Amazon Ditches Traditional Job Titles in Two Units, Calls Staff 'Builders'
As Amazon's annual review season kicks off, hundreds of employees in its Ring and Blink home security units will lose their traditional job titles. Instead of cuts for underperformance, the company is testing a radical shift: replacing white-collar product roles with a single title, "builder," and their managers with "builder leads." The change rolls out next month.
Ring and Blink produce internet-connected cameras and doorbells for home monitoring. Jason Mitura, the unit's chief product officer overseeing the switch, explained the move in an internal memo viewed by Reuters. "We’re committed to making this an organization of the future, and that means being transparent and open to change," Mitura wrote. "We’re moving to a single job family: Builder. As Builders, we define and reward success through one question: what is the scope and magnitude of the customer value you create?"
The "builder" label echoes a Silicon Valley trend for versatile workers who tackle challenges—often with AI—that once needed full teams of engineers and managers. Meta has piloted "AI builder" titles for select roles, while payments firm Block dubs some managers "player-coach."
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is pushing broader anti-bureaucracy efforts, including an internal hotline for flagging red tape. Amazon shares rose less than 1% Thursday and are up 13% this year (AMZN.O).
Mitura emphasized flexibility: "Anyone can propose a change to our structure," with ineffective processes set to be reversed. Yet employees worry the loss of titles like "senior" or "lead" could complicate promotions and raises, given Amazon's rigid pay bands and equity tied to levels. Some fear a companywide rollout, sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
An Amazon spokesperson dismissed the concerns: "Compensation, growth, and promotion paths remain unchanged." The shift, she added, will "help foster a culture of experimentation and deliver for customers more efficiently." Mitura's own title will likely become "builder lead."
Past experiments offer caution. Amazon-owned Zappos tried ditching hierarchy via "holacracy" years ago but abandoned it. Amazon acquired Ring for about $1 billion in 2018 and Blink for roughly $90 million.