Amazon’s Mysterious ‘Project Panda’ Job Listing Raises Eyebrows

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) inadvertently posted a job listing that has raised eyebrows among recruiters.

The listing, which was for a “director of security engineering” role, was associated with the enigmatic “Project Panda” and contained a rather unconventional job description.

The job posting, which appeared on both Amazon’s careers website and LinkedIn page, seemed to be on the hunt for “opportunistic candidates.”

However, Brad Glasser, a spokesperson for Amazon, quickly addressed the matter and told Insider, “This posting was listed in error and we’re working to remove it.” 

The term “opportunistic,” when used in a recruitment setting, often refers to candidates of such high caliber that companies are willing to create a position for them, even if no vacancy exists.

While the exact nature of “Project Panda” remains shrouded in mystery, it’s worth noting that Amazon previously used this codename for its warehouse in Detroit.

The peculiar nature of the job listing has led to speculation about Amazon’s recruitment strategies.

One recruiting strategist told Insider, “This is Amazon speak for ‘we’re not intending to hire but if we find an absolutely amazing person we will move some things around to give them an org.'”

Amazon’s recent employment decisions have come under scrutiny, especially after the company laid off 27,000 employees over the past year. These layoffs were attributed, in part, to over-hiring during the post-pandemic boom. As per the report, an internal document revealed that Amazon had challenges with internal oversight and governance in job listing posts, which led to excessive hiring on certain teams.

Produced in association with Benzinga