To mark Armed Forces Day 2026 (27th June) and Reserves Day 2026 (24th June), the team at Amazon is celebrating the career journeys of the veterans and reservists who work at the company’s fulfilment centre in Manchester and across the UK.
Dan Carter is an RME manager at Amazon in Manchester and joined the company after serving 9 years in the military. This week, he’s sharing how his personal journey brought them from the services community into a new life at Amazon.
Dan is the interim RME (Reliability, Maintenance, and Engineering) Manager at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Manchester, where he leads the site’s engineering team. A former Royal Navy aircraft technician of nearly a decade, he joined Amazon in 2021 and has progressed from senior technician to manager in just five years.
Originally from North Wales, Dan had already worked in marine engineering and sales before joining the Royal Navy in 2010 at the age of 23. He trained as an aircraft technician at HMS Raleigh, later qualifying in electrical engineering, and spent much of his service in Cornwall working on the Merlin Mark 2 helicopter.
“The deep maintenance and servicing we did on the Merlin isn’t far off what my RME team does at Amazon today.”
His service also took him to sea aboard HMS Somerset on patrols around British waters, and to Hereford on attachment to the Army, where he attended advanced military training courses.
“That taught me a lot. Incident control, discipline, and many more things I’ve been able to bring into Amazon.”
He was promoted to team leader, managing a team of 10 to 12, before leaving the Navy in 2019. A spell in the oil and gas industry followed, but it was the move to Amazon that finally felt like the right fit.
“From everywhere I’ve worked, Amazon is the closest to the military. It really is. Leaving the military can be quite a scary time. You’ve spent that long in a team environment, and people tend to say they miss the camaraderie. But as soon as I came into Amazon, I found it was extremely similar. The pace, the team ethos, the standards. It almost feels like you’re still in.”
Dan joined Amazon in 2021 as a Senior RME Technician, running one of the site’s four engineering shift teams. 18 months later he moved into a Fire Life Safety Senior role, taking on compliance for the fire system and building maintenance, before being promoted to RME Area Manager and, most recently, stepping up to lead the whole engineering function at Amazon in Manchester.
He credits the qualities the military instils, like discipline, reliability, problem-solving, work ethic, and above all the ability to stay calm under pressure, for the speed of his progression.
The part of the job he loves most is leadership.
“I love leadership. The emotional intelligence, situational leadership side of the role. Everything I learned in the military, I’ve been able to bring to Amazon and develop even further. It gives me the ability to lead, but also the freedom to lead.”
He isn’t the only veteran on site. Of his team of around 70, 15 to 20 people are ex-military – a high proportion that helps newcomers settle in fast. He’s also an active member of Amazon Warriors, the company’s employee-led group for veterans.
“It’s not just that the job is seamless to transfer into. You’ve got that affinity where you can keep a personal connection to the military and to people with a similar background. There’s always something going on. It keeps that sense of military pride, which is really promoted within Amazon.”
For anyone weighing up the leap from the forces to civilian work, his advice is straightforward.
“It can be a fearful period, but you do have the skill sets and you do have the ability to transfer over. Once you come into Amazon, it’s nearly identical. The leadership, the adaptability, the fast pace – you seamlessly transfer into a new career. And it genuinely feels very similar to what you’re used to.”
In 2011, Amazon launched its Military Programme in the UK, offering veterans the opportunity to pursue exciting post-military careers in operations, engineering, logistics HR, cloud computing and more. Amazon also supports employees who continue to serve with the UK Military as members of the Armed Forces Reserve by ensuring that they will get up to two weeks of paid leave each year to attend training in addition to their annual leave.
Amazon supports the Armed Forces community through a number of other programmes and career development opportunities. These include Amazon’s Military Ambassador Programme, an 18-month self-paced training and onboarding programme which helps new recruits acclimate to Amazon’s culture and processes.
The Amazon Military Mentoring Programme is an initiative that offers peer mentorship with structured matching, screening, and monthly check-ins. As one of the first signees of the Armed Forces Covenant, Amazon is part of a national pledge to ensure that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.
Amazon has 13 employee-led groups, sometimes known as affinity groups. They play an important role in bringing employees together and create a sense of community globally, while encouraging inclusivity and diversity. These groups include Warriors at Amazon, the Black Employee Network (BEN), People with Disabilities and Women at Amazon.
Warriors at Amazon is an employee-led group that connects and empowers Amazon’s military community, with local chapters all over the world.
Annual pay for Amazon Operations roles starts from £29,744 and in some locations, £31,824. Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount as well as a company pension plan.
Amazon has been named as a ‘Top Employer UK 2026’ by the Top Employer Institute, one of the world’s most prestigious certifications in the field of human resources management. This award recognises Amazon’s commitment to the development and well-being of its employees. In addition to the UK accolade, Amazon has also been certified as one of the Top Employers in Europe for a fourth consecutive year.