Amazon has become one of the largest technology and retail companies worldwide since its inception in 1994, and since the company went public in 1997, it has slowly been able to create new subsidiaries and tech innovations. Joshua Burgin, one of the first 100 employees at the company, has been credited for his early efforts at Amazon that helped shape the company into what it is today. What was initially a company that sold books online in the early days of the internet has now become a household name with over 300 million users.
Joshua Burgin graduated from Haverford University and began working in New Jersey for an enterprise software company near Princeton. He was tasked with building DOS and Windows software but eventually realized that the West Coast was innovating much faster than the East Coast regarding technology. Burgin applied to Apple and Amazon, the latter of which he found in the newspaper. When one of his friends in the technology field recommended he pursue the position at Amazon, Burgin moved to the West Coast, something his parents were originally against.
Burgin stated in an interview in 2024 that Amazon, at the time, was making more technological progress than Apple despite only selling books online. However, the company was looking for someone with Burgin’s skill sets. Burgin was hired at Amazon as a software engineer responsible for maintaining the company’s website. After spending some time on the East Coast doing standard programming, Burgin made the move to Seattle and began his journey of implementing technological solutions that would drastically change the tech industry.
Burgin’s Efforts at Amazon
Burgin is credited for improving company databases and decreasing failure response time, as well as developing new software that made the company more notable. Using his coding skills in Python, C, and Unix, the company allowed customers to experience enhanced purchasing, which was pivotal as the internet began to grow in popularity. Burgin and his coworkers spent most of the week working, often working up to 12 hours a day to ensure their innovations were functional. In recent interviews, Burgin mentioned that he and his boss were once kayaking, only to have to cut the trip short and return to work due to a coding malfunction.
Burgin temporarily left Amazon in 2000 to begin other startup companies, but he later admitted that this was not the ideal time to do so. While each startup company he founded grew considerably, there were several startups in the area at the time, making it tougher to stand out. However, each company he founded allowed him to learn more about the technology field, from how to hire employees to how to effectively lead a team.
Some of the startup companies Burgin worked for or founded that went on to see great success include Zynga, QL2 Software, and Purestuff.
Burgin Returns to Amazon
Almost 14 years after initially leaving Amazon, Burgin returned to the company to work in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) division. He began as the director and general manager of computer services, leading a team of over 300 people across the engineering, marketing, and product fields. Burgin owned many different lines of business, such as Auto Scaling, EC2 Spot, Savings Plans, and more. His contributions allowed AWS to sponsor three acquisitions, and in 2019, he became the technical advisor to the Senior Vice President.
The SVP was Charlie Bell, and Burgin was able to shadow his work and learn how to formulate strategies, find specific solutions to technical challenges, and track industry trends. This would allow Burgin to enhance his already notable leadership skills further, and in 2020, Burgin was named General Manager of AWS Outspots.
In 2020, Burgin was assigned to lead a team of nearly 500 employees across multiple divisions, and he was able to launch company outposts in more than 654 countries. This allowed Amazon to increase in revenue, adoption, and tech innovation worldwide. He was able to enable AWS services such as Private 5G in order to improve data processing.
Joshua Burgin left AWS in 2021 to join VMWare, a cloud-based technology company with the goal of streamlining this type of technology for businesses globally. In doing so, Burgin helped introduce new ways for companies to use hybrid and private cloud-based solutions, giving businesses more flexibility in a constantly changing environment. In 2023, VMWare was acquired by Broadcom, a global infrastructure and security company that has been in operation for more than six decades.
While Burgin is no longer at Amazon, he has helped the company, as well as several others, expand its outreach and enhance its technology. Burgin constantly finds ways to simplify technology and resolve problems with less hassle. His efforts have inspired other future tech leaders, and his track record is proof of how impactful his efforts can be.
The Joshua Burgin website for more information
