I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in Dec 2012
Interview
I applied through a friend (which you should totally do if it's an option).
I had 2 phone interviews which were pretty basic for the most part. One was dynamic programming and the second question just had to do with designing a DB. The second interview required no code. It was just a little bit of pseudo code and some OO questions. The main problem was keeping calm but if you practice problems a lot you should be able to get past these fairly easily.
Then I was flown out to Seattle for several in-person interviews. I got an HR interview, 2 technical interviews (roughly the same difficulty of before but I was even more nervous), a lunch interview with the manager. I advise getting something easy to chew because you'll be talking the entire time. It can be very awkward if you're not prepared (which I really wasn't). Then I had 2 more technical interviews which I found to be easier because I was getting better feedback.
Great interview process with three rounds, including a technical assessment and a technical interview. The interviewers were professional and supportive throughout the process. The questions mainly focused on DSA, problem-solving, and core technical concepts. The discussions were engaging and provided a good opportunity to demonstrate technical skills. Overall, the process was well-structured, smooth, transparent, and a very positive experience.
I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon (Sydney)
Interview
I can't comment much. I submitted an application for the software engineer position, and not even a minute later, I received an auto rejection email from Amazon (never received an online assessment).
2 behavioral 2 coding not very difficult. Behavioral is tell me about a time you took responsibility beyond your role and biggest accomplishment. The process is exactly the guideline they posted for interview.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
tell me about a time you took responsibility beyond your role