The Amazon Coding Interview

Are you ready to tackle one of the toughest coding interviews in the tech world?

The Amazon coding interview rigorously evaluates technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and ability to align with Amazon’s culture.

With the right preparation, candidates can secure a spot at one of the industry’s most innovative companies.

How do you do that? Where to start?

You’re in luck! We’ve gathered comprehensive insights covering what to expect, how to prepare, and proven strategies to help you stand out.

Amazon Interview Process

Gain a clear and detailed understanding of the most commonly asked Amazon interview questions with detailed solutions to each, designed to help you excel and confidently outperform the competition.

Online assessment

Evaluate foundational coding skills and alignment with leadership principles through coding challenges and behavioral questions.

Technical screen

Solve medium-hard coding problems and possibly system design tasks while explaining your approach and handling edge cases.

Behavioral interview

Demonstrate leadership principles to prove cultural and technical fit.

Don’t just prepare; master the interview process!

Amazon Interview Questions

What does it take to succeed in one of the most sought-after interviews in the tech world? Amazon’s interview process stands out for its blend of technical problems and behavioral questions tied to its Leadership Principles. Candidates can expect 15–25 questions across the entire Amazon interview process. Each question is designed to assess your fit within Amazon’s innovation-driven and customer-obsessed culture.

Ace your Amazon bar raiser interview

The bar raiser interview is a defining moment in Amazon’s hiring process. An impartial bar raiser ensures that the candidate fits Amazon’s rigorous standards and elevates the team’s overall quality. The bar raiser can veto decisions because it is the last part of the interview series.

What makes the Amazon interview unique?

Emphasis on leadership principles

Amazon’s 16 Leadership Principles are integral to every decision, every project, and every hire. These principles will guide how interviewers assess your responses.

Behavioral and technical integration

Unlike many other companies, Amazon combines technical and behavioral assessments. Your technical skills are only part of the equation; your ability to work collaboratively, lead initiatives, and make data-driven decisions will also be closely evaluated.

Behavioral interview

Amazon’s customer-first philosophy is the foundation of its operations. Every problem you solve must demonstrate how it ultimately benefits the customer.

Amazon interviews: Strengths and challenges

Challenges

A stressful experience for many candidates.
The generic frameworks make the interview prep repetitive and detached from a candidate’s unique experiences.
Amazon interviews often require significant time and effort, with candidates needing to extensively practice algorithms, system design, and behavioral stories.

Strengths

Real-world problems and complex scenarios.
A chance to showcase various skills, from technical proficiency to leadership qualities.
Emphasis on innovation and creative solutions.

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What Amazonian have to say about interviewing

“Amazonians face problems they don’t know how to solve daily. We’re looking to get a line of sight into a candidate’s thought process, what questions they ask along the way, and what other approaches they could consider. How a candidate thinks about a problem is as important as the answer itself.”

“In general, our technical interviews typically require you to perform coding and system design white boarding exercises. Also keep in mind that invention is in our DNA, and technology is the fundamental tool we wield to evolve and improve every aspect of the experience we provide our customers.”

“Most of the work we do involves storing and providing access to data in efficient ways. This requires a strong background in data structures. You’ll need to understand the inner workings of common data structures and be able to compare and contrast their usage in various applications. You will be expected to know the runtimes for common operations as well as how they use memory.”

“Expect to be asked to write syntactically correct code—no pseudo code. If you feel a bit rusty coding without an IDE or coding in a specific language, it’s a good idea to dust off the cobwebs and get comfortable coding with a pen and paper. The most important thing a Software Development Engineer does at Amazon is write scalable, robust, and well-tested code.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an Amazon interview difficult?

Amazon interviews are challenging. The key difficulty lies in the structured process and the need for thorough preparation to meet the intense expectations.

How long is Amazon’s final interview?

The Amazon interview process typically involves a phone screen, an online assessment (if applicable), and an on-site or virtual interview loop. It also includes multiple 45–60-minute rounds.

What is the pass rate for Amazon interviews?

With a low pass rate of 15–20% for competitive roles, Amazon interviews are among the harder ones to pass in the tech industry.