Leaving AWS

At the end of April, I wrapped up my time at AWS. I joined in September 2022, stepping into the world of AWS Identity, where I worked on authorization and related areas like Zero Trust. It was a deeply rewarding experience. I got a front-row seat to the sheer professionalism and operational excellence it takes to run a cloud service at that scale. The bar is high, and I came away with a renewed appreciation for what it means to build for resilience, security, and speed—at the same time, and without compromise.

For the past 20 months, we’ve been living in Virginia while I led a team of developers at HQ2, Amazon’s second headquarters in Arlington. That’s ultimately what made this decision necessary. As much as I loved the work and the people, we’ve long felt the pull of home. Utah is where our family is, and where we wanted to be. With AWS’s return-to-office mandates and no local office in Utah, something had to give. In the end, family won. No regrets there.

I’m especially grateful to Neha Rungta, who brought me into AWS. Neha and I go way back—I knew her when she was pursuing her PhD in computer science at BYU. She’s a remarkable leader, and AWS is fortunate to have her. I appreciate the trust she placed in me and the opportunity to be part of something as consequential as AWS Identity.

So, what’s next? I’m not retired—but for now, my time is my own. I’m working on a book for Manning about authorization, a topic that’s increasingly critical as digital systems become more interconnected and identity-aware. I’m also staying engaged with the identity community through the Internet Identity Workshop (IIW), which continues to be a wellspring of innovation and collaboration.

Recently, we launched the IIW Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing open, empowering approaches to digital identity. Our mission is to support not only the flagship IIW events but also IIW-Inspired™ regional gatherings around the world. There’s more to come on that front, and I’ll share details in future posts.

Stepping away from AWS wasn’t easy, but it was the right move. And as I turn the page, I’m excited about the work ahead—and grateful for the journey so far.

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Photo Credit: Leaving AWS from DALL-E (public domain)