Tech Worker Laid Off Twice Before Joining AI Startup

Dave Lewis joined an AI startup as head of partnerships after two layoffs in three years at Amazon and Microsoft. Business Insider reported that Lewis, who is in his 30s and lives in Montana, accepted the full-time role at Emberos in May after taking April off to welcome his son. Lewis began his tech career at Google, joining in 2012 as a digital media manager.

During the pandemic he and his wife moved from New York City to Montana. He said he left Google after a decade because he wanted work on larger industry problems and a role that would support remote work from Montana. In July 2022 Lewis joined Amazon as a product lead.

Less than a year later Amazon laid him off during workforce reductions. He stayed in contact with former managers and rejoined Amazon in October 2023 as a technical product manager. At that time he expected to make roughly monthly trips to Seattle, with the arrangement to be reviewed after one year.

Shortly before his one-year mark, Amazon changed its policy to require five days a week in the office. Lewis said the shift removed his exception. He and his wife considered spending a year in Seattle while keeping their Montana home, but decided the arrangement did not fit their family.

In January 2025 he left Amazon for a remote partner sales executive role at Microsoft. Ten months later Microsoft eliminated the role. Lewis spoke with a former Google colleague who had founded Emberos, an AI startup that helps businesses optimize their digital footprint for AI-powered consumer search.

He accepted the head-of-partnerships position, which carries no office requirement though he expects regular trips to the company's Los Angeles office. Lewis said returning to Amazon differed from his initial hiring because he had built-up goodwill and colleagues already knew his work.