AWS Brand & Creative is on a mission to establish AWS as the world’s undisputed leader in AI and technology — shaping how customers, developers, and prospective customers perceive, trust, and choose AWS. We are seeking a Principal Business Lead who combines sharp business acumen with a hunger for world-class creative work and brand fame.
This is not a role for someone content to simply manage process. This is a role for someone who gets restless when work is merely good — someone who expects and demands exceptional strategy, pushes creative partners to reach higher, and knows what it takes to build iconic brands that break through culture. You will be the primary business owner for AWS brand advertising globally, responsible for building and executing a campaign portfolio that earns AWS a place among the world’s most admired and recognized technology brands.
The right candidate moves fluidly between high-level strategic vision and hands-on campaign delivery. They have the business rigor to manage complex global operations and the creative taste to discern sharp strategy, defend bold ideas, and sell-in world-class creativity at the highest levels of leadership.

Key job responsibilities
Brand Advertising Strategy & Activation
• Set the vision, strategy, and roadmap for AWS global brand advertising campaigns across all markets and channels (broadcast, digital, social, OOH, streaming, sponsorships)
• Own end-to-end activation of top-of-funnel awareness campaigns that drive measurable perception shifts among business decision-makers, developers, builders, and technical leaders
• Champion creative excellence — push strategy and creative partners to deliver breakthrough work that earns cultural attention and builds lasting brand fame
• Define owned vs. influenced brand interactions, establishing criteria for what the Brand team manages directly vs. enables through mechanisms
• Lead prioritization of campaign initiatives working backwards from annual leadership goals, strategic planning cycles, and real-time market opportunities
• Proactively identify areas of opportunity for brand growth and develop plans that ladder to organizational objectives (e.g., shifting perception of AWS as a Leader in AI)

Creative Agency Management & Partnerships

• Serve as the senior business relationship owner for external creative agency partners globally
• Lead agency RFI/RFP processes including partner selection, scope definition, and onboarding for highest-impact initiatives across multiple geographies, segments, and channels
• Manage complex agency negotiations including budget allocation, contract terms, SOW development, and performance-based incentive structures
• Set and hold a high creative bar with agency partners — expect exceptional work, provide sharp feedback, and create the conditions for agencies to do their best thinking
• Drive agency accountability through clear creative briefs, structured feedback loops, and rigorous post-campaign performance evaluations
• Approve external partners for the highest-impact initiatives spanning multiple dimensions, geographies, and channels

Budget & Business Management

• Own and manage a significant advertising budget with full accountability for spend optimization, ROI, and financial compliance
• Develop and present data-driven business cases for investment decisions, balancing creative ambition with fiscal responsibility
• Lead business evaluation within the advertising discipline to prioritize strategic needs, partnering with Data Science & Engineering, Customer Research, Sales, Field leaders, Account Based Marketing, Legal, PR, and senior leaders
• Own goal setting, operational planning, and executive communication for the brand advertising portfolio
• Deliver strategic business reviews and narratives to senior leadership (CMO, VP, SVP levels)

About the team
Our mission is to establish and advance AWS as the world’s undisputed leader in AI and technology, shaping how customers, developers, and prospective customers perceive, trust, and choose AWS, while empowering the entire AWS Marketing organization to deliver brand-consistent, strategically inventive, and creatively excellent work at scale.

We work backwards from our end customers; business decision-makers, developers and builders, and technical leaders who are sophisticated, skeptical of marketing, and increasingly bombarded with AI claims from every direction.

Basic qualifications

• 8+ years of professional non-internship marketing experience
• Experience with Excel or Tableau (data manipulation, macros, charts and pivot tables)
• Experience communicating results to senior leadership
• Experience building, executing and scaling cross-functional marketing programs
• Experience driving direction and alignment with cross-functional teams

Preferred qualifications

• Experience working cross-functionally and driving decision making among stakeholders with competing goals
• Experience with various types of research methodologies is key, including quant, qual, 1P & 3P data, trend analysis & forecasting, etc.
• Experience using data and metrics to drive improvements

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Seattle - 149,200.00 - 201,800.00 USD annually