Amazon Interview Preparation

Amazon is quite a popular and leading tech organization, not only because of its product and services but also for providing numerous remarkable career opportunities to tech enthusiasts. But to get worthwhile job opportunities at Amazon such as Amazon SDE or Amazon SDET is not very much easy as you need to go through and crack multiple interviews rounds to finally secure a job. Especially to crack the coding questions asked in the Amazon interview, you require some serious level of preparation.

Amazon Interview FAQ-1
Amazon Interview FAQ-2

SDE Internship

The selection process typically involves 3–4 rounds, with a mix of technical and behavioral assessments. Here's a detailed breakdown:

1. Online Assessment Round ( Duration: 2 Hours 30 Minutes)

• Debugging Section (20 - 25 minutes) : This section consists of mainly 7 problems where there will be a bug in the code in form of syntax error or logical error and you need to find that bug. This section is generally considered easier than the others.

• Coding Questions (70 minutes): This section comprises of mainly 2 coding problems revolving around Data Structures and Algorithms. Questions range from medium to hard difficulty.
  Important Topics :-
  1. Binary Search
  2. Stack and Queue
  3. Greedy Algorithms
  4. Advanced Number Theory
  5. String Algorithms
  6. Graph -> Traversal(BFS and DFS), Dijkstra, MST
  7. Dynamic Programming
  8. Difference Arrays
  9. Hashing, Two Pointers and Sliding Window
  
  Practice Problems

1. Maximum average of subtree values in a given Binary Tree

2. Find k largest elements in an array

3. ZigZag Tree Traversal

4. Print path between any two nodes in a Binary Tree

5. Next Greater Element

• Workstyle Assessment (20 - 25 minutes): This section focuses on behavioral analysis and consists of 50 questions.
  Each question will present a statement, and you'll respond using a slider with options such as "Strongly Agree," "Agree," "Disagree," and "Strongly Disagree."
  It’s highly recommended to familiarize yourself with Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles in advance, as the questions are designed to assess how well your values align with them.

• Reasoning Ability (35 - 40 minutes): This section revolves around examining your aptitude and verbal reasoning ability. It consists of total 24 questions with a difficulty range of easy to medium.

2. Technical Interview 1

This online round takes place on Amazon Chime. The duration of this online interview round is 1 hour. The interview will start with introductions so be prepared with a short but effective introduction of yourself. The interviewer may ask 2 questions with medium difficulty or one question with a follow up to optimize the approach.
The general flow of the interview would look like you explaining your approach to the interviewer and after he is satisfied with your approach you can start coding your solution. Keep a clarity about time and space complexity. Each question will roughly take around 25 minutes.

Practice Problems :

1. Chocolate Distribution Problem

2. Nuts and Bolts Problem

3. Left View of Binary Tree

4. Max Sum without Adjacent

5. Rotate Square Matrix by 90 Degrees Counterclockwise

3. Technical Interview 2

This round also takes place on Amazon Chime. The duration of this online interview round is around 1:00 to 1:30 hours. The interview revolves around discussion about your achievements, projects and later on Data Structures and Algorithms. The DSA part could be carried out by asking around 2 DSA problems with easy to medium difficulty. The interviewer may ask about details of any one of your projects like challenges you faced and how you solved them.

Practice Problems and Articles :

1. Grid Unique Paths - Count Paths in matrix

2. Assembly line Scheduling

4. HR Round

This round may or may not be included in the assessment, but when it is, it primarily focuses on behavioral questions designed to evaluate your cultural fit within the team. It aims to assess how your decision-making, communication style, and values align with Amazon’s work environment. To prepare effectively, it's beneficial to understand Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles, as they form the basis of these scenarios.

Final Tips :

• Strong DSA foundations are key.
• Review past projects and prepare to talk about them in depth.
• Practice mock interview, explaining your thought process aloud.
• Familiarize yourself with Amazon's Leadership Principles, they are relevant in both behavioral and technical rounds.

SDE 1 Interviews

The selection process typically involves 4–5 rounds, with a mix of technical and behavioral assessments. Here's a detailed breakdown:

1. Coding Test (1:00 - 1:30 Hours)

This round consists of mainly 2 problems revolving around Data Structures and Algorithms. The difficulty of problems may revolve around easy to medium.

Practice Problems

1. Minimum Platforms

2. Sort 0s, 1s and 2s

3. Add Number Linked Lists

2. Technical Interview 1

This online round takes place on Amazon Chime. The duration of this online interview round is 1 hour. The interview will start with introductions so be prepared with a short but effective introduction of yourself. The interviewer may ask 2 questions with medium difficulty or one question with a follow up to optimize the approach.
The general flow of the interview would be you explaining your approach to the interviewer and after he is satisfied with your approach you can start coding your solution. Keep a clarity about time and space complexity. Each question will roughly take around 25 minutes.

Practice Problems

1. Allocate Minimum Pages

2. Rod Cutting

3. Vertical Tree Traversal

3. Technical Interview 2

This online round takes place on Amazon Chime. This round revolves around your understanding about concepts of your core subjects like Object Oriented Programming, Database Management Systems, Operating Systems etc. The interviewer may assess your DSA knowledge too.

Practice Problems

1. Rotten Oranges

2. Longest Common Prefix Using Sorting

3. Pair Sum in BST

4. Technical + Managerial Round

The interviewer could be your Team Leader or Manager. The question will be behavioral and may revolve around assessing if you are fit for working in the team. Questions could be from your past experience, work experience, projects, strengths and weaknesses and what are your expectations from the team and environment. The round could go technical too and may involve questions from Data Structures and Algorithms or your projects that you've worked upon.

Practice Problems

1. Permutations of a given string

2. Triplet sum in Array

3. Two Sum - Pair with given sum

5. Managerial Round

This round focuses on behavioral questions aimed at assessing whether you're a good fit for the team. The interview typically lasts 30 to 45 minutes and includes questions related to leadership, handling pressure, and your approach to problem-solving. Interviewers often look for real-life examples that reflect Amazon’s Leadership Principles, so be prepared to discuss past experiences in depth.

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