Or in some cases letting said shittiness manifest because the person doing the pointing isn't themselves subject to it and/or could stand to lose ground when someone decides to do something about it.

Yes that’s why I thought it odd to say the AWS devs have it hardest in the whole company. It’s not a competition though it always feels a bit silly to pretend back breaking physical labor is easier than sitting in an air conditioned office in a chair.

The strongest plausible interpretation is they meant for equivalent jobs.