How Amazon Trains the Techs that Keep their Automated Facilities Running
Amanda Willard and Logan Schulz, Amazon RME
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What actually happens inside those massive Amazon facilities—and how do products arrive at your door with such astonishing speed?
In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner explores these questions with Amanda Willard, Strategic Workforce Development, and Logan Schulz, Senior Manager of Reliability & Maintenance Engineering at Amazon. They take us behind the scenes of the advanced robotics, mechatronics, and automation systems that power Amazon’s fulfillment network—and the skilled technicians who keep the entire operation running.
Amanda and Logan share how the Reliability & Maintenance Engineering (RME) team prepares the workforce behind this technology, including Amazon’s mechatronics and robotics apprenticeship. They reveal what today’s technicians actually do, the durable skills that matter most, and how Amazon develops talent capable of maintaining one of the world’s most complex automation ecosystems.
Listen to learn:
- How Amazon uses robotics, AMRs, vision systems, and miles of automation to move products at remarkable speed
- What actually happens inside the RME apprenticeship, from 12 weeks of training to 2,000 hours of structured mentorship
- Why durable skills like troubleshooting, analytics, and system connectivity matter more than any specific technology
- How data, AI, and predictive maintenance are reshaping the technician’s role
- What technical educators should teach now to prepare learners for next-generation automation careers
Watch the Full Episode on YouTube
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Maintenance roles have shifted from mechanical work to high-level cognitive problem-solving. Technicians at Amazon diagnose interconnected networks, sensors, PLC systems, and smart devices alongside mechanical equipment. This evolution requires system-level thinking, the ability to interpret data, and strong analytical abilities—skills that anchor long-term career growth.
2. Apprenticeships are a business strategy that strengthens the entire talent pipeline. Amazon’s mechatronics and robotics apprenticeship builds internal talent, increases employee retention, and prepares the workforce for future technology needs. With industry certifications, structured mentorship, and extensive hands-on training, the program creates a sustainable pipeline of highly skilled technicians.
3. Durable skills prepare learners for technologies that don’t exist yet. Troubleshooting methods, programming fundamentals, data analytics, and understanding how systems interconnect form the foundation technicians will rely on as automation accelerates. As AI, predictive maintenance, and IoT devices expand, adaptability and analytical reasoning will matter more than the specific robots or tools a technician first learned on.
Resources in this Episode:
Learn more about Amazon Reliability & Maintenance Engineering
Learn more about the Amazon RME Mechatronics & Robotics Apprenticeship program
Other resources:
- Natan Linder, via Forbes: "When 400,000 Manufacturing Jobs Go Unfilled, It’s Time To Rethink The Blueprint"
- Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA)
- Episode with Ogeechee Technical College (Amazon partner school)
- Amatrol training systems
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