[uiri]

As a former Amazon intern, the impression I got is that "every" role is supposed to be a "leadership" role. It makes sense when you realize that they are hiring/growing so fast, they need to (a) transmit culture quickly & efficiently and (b) be able to arbitrarily put people in "management" positions org-chart-wise.

For intern/new grads, Amazon is less competitive than similar sized companies (Google/Facebook/Microsoft). Microsoft is also based in Seattle so this isn't just about differences in taxes/cost of living.

The vesting is also backweighted so that they don't lose too much stock from people who leave after less than a couple years.