Microsoft SDE Intern Interview Experience
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Amazon (AWS) | SDE2 (L5) | July 2024 [Offer]
Summary
I successfully interviewed for an SDE2 position at Amazon AWS in July 2024, receiving an offer. The interview loop included system design, coding challenges, and several rounds of behavioral questions focused on Amazon's Leadership Principles, all of which I felt I handled effectively.
Full Experience
I applied randomly for an SDE2 role at AWS on June 13th, and by the next day, I received an email to complete an assessment, which I finished on June 16th. A day later, recruiters sent me interview preparation materials and requested my availability for the interview loop.
My interview journey began on July 1st. My first round was with a Hiring Manager, where I spent about 30 minutes answering two standard Leadership Principles (LP) questions. The technical part involved a High-Level Design (HLD) problem: 'Design Kindle'. The core focus was on syncing page offsets across multiple Kindle devices, ensuring users could seamlessly continue reading from the exact page they left off, regardless of the device. The second round also started with 25 minutes of standard LP questions, followed by a coding challenge. I was asked to implement a string formatter similar to Java's java.util.Formatter. The problem involved taking a string and a list of replacements to format the string, with specific examples provided and an expectation to throw exceptions for invalid cases.
On July 2nd, I had my third round, which was with a Bar Raiser. Again, it began with 25 minutes of LP questions. The technical problem was initially ambiguous but ultimately boiled down to the classic 'Number of Islands' problem on a 0-1 matrix. The follow-up asked for a list of the size of each cluster found. My fourth and final technical round involved 20 minutes of LP questions and then a problem similar to one discussed on LeetCode (I've linked it below). The interviewer expected an O(N) approach, and I proposed using Polynomial Rolling Hash to store sequences of visited pages, suggesting multiple hash combinations to minimize collisions. The interviewer seemed quite impressed with my solution.
On July 9th, I received the offer! I had initially been concerned about my performance in the HLD round, but the recruiter later informed me that the hiring manager was very pleased with my approach. My responses to the LP questions were particularly strong, which, according to the recruiter, led the panel to offer me the position without hesitation.
Interview Questions (4)
Design a system for Amazon Kindle. The primary focus of the discussion was on how to synchronize page offsets among multiple Kindle devices, ensuring that a user can always start reading from the exact page they were on, regardless of which device they pick up (e.g., if they were on page 100 on one device, they should start on page 100 on another device).
Implement a string formatter functionality similar to Java's java.util.Formatter. Given an input string containing placeholders (e.g., {0}, {1}) and a list of replacement strings, return the formatted string. The task is to replace valid indices with the appropriate replacement string from the given list. Exceptions should be thrown for any invalid cases, such as missing replacements for an index.
Examples:input = "Sample{{ {1}, {0}{1}", replacements = ["alice", "Bob"] => output = "Sample{{ Bob, aliceBob"input = "Sample {1}", replacements = ["alice"] => throw an exception
An initially ambiguous problem that ultimately simplified to the classic "Number of Islands" problem on a 0-1 matrix. The first part of the problem required returning the total number of clusters (connected components). A follow-up asked to return a list containing the size of each identified cluster.
The problem was related to finding patterns or subsequences within a sequence of visited pages. The interviewer expected an O(N) approach for this. The core idea involved detecting if a specific sequence of length 'k' or a similar pattern appeared twice or more times within the larger sequence of visited pages.
Preparation Tips
Based on my experience, here are a few key takeaways and preparation tips I followed:
- Leadership Principles (LP) Questions: These are manageable if you prepare your stories well. Having 12-15 strong, distinct stories should be sufficient. I was fortunate to use all my strongest stories for the eight questions asked. It's perfectly fine to keep a small note or a window open with the titles of your LP stories during the interview. Take your time, ask the interviewer to repeat or paste the question in the chat if needed, and carefully select the most suitable story.
- STAR Approach with Flexibility: While answering LP questions, try to follow the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach. However, don't feel strictly bound by it. I found that focusing on improving my storytelling skills and keeping the conversation engaging was more effective.
- Quantify Results: Always remember to mention the results of your actions in metrics. This was the only feedback I received during a mock LP interview with a recruiter, and it significantly improved my responses.
- Interview Mindset: Try to assume you are talking to a colleague rather than an interviewer. This helped me reduce nervousness. Practicing with as many mock interviews as possible can help develop this habit.
- Act Like a Software Engineer: Don't just be a programmer. Ask clarifying questions, thoroughly discuss requirements, propose multiple approaches, analyze efficiency and tradeoffs, and clearly state your preferred solution. Always seek confirmation before jumping into coding. My recruiter mentioned that candidates can be rejected for coding prematurely without adequate discussion, even if their solution is optimal.
- Constant Communication: Maintain continuous communication with the interviewer, vocalizing even your smallest thoughts. Keep the conversation engaging.
- Typing Speed & Tools: Have a decent typing speed and familiarize yourself with the design tools you'll use. While you don't need to be super fast, efficiency is key to avoid wasting time. This allowed me to often have at least 10 minutes at the end of rounds to discuss team culture, challenges, and the work environment at AWS.
- Stay Relaxed: Don't let nervousness get the best of you. Treat the interview day as part of your regular routine. For instance, I went for my usual morning run on interview days, which made me feel active and calm.
All the best in your interviews!