Amazon.com looking for folks with TS/SCI clearances?

[edschweppe]

I saw this job posting today:

The Builder Tools team at Amazon.com is looking for a top-notch Software Engineer to help create the ultimate distributed software and fleet management system.

Our team owns the software and systems that help Amazon’s massive developer community turn revolutionary ideas into code running on production servers. Our systems make it possible for every developer at Amazon to rapidly change their running applications without ever having to take an outage. With a few mouse clicks, or a fully automated continuous deployment workflow, Amazon engineers can bring code changes and new features to the customer, or dynamically shape the size of their fleet all because of the magic we provide.

We have so much more we want to do. Help us to write the next generation of systems that controls the software on millions of servers for thousands of applications while delivering on the promise of elastic capacity. We want to make it as easy as possible for application owners to create rapid change, and we need developers who are excited to make managing applications in the cloud work for everyone.

We own and build every aspect of our product, from the UI and external APIs down to the backend services and databases. We are solving problems in a space that has very little prior art, at a scale that far exceeds most companies on the planet. Want to see how Amazon builds software on its cloud computing infrastructure? Come join us and work on a foundational system that makes software change possible at a massive scale.

If you have what we’re looking for come join a strong team in a highly visible organization. You will have a significant impact on Amazon's massively distributed software development environment and help us to build the best continuous deployment and fleet management system in the world.

This position requires the applicant selected to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) eligibility and access. A US Government administered polygraph examination will be required. Existing TS/SCI clearance is not required to start; however, the applicant selected will be subject to a Single-Scope Background Investigation (SSBI) and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified national security information. Applicants with a current SSBI, SBPR, or PPR, may be eligible for crossover in accordance with ICPG 704.4.

(emphasis mine)
WTF does somebody working on Amazon's internal cloud computing infrastructure need a TS/SCI clearance? Those are a major-league pain in the ass to obtain and retain ...

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I bet mine has expired.

[edschweppe.livejournal.com]

I never had one, never needed one, and never wanted one. Even when the software I was working on would run on a TS/SCI machine, I never needed anything more than a Secret clearance.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

My MOS was tied in with so-called Military Intelligence and involved some hush-hush surveillance equipment. Which has long expired and joined the surplus electronics marketplace . . .