Amazon hourly employees became satellite technicians—then watched their work launch into space

Key takeaways How two Amazon employees used Career Choice to become satellite technicians—and watched the satellites they built launch at Cape Canaveral. Career Choice has helped more than 300,000 employees further their education and new career paths. Amazon is investing in workforce development to build the talent pipeline the space industry needs. When Nadine Finegold was first hired at an Amazon delivery station in 2018, she worked stowing packages into bins. Eight years later, she stood at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at sunset, watching a rocket hurtle toward low Earth orbit, carrying satellites she helped build. “To see something so magical—it's like touching the stars,” Finegold said. Nadine Finegold (left) and Jessica Hubbell join Amazon Leo team members to watch the LA-07 mission launch. On May 29, 2026, Finegold and her colleague Jessica Hubbell joined other Amazon Leo team members to witness the successful LA-07 mission launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission sent another batch of Amazon Leo satellites into space, where they joined the more than 375 Leo satellites already in orbit . Nadine Finegold assembles solar panels for Amazon Leo in Kirkland, Washington. For both women, the launch represented the culmination of a journey that began in Amazon fulfillment centers and led to high-tech careers at Amazon Leo , Amazon's satellite internet initiative that aims to deliver fast, reliable internet to underserved communities worldwide. Amazon’s Career Choice creates pathways to aerospace careers Both Finegold and Hubbell used Career Choice , Amazon's prepaid tuition benefit program that has helped more than 300,000 employees worldwide pursue new education and career opportunities. The program is open to all eligible Amazon employees who are looking to further their education, learn new skills, or earn certifications. Brian Huseman (right), Amazon's vice president of public policy and community engagement, visits Lake Washington Institute of Technology, where Amazon partnered to develop an aerospace manufacturing certification program and donated industry tools used in satellite production. “We built Career Choice because we believe every employee deserves a pathway to grow, whether that's at Amazon or somewhere else entirely,” said Brian Huseman, Amazon's vice president of public policy and community engagement. “What's remarkable about the connection between Career Choice and Amazon Leo is that we're seeing people go directly from our fulfillment centers to one of the fastest-growing industries in the country, building the satellites we're launching into orbit.” For Finegold and Hubbell, that opportunity came through a partnership between Amazon and Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) in Kirkland, Washington. The specialized six-month certification program covers aerospace assembly, electronics manufacturing, fiber optics, avionics wiring, and more—skills directly applicable to manufacturing satellites. Nadine Finegold is one of the more than 300,000 Amazon employees who have used Career Choice to pursue new education efforts. “Amazon paid for all of it and gave me a leg up,” said Finegold, who recently celebrated her eighth year with Amazon. “They gave me accommodations and my own computer for the first time ever. Career Choice was my golden ticket.” Pipeline to the stars Hubbell's journey with Amazon began in a Colorado fulfillment center, where she worked packing boxes. Traveling across the country with Amazon, she later transferred to Texas, then to a new fulfillment center in Arlington, Washington, where she stowed items into totes. Jessica Hubbell assembles components for Amazon Leo, putting to work the skills she learned through Career Choice. “I heard about Amazon partnering with a school for Leo, and I thought, 'Build satellites? That sounds like fun,'” said Hubbell. “Amazon covered my courses and paid the school directly. I didn't even have to worry about any of that.” Amazon hired Hubbell before she even finished the program. Today, she works in Amazon Leo's space simulation lab, testing critical components to ensure they'll function properly in the harsh conditions of space—vacuum, pressure, heat, cold, and vibration. “These satellites aren't things we can just pull back,” said Hubbell. “Once they’re up there, everything has to be perfect.” Jessica Hubbell tests satellite components in Amazon Leo's space simulation lab, where conditions mimic the extreme environment of space. For Hubbell, who is fascinated by space, loves the movie WALL-E , and has camped in enough dead zones to know what it means to have no connectivity, Amazon Leo’s mission is deeply personal. “I travel all