Software development engineer in Retail Customer Experience

Corrine Russell

Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, BS in Computer Science, 2009

Corrine Russell discovered she had passion for programming during a computer engineering class she took her sophomore year. The next semester, she switched her major from electrical engineering to computer engineering. Her technical background made her a good fit for Amazon, and a friend who loved her internship at the company inspired Russell to interview with Amazon at a campus career fair. Now as a full-time employee, Russell enjoys working for a high-profile company with a down-to-earth culture.

How did you get your job?
I started with an internship, which I got by taking advantage of the job fairs at school and getting a referral from a current Amazon employee. An internship is essentially a long interview for a full-time position, and I had my current job offered to me after my internship was over.
 
What surprised you the most when you started?
I assumed that I’d be surrounded by very intelligent people at Amazon—and this definitely turned out to be true. However, what surprises me most is that while everyone I have met and worked with is very smart, they are all also very humble and helpful. The culture at Amazon is open and friendly, and everyone is truly working toward the same goal of providing the best products and services to our customers.
  
What is the best part about your job?
The thing I like most about my job is that Amazon.com is very high profile. Many of the changes or additions I make actually affect a visual part of the site. I also get to interact with many other teams on a daily basis, which can be fun and interesting.
 
What is the biggest challenge you face?
I don’t think there is really one biggest challenge. Because I just started on my team, there is definitely some learning and “ramp up” involved before a person can really get started. Right now I come across new problems every day that force me to take the needed initiative and solve what needs to be done.

Are you involved in any mentorship or networking programs at your company?
I have a mentor who is very knowledgeable and helps me with basically any problem I have. I am also a member of the affinity group called “Hoppers”, which is for women in technology.

What’s the most fun project you’ve done so far?
Because I just started as a full-time employee, I have not worked on any big projects yet. However, as an intern, my project was to build a recommendations widget for mp3 tracks. I was able to work on all aspects of this project and watch it launch by the end of my internship!

What’s your advice to students who want to work for this company?
 I would suggest for a student to work hard and do well in school.  Aside from that, a person that works for Amazon must be agile, innovative, energetic, and willing to learn and try new things.  Therefore, a student who wants to work for Amazon should try to incorporate these values into his or her work and be ready to take on new challenges every day.