Q&A with Noelia, Software Development Manager at Amazon Business in Madrid

Noelia, tell us about your Amazon career journey.

I joined Amazon in October 2016, and have been with the same team for the past 7 years and 8 months. I started out leading a small team, helping to recruit some of its members, and have since grown into the technical manager responsible for this entire program.

Throughout this journey, I've learned to hire and develop individuals in roles I had never managed before, becoming a manager of managers. More recently, I also took on leading the operations team in Bratislava and Hyderabad, comprising over 60 people. This not only exposed me to a different technical domain, but also taught me how to effectively manage remote teams.

Tell us about your team and your current role.

Thanks to what my teams are doing, organizations can cater the vast Amazon products catalog to the needs of their organization.

One of my teams - Guided Buying (GB) - enables organizations to author and enforce policies, restricting what and how their employees can purchase. These constraints are set in terms of product categories that are blocked/restricted from purchase, or products or sellers they want to promote.

My other team, the AB Catalog Taxonomy Team (ABCT) is responsible for categorizing the product catalog according to a widely recognized industry standard. ABCT uses AI to categorize products into the taxonomies we support, thereby facilitating customer experiences through Search, compliance analysis and Spend analytics and multiple other features relevant in the procurement industry. In other words, the curated product categorization helps customers purchase items that meet their organization preferences.

What is your proudest moment at Amazon?

I have plenty!

One of the moments I'm most proud of is when I trained and guided a team member to success, resulting in them earning a well-deserved promotion to the next level. That was incredibly rewarding to witness.

I'll also always remember the launch of a particularly challenging feature that was the first of its kind at Amazon. Overcoming the obstacles to bring that innovation to life was immensely satisfying. The passion and dedication our team poured into solving a major customer need and changing the way we operate - that was truly special. Navigating through the various challenges to finally complete that project gave me a sense of accomplishment like never before.

Finally, I've had the privilege of witnessing the growth of our Madrid site from its humble beginnings. I've spent many happy years here, observing as it has unfolded. Looking back, I can clearly see that our vision from 8 years ago - to make Madrid one of our strongest sites - has already come to fruition.

What are the things you like about working at Amazon?

I know it may sound cliche, but the truly talented people you get to work with is one of the greatest benefits. You have the chance to receive feedback from industry leaders, and be coached by experienced people managers who utilize psychology and empathy.

I don't think I would have grown nearly as much if not for the learnings I've acquired on the job, through my collaborations with others, as well as guidance from my leaders and mentors. Facing the many challenges we deal with every day, especially when it comes to managing the team, has been an ongoing learning experience - observing how others approach it has been invaluable.

Another key benefit is the constant feeling that we can always drive change. As Amazonians, we are empowered to act as leaders, using the Leadership Principles as our guiding framework.

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

Embracing risk is about pursuing different solutions, even when you know there could be things that go wrong. It's also about approaching problems or new processes in novel ways. This mindset applies to managing failures as well. At Amazon, we expect people to fall short of some goals - if you're not experiencing failures, you're likely not stretching yourself or stepping out of your comfort zone. Failure is acceptable as long as you're learning and improving your judgment.

Another one is that at Amazon your success now depends on enabling your team to grow and achieve their goals. This means guiding them, providing learning opportunities, and holding them accountable. As a people manager at Amazon, you're given ample resources and pathways to help your team grow. However, learning how to leverage those appropriately has not always been easy.

Let’s get to know you better!

What is your favorite leadership principle and why?

I remain fascinated by the concept of Ownership. I initially found it quite odd, as it contradicts the typical employee mindset in companies where it's common to say "that's not my business."

At Amazon, we don't operate based on authority, but on talent. Everyone is expected to be a leader for Amazon and make decisions first for the betterment of the company, regardless of their reporting structure or level. Another aspect I love is that everyone is expected to behave as a leader. I've seen junior engineers speak up and challenge decisions made by directors - that's a beautiful thing. Of course, you have to be able to defend your ideas, but we are not confined by rigid hierarchical levels. The emphasis is on empowering people to take ownership, rather than deferring to position or status alone.

What’s your favourite Amazon product or service?

I don’t think I could survive without the online shop, and I don’t think technology would be where it is if it wasn’t for AWS. As a developer, I’m still impressed by the level of innovation they bring and how easy they made our life compared to how I used to work when I was in college!

What do you do outside of work?

One of my hobbies is fixing and sometimes even building my own furniture. I go to a small workshop every week, where a group of us have access to the necessary tools and guidance from professionals. I can easily spend hours bringing old, obsolete, or damaged items back to life. While I often end up giving these restored pieces away, I truly enjoy the process of recycling quality items that would otherwise be discarded.

Interested in joining Noelia at Amazon Business? Check out our open roles here: Amazon Business jobs in Spain