SAN FRANCISCO, California: Amazon is experimenting with a new way to define roles within parts of its business, replacing traditional corporate titles with a single, streamlined designation that emphasizes output over hierarchy.

During its ongoing annual review cycle, hundreds of employees in the company's Ring and Blink home security divisions will see their existing job titles removed. Beginning next month, staff working on product functions will be referred to simply as "builders," while managers will take on the title "builder leads."

The shift is part of a test within the two units and is not linked to performance issues. Instead, it reflects a broader effort to reshape how work and value are defined inside the company.

Jason Mitura, currently chief product officer and the executive overseeing the transition, outlined the reasoning in an internal memo seen by Reuters.

"We're committed to making this an organization of the future, and that means being transparent and open to change," he wrote.

"We're moving to a single job family: Builder," he added. "As Builders, we define and reward success through one question: what is the scope and magnitude of the customer value you create?"

Ring and Blink manufacture internet-connected cameras and doorbells used for home monitoring, making them key parts of Amazon's consumer electronics and smart home ecosystem.

The move reflects a broader trend across Silicon Valley, where the term "builder" has increasingly become shorthand for employees who can independently design, develop, and deliver solutions, often using artificial intelligence tools, on projects that previously required larger, more specialized teams.

Other technology companies are experimenting with similar shifts. Meta has introduced the title "AI builder" for certain roles, while payments firm Block has adopted hybrid titles such as "player-coach" for some managers.

At Amazon, the title change is part of a wider push by CEO Andy Jassy to streamline operations and reduce internal bureaucracy. Initiatives under this effort include mechanisms for employees to flag unnecessary processes and inefficiencies.

Mitura said the new structure would also encourage flexibility, allowing employees to propose changes and adapt workflows more quickly. Processes that prove ineffective could be rolled back, he noted.

However, the change has raised concerns among some employees. Workers in the affected units told Reuters that removing established titles such as "senior" or "lead" could make it harder to track career progression, promotions, and compensation benchmarks.

Amazon maintains structured pay bands and equity systems tied to employee levels, and some staff worry that flattening titles could blur those distinctions.

Others expressed concern that the experiment could eventually expand beyond Ring and Blink to other parts of the company.

An Amazon spokesperson said those concerns were misplaced, emphasizing that compensation structures and career paths would remain unchanged despite the new naming convention.

"Compensation, growth, and promotion paths remain unchanged," the spokesperson said, adding that the change is intended to "help foster a culture of experimentation and deliver for customers more efficiently."

The company has previously experimented with alternative organizational structures. Online retailer Zappos, acquired by Amazon in 2009, spent several years attempting to eliminate traditional hierarchies through a system known as "holacracy," though that effort was later abandoned.

Amazon acquired Ring in 2018 for about US$1 billion and Blink for roughly $90 million.

Mitura himself is expected to adopt the new structure, with his title likely to change as well, potentially to "builder lead," according to the company spokesperson.