statement of purpose: why i’m leaving amazon and what’s next
tl;dr
after three strong years at amazon, i’m graduating on to the next thing. i’m not protesting or burned out like many before me; in fact, it’s quite the opposite! amazon gave me a fire for leadership, but 1) being on a remote team feels misaligned somehow with my lifestyle, and 2) i am now looking at a six-hour daily commute via rto mandate. instead of letting my spark die, i’m looking for my next challenge: a high-performing, in-person engineering or product team in rva where i can help lead, build, and win.
about this doc
at amazon, our team never made any big decisions without a well-written, grammatically correct, and neatly organized one-pager. this document explains why i’m moving on and articulates what i’m chasing next.
why i’m leaving amazon
i’ve written about how amazon helped ignite in me an appreciation for leadership (life as an ic – 10 years in retrospect) and here about other wonderful lessons i’ve learned while in aws (what i learned at amazon). i also will readily confess to abandoning an incredible team that shipped important code that helped customers (not an uncommon experience at amazon).
and yet, for me, it feels like a growing fire in my belly is being constrained by a vague feeling of loneliness as a remote tech worker. i countered this effectively by hosting local conferences and meetups and performing all work from my neighborhood coffeeshop, but, feelings aside, the harsh reality is that amazon does not want remote workers anymore. they stopped sponsoring conference attendance and annual on-sites in 2023 and told me to begin commuting 6 hours a day, 5 days a week to hq2 starting september 2025 (or resign).
this two+ years of rto policy chaos, covered extensively by outlets like wsj (Inside Amazon’s Messy Push to Bring Everyone Back to the Office, feb 2025), has been exhausting. so this year at comp review and, instead of giving me a bunch of stock that wouldn’t vest until 2027, they again offered a cash buyout and letter of recommendation. i accepted.
it’s finally warm outside, flowers are a’blooming, and i’m a free agent!
what’s next
i’m doing some light consulting and exploring early-stage ideas. but right now, i’m open to joining a team that is:
- in-person by default – real desks, real whiteboards, real energy (and in rva).
- engineering-first – modern stack, high standards, zero fluff, bias for shipping.
- tight-knit and aligned – detail-obsessed, collaborative, and driven to win.
ideally, i’m stepping in as a tech lead on a team that values ownership, creative problem solving, and in-person camaraderie. that’s the spark i’m chasing.
bonus points if my work in the community (/rvatech & aws user group) adds value to the parent org.
faq
q: why not stay at amazon?
the remote model stopped working for me, and the new rto policy is a non-starter. amazon’s a great company—just no longer the right fit.
q: what are your strengths?
i’m at my best architecting greenfield cloud solutions in complex problem spaces—ideation to deploy—optimizing for scale, security, and cost. i’m a polyglot but write my zestiest code in python and typescript. give me a chunky problem and a credit card for aws.
q: what kind of companies are you interested in?
early- to mid-stage startups, small scrappy teams inside larger companies, or mission-driven orgs that obsess over customers and ship often.
q: what’s your timeline?
open to conversations now. flexible start: may 2025. to rush would be a crime!
final note
if you know a team that’s building fast and wants a grounded, high-agency leader to help ship the next big thing—let’s talk. i’m ready to build with people who care.
fordprior.com 