I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon (Irvine, CA) in Aug 2013
Interview
First off was the phone test. Since I know algorithms and data structures, having several years of experience as a software engineer, I passed this one easily.
Then they invite you to a 5-hour long interview that continues through lunch. 2 were behavioral interviews, 3 were technical. Only 1 of the technical interviews I felt was appropriate for asking a level-2 software engineer -- it was based on OO design and data structures, with a little bit of complexity (basically asking which data structure would be the most efficient for their problem).
The other 2 technical interviews were completely asinine and were basically just solving some silly matrix-based puzzles using algorithms. It wasn't necessarily difficult, but it was more like something you'd assign in a Junior/senior level programming course. It has absolutely NOTHING to do with real-world SW engineering. I felt I wasted 5 hours of my life (plus the ridiculous commute to Irvine) attending this interview and that I didn't even get a real chance to show the interviewers what I'm capable of.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Can't go into detail because of the NDA. But basically 1 OO/design problem. 2 silly puzzle-solving algorithms. Both involved traversing matrices.
I applied through a staffing agency. I interviewed at Amazon (Seattle, WA) in May 2026
Interview
There were a total of 2 rounds:
The first round was with an SDE II on Data Structures/Algo - Leet code questions mainly
The second rounds was with an SDM Behavioral/System Design - Leadership principles and past work experience impact.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Amazon in Feb 2026
Interview
Recruiter explicitly mentioned that the Technical Phone Screen interview did not contain any Behavioral question but the interviewer definitely asked 3 behavioral questions.
The coding problem was utterly garbage, it was a pretty trivial problem that anyone that knows DFS would be able to solve. That is not appropriate for a SDE 2 role. Not even useful to demonstrate candidate skills
PS: They care a lot more about what you've accomplished than whatever you can accomplish based on your skills
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. Tell me about a time when you had to meet a tight deadline
2. Tell me about a time when you had to do more than what you were required to do
3. Tell me about a time where you made a significant impact on a customer
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Amazon (Bengaluru) in Sept 2025
Interview
5 rounds of interviews
1. OA (2 Medium Hard Questions along with some Work Related Assessment which tested design related concepts)
2. HLD
3. DSA
4. LLD
5. Bar Raiser
Technically, the questions were of medium difficulty and with good polish, you should be able to solve these questions. The main challenge in Amazon is of the Leadership Principles which involve citing real work experience in the STAR format.
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