The Ace of Amazon Air: Sarah Rhoads

Coming home

After an adrenaline-fueled, high-stress 12 years of service, Rhoads began thinking about her transition to civilian life in 2014, but it was Amazon that made the first move. “They found me first,” she said. “I think they saw maybe the translatable skills that I had before I recognized it.”

“We saw someone who had achieved every educational and professional goal set in some intense environments, and with high performing teams,” said an Amazon spokesperson about Rhoads’ military and aviation credentials.

“We are proud and honored of the service to the military that Sarah undertook and how she has transitioned those skills from her Navy experience into Amazon,” said Amazon’s Bozeman. “Sarah takes on any challenge and has always done a great job leading and developing her teams.”

While she was still a Navy Reservist, Rhoads joined Amazon in May 2011 as an operations manager for a fulfillment center in Lexington, Kentucky, and was promoted in 2012 to senior operations manager, leading fulfillment center teams in Lexington and Columbia, South Carolina. She then relocated in 2013 to Fort Worth, to lead the launch of the outbound operation in the largest, robotics-ready facility in Amazon’s network.

“What really made me interested was the pace of operations. I think I’m an operator at heart,” Rhoads said. “I also wanted to be challenged every day in a positive way, just like I was in the Navy. Third, I wanted to do something where I wouldn’t be sitting behind a desk every day, and Amazon has provided that every day.”

After developing a genuine love for the operational aspects of fulfillment logistics, Rhoads transferred to Wales to become general manager of one of the largest Amazon operations in the U.K. By January 2016, she relocated to London and became regional director of operations, responsible for leading thousands of Amazon employees and fulfillment center operations in northwest England and Wales.

Despite her increasing responsibilities, Rhoads’ duties were often hands-on, including shifts on the “front line,” picking merchandise for customer orders. “I spent quite a bit of time in fulfillment centers, when I was representing my region,” she said. “There’s an expectation to know all the details of one’s business.”

In April 2017, Rhoads came back to the U.S., seeking a shift to Amazon’s new aviation arm, then known as “Prime Air.” As someone with a passion for both aviation and fulfillment, she fit in well as director of aviation operations for the air wing, based in Seattle. She was promoted to director of Prime Air in September 2017, which changed its name to “Amazon Air” by year’s end to avoid confusion with its delivery drone program, also called Prime Air.

Rhoads also appreciates how much her Navy background has suited he current position. “It’s been helpful to have a true understanding and appreciation for aviation safety,” she noted. “Understanding things, ranging from engines to instrument approach requirements, runway lengths, and what it means when aircraft need to divert because of a weather event.”

More holistically, Rhoads said she is grateful for the “agility” she learned in the Navy, which she defined as, “being able to recognize that things may not go according to plan, how to adapt and still be able to be successful, especially in what can be considered an ambiguous environment.”

As an avid downhill skier, long-distance runner and outdoor enthusiast, Rhoads has never been one to stay idle for very long. “What keeps me away from my desk is engaging with my team,” she said. “I do travel quite a bit, and I find that engaging with front-line workers – folks that are at the core of our operation – I really value that.”