Name: Sergio
Occupation: Senior quality assurance engineer – Amazon Studios
Time at Amazon: Eight years
Location: California, United States
Favorite Amazon Original: The Boys
If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Healing factor
Hi there,
I’m Sergio, a Senior Quality Assurance Engineer for Amazon Studios technology, and I’m currently working on revolutionary artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to innovate the Prime Video experience on behalf of our customers.
During my childhood, I spent hours watching art, technology and science shows (remember Popular Mechanics For Kids? Art Attack?), reading all gaming and film-related books and magazines I could find (GamePro, TV Guide, CineFx), and became a fan of TV, movies, and video games. These became my strongest passions!
After college, I worked for consulting and education companies on the U.S. East Coast but never on entertainment-related projects. Over time, as my closest friends began to chase their dreams, I decided it was time to follow mine as well.
Being a fan of sunny California, I decided to move to San Francisco and got a job at Amazon Lab126. I chose to work at Amazon because I’ve always been excited about their new products and services (at the time, Amazon was releasing the Fire Phone, Fire TV had just been released, and Prime Video was gaining momentum), their international impact, and promising future.
Eight years later, I’ve had the opportunity to work on a diverse line of products, such as Alexa devices, video games, mobile applications, and gadgets. I even helped launch a brand-new game engine! And I did all this while working in multiple cities (Sunnyvale, Irvine, Santa Cruz, San Diego, and now Los Angeles) and remotely with engineers all over the world.
With movies and TV always being on my mind as my ultimate passion, one day I decided to reach for the stars and to quote from my favorite movie, The Godfather, I got an offer that I couldn’t refuse to work at Amazon Studios.
As for hobbies, I like sports and dancing. But, above all else, I love to watch movies, especially the franchises that I loved during my childhood, such as James Bond, Star Wars, Marvel, and DC, and I anxiously wait for their new installments every year.
Here’s how my week went.
Monday
My weekdays start with either a healthy breakfast at home (I really enjoy cooking) or grabbing coffee and bagels down the road as the office is conveniently located in the heart of Culver City and is surrounded by amazing restaurants. As I walk to work, I enjoy looking at my surroundings because the bus stops, streets, and buildings are covered in advertisements by different studios. Depending on the time, I go to my local gym for a quick swim before I head out.
Once in the office, I spend my day catching up with emails and updating my work progress. I currently work with a computer vision science team on some new exciting projects that require a good eye for detail, so I have a comfortable standing desk setup with a large monitor to review our latest results, while also catching up with Amazon Studios folks over water cooler conversations.
Amazon Studios has some mind-blowing projects, in both content and technology departments, and I believe we will revolutionize the Prime Video experience for our customers.
Tuesday
Just like Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow, my morning routine repeats itself but this time I catch up with my entire team’s progress, which is fundamental to understanding constraints, next steps, and planning work accordingly.
When meetings go long, lunch must be quick. So, I grab a bite to eat from the Amazon Studios cafeteria, where I can choose from premade wraps and snacks, to hamburgers and salads made fresh on the spot, along with weekly specials.
At the end of the day as I walk back home, I decide on whether to hit the gym, catch up on a streaming series, or simply get a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday
In the morning, I discuss progress on our latest evaluation results with our science team. As the quality assurance engineer, I communicate my progress and the issues that I experienced to our scientists. This helps them meet customer expectations, reach consensus, and insist on the highest standards.
In the afternoon, I have a 1:1 meeting with my manager and we chat about my work and our project, in addition to my future goals because I recently got promoted! Although I have been at Amazon for eight years now, Amazon Studios is a brand-new experience for me and this meeting helps me define expectations and goals with my manager in this new environment.
Thursday
Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, my morning routine repeats itself and I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. The week has gone by so fast!
Since my team works on machine learning solutions, I get the chance to learn from research papers and have an opportunity to propose new ideas to apply our work on. My colleagues join remotely or in person, and we brainstorm and discuss new use cases.
I prefer to be in the office because I enjoy the office environment and energy of being in the studio, which is a dream come true for a fan of The Boys and other amazing Amazon Originals, such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Amazon Studios has some mind-blowing projects, in both content and technology departments, and I believe we will revolutionize the Prime Video experience for our customers.
Friday
Friday is here and, as I wake up, I have to decide whether to work from home or head to the office, while juggling deliverables and personal commitments. However, I already have an idea of what to watch over the weekend, either by streaming or in theaters.
So, when the day ends, I either head out to Hollywood to watch the latest IMAX Dolby Vision and Atmos movie, or simply enjoy the comfort of my home to watch any new 4K release on my Dolby Vision OLED TV. I enjoy both the theater and streaming experiences, because both fulfill the cinematic feeling that I love, so I make sure I have Prime Video ready to stream my latest must-watch.
Thanks for joining me during my week!