over the country, and there are places where I don't have any service,” said Hubbell. “The fact that we're trying to get access to everywhere, that's what made me want to be part of this.” Career Choice empowers Amazon employees to build new skills After three years working at a delivery station, Finegold joined Amazon's transportation team, where she earned her commercial driver's license through Amazon-funded training. She drove routes across Washington state for four years before enrolling in the LWTech program in September 2024. The course wasn't easy. Finegold was the only student in her class without a technical background, competing with engineers from across North America. But she studied and graduated in March 2025. Two days later, Amazon Leo offered her a position. Nadine Finegold used Amazon Career Choice to become a solar technician building panels for Amazon Leo satellites. “I started with nothing,” said Finegold. Today, Finegold works as a solar technician, assembling the panels that power Amazon Leo satellites. “I enjoy coming to work every day. I tell everybody, ‘Never, ever, ever give up.’” Building the workforce the space industry needs Amazon has invested more than $200 million in infrastructure at Cape Canaveral , including a dedicated vertical integration facility for Amazon Leo, a new system to transport stacked rockets to the launchpad, and a second transport ship for carrying rocket boosters from ULA's factory in Alabama to Cape Canaveral. But these operations require a growing pipeline of skilled technicians. A rocket at Amazon Leo's Florida hub in Cape Canaveral. “The biggest misconception about space jobs is that you need to be a rocket scientist,” said Huseman. “The reality is that our biggest workforce needs are in skilled technical roles—precision assembly, testing, electrical, logistics. People with those skills are building the satellites that will connect billions of people to the internet for the first time. Programs like Career Choice are how Amazon is making those careers accessible.” In Florida, Amazon Leo is working alongside NASA and other industry partners like Space Florida to close this gap. Through collaborative initiatives with local groups, manufacturers identify the specific credentials they require and provide that feedback directly to Florida's education system. “When people think of space jobs, they think of astronauts and engineers,” said Karin Hoffman, founder and CEO of Key Innovative Solutions, which works with industry partners to connect aerospace employers with training programs. “But the real workforce gap is in skilled technical roles—welders, electricians, cybersecurity specialists, advanced manufacturing technicians. Companies like Amazon helped us identify those needs, and now we’re building programs across high schools and technical colleges to fill them.” The approach is becoming a model beyond Florida. In Washington State, for example, LWTech graduates a new class of satellite technicians like Finegold and Hubbell each quarter, open to Amazon employees and the public alike. “When Amazon Leo approached us, the single biggest thing they said is, 'We're finding people who can run software, but we're not finding people who can turn a wrench or do precision assembling,'” said Priyanka Pant, dean of Instruction at LWTech. “So, all our tools are designed to support what's currently happening in the industry.” Amazon employees watch Leo satellites launch from Cape Canaveral Standing at Cape Canaveral on the evening of May 29, Finegold and Hubbell watched years of hard work launch aboard the Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41. Jessica Hubbell (left) and Nadine Finegold watch an Atlas V rocket lift off from Cape Canaveral. For Hubbell, every test she’d ever run—every heat cycle, every vibration chamber, every bolt she'd checked—was riding on that rocket. "You get one chance before it goes into space," she said. "There's no fixing it up there. So, to watch it go and know it's ready—that's everything." Finegold watched the rocket rise with her fingers crossed. “I didn't want to think about it because it might not come true,” said Finegold. “But standing there, watching it go up, I just broke down. To know that something I touched, something I built with my hands, is orbiting Earth right now, that means so much.” Joining the Amazon Leo mission Amazon Leo's constellation is growing, mission by mission. Building it takes thousands of people across dozens of disciplines—and the program is actively recruiting. “We're building something that will orbit Earth and make a difference for people who've never had reliable internet,” Finegold said. “And anyone can be part of it.” Learn more about Amazon's Career Choice program and Amazon Leo . 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