Sameh Aboelnil
Break Into Software Engineering | AWS & Atlassian System Manager's Guidance
Studied at Ain Shams University
Works at Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Sameh's Offerings
Custom hourly · $79/hr
Get help with Behavioral Interview Prep and Technical Interview Prep.
Sameh also coaches for AI for Product Development and Database Design & Development. View all.
Sameh’s Software Engineering Qualifications
Experience level: Executive
Welcome to my profile! With over a decade of experience in the tech industry, I've held leadership roles at top companies like Amazon Web Services and Atlassian, where I honed my skills in talent development and engineering management. My journey from a Lead Engineer at Xero to a System Manager at AWS has equipped me with a deep understanding of the software engineering landscape. I've successfully coached numerous individuals, helping them navigate their careers and achieve their goals in software engineering. Whether you're looking to break into the industry or advance your career, I'm here to provide tailored guidance and support. Let's connect and chart your path to success!
Sameh can help with:
Behavioral Interview Prep
Technical Interview Prep
Sameh also coaches for AI for Product Development and Database Design & Development. View all.
About Sameh
I'm an engineering leader with 20+ years in the industry, currently a Software Development Manager at AWS in Melbourne. Before Amazon I was a Senior Engineering Manager at Atlassian, where I led Jira and developer productivity teams and built an organisation of up to 90 engineers. Earlier in my career I worked at Xero, SEEK, and NAB — where I led the delivery of the bank's first Open Banking service under Australia's Consumer Data Right, on a regulatory deadline that didn't move. I've run more than 80 hiring interviews as a hiring manager, and I've been on the candidate side of loops at Amazon, Google, Canva, and Atlassian recently enough to remember exactly how it feels. I know what a bar-raiser is listening for, why strong engineers get downlevelled, and how a good answer falls apart in the last five minutes. I coach engineers and engineering managers on EM and senior IC loops: system design, people management and behavioural rounds, levelling strategy, and the harder question of whether you're interviewing for the right role in the first place.
Why do I coach?
I've run more than 80 hiring interviews, most of them at Atlassian, and the pattern that stays with me is how often a genuinely strong engineer walks out with a "no" for reasons that had nothing to do with their ability. They'd led something significant and described it as though it were routine. They'd answered the question asked instead of the one being tested. They'd targeted the wrong level and made a good case for the wrong job. As the hiring manager, I'd see all of that in the debrief. The candidate would get a rejection email. That gap is why I coach — the information that decides these loops isn't secret, it's just held by the wrong side of the table.
Work Experience
System Manager, Talent Development
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
June 2026 - Present
Senior Engineering Manager
Atlassian
December 2023 - April 2026
Engineering Manager
Atlassian
2021 - 2023
Lead Engineer
Xero
February 2020 - November 2021
Technical Lead
Nabız
February 2019 - February 2020
Education
Ain Shams University
Bachelor of Science, Computational Science