What do all of you think about this? I was contacted by an Amazon recruiter a while back (I was *not* actively looking and happy at my current job). The role was for a Senior TPM in Seattle, and I've been thinking about moving to Seattle and I like the idea of working for Amazon. I went through the 30 minute phone interview, and then another 1 hr phone interview with the team. The team brought me out for the loop interview in Seattle, which was both fun and tiring at the same time. About a week later the recruiter called me to tell me that I am "definitely an Amazonian" -- or words to that effect -- but all of the feedback took one of two tracks. The recruiter did not elaborate on what those two tracks were. The recruiter told me there was definitely a role for me at Amazon, and that I would be contacted again shortly. Sure enough, I was contacted the next day by another recruiter to schedule a phone interview with another hiring manager from a different group. But this role was for a non-technical senior PM, which left me a little crestfallen because I think I am sufficiently technical, but oh well, I've had both technical and non-technical PM roles throughout my career. So OK, I'm still interested. I had the 1 hr phone interview with that manager, and it went well. The project sounds exciting and fun, and I think I'd learn a lot. The next day, the recruiter called to extend an offer -- an offer I renegotiated to add $10K to the base and $20K to TC, for a final $145 base / $270 TC + L5/6 relocation package. The relocation package is fantastic, btw. The questions I have: is it common to interview for one role and be offered another? Are these other roles generally good ones, or are they the ones that have been difficult to fill? It's a new rec and not a backfill -- is that a good or bad thing? Oh, and one more thing -- I'm no spring chicken. I could easily be the oldest person on my new team, and one of the oldest new hires Amazon has hired. Should that give me cause for concern?
Would you mind elaborating on the relocation package?
This is very common. They determined you’re a great candidate but probably not as strong technically to raise the bar for an L6. So they repurposed you into a role that would play to your strengths. If your happy with the TC, then welcome to Amazon! The role will be great and you can always prove those technical skills down the road to transition into a TPM spot.
It’s common and that’s a strong offer for a L6 PM by the way. Congrats
Isn't that better? I thought generally PM > TPM?
In terms of compensation at Amazon, no. PMs are going to receive about $30-$50K less TC than TPMs. But the money doesn't bother me that much; it's the thought that someone (or someones) didn't think I was technical enough. To be fair, I whiffed on some of the technical questions so shame on me for that.
What would an example tech question be for TPM?
wait, u just did the phone interview and they extended the offer? i thought you need to do an on-site?
I think Amazon was prepared to extend an offer after the onsite loop, but only for a non-technical role. My guess is that the feedback from the onsite loop was strong but I didn't raise the bar technically.
What was the relaxation package? Can you pls help me with the numbers?
It's not uncommon to offer someone a different role. Amazon would never want to lose talent. L6s at Amazon are anywhere between 26 to 45 years young on average. L6 is a terminal level, so no one would be surprised to see an L6 with white hair. (jk)
By "not wanting to lose talent", does that mean if they don't think you're a fit for an SDE 3, they might consider you for an SDE 2 role instead?
I've seen that several times