if you would like to read content around Luxembourg life as an expat and BIE topics!

If you would like to develop a career as BIE at Amazon, you can have a look to our EMEA BIE jobs at this link or learn more on the BIE hiring process here.