Amazon | Interview Experience
Summary
I interviewed for an SDE role at Amazon, completing four rounds that included Data Structures & Algorithms, Low-Level Design, and Behavioral Leadership Principles. The outcome is currently pending.
Full Experience
Amazon SDE Onsite Interview Experience (5 Months Experience)
Got a mail for the onsite interview, and a form was shared to choose the location (Bangalore/Hyderabad). After filling out the form, I got a call from HR asking if I was available on the following date.
Round 1 (Onsite) – 1 hour
Two DSA questions.
Question 1: Similar to Rotting Oranges
https://leetcode.com/problems/rotting-oranges/description/
Solved it using BFS.
Follow-up: Can we optimize it?
Basically, the interviewer didn’t want me to use a visited array.
Question 2:
https://leetcode.com/problems/find-the-celebrity/description/
Started with the brute force approach, then optimized it.
At the end, there were 2 Leadership Principle (LP) questions.
Interviewer seemed satisfied.
Round 2 (Onsite) – 1 hour
DSA Question: Something similar to Two Sum but in a Binary Tree.
Solved it using brute force, and in the follow-up optimized it using a map.
Second question (follow-up):
If the tree is a BST and we are not allowed to use a map, how would you solve it?
Solved it after receiving a hint. The interviewer seemed satisfied.
Then there were 2 LP questions.
Round 3 (Virtual) – 1 hour
DSA Question: Reverse the edges of a directed graph.
(I had to write the entire code from scratch — from taking input to printing the output — in an online compiler.)
Solved it.
LLD Question: Asked me to design 2 features from my past experience.
Got some follow-up questions. I completed the first feature, but there was no time left for the second one, so the interviewer asked me to leave it.
Ended with 2 LP questions.
Round 4 – Bar Raiser (Virtual) – 45 minutes
The interviewer mentioned at the beginning that this would be a pure behavioral round (Leadership Principles only).
It didn’t go as well as I expected.
He asked me to describe a complex problem I solved in my past experience. I had prepared stories in advance, but at the end of my answer he smiled and said:
“It doesn’t sound very complex to me.”
I dont know what he was expecting. At that point, I felt like I might already be rejected.
After that, he asked 3 more LP questions with follow-ups.
Verdict: Pending
Experience: 5 months
College: NIT (Tier 2)
Interview Questions (6)
Rotting Oranges with Optimization
Similar to Rotting Oranges. Follow-up: Can we optimize it? Basically, the interviewer didn’t want me to use a visited array.
Find the Celebrity
The problem is Find the Celebrity.
Two Sum in a Binary Tree (with BST variant)
A problem similar to Two Sum but operating on a Binary Tree. Follow-up: If the tree is a BST and we are not allowed to use a map, how would you solve it?
Reverse Edges of a Directed Graph
Reverse the edges of a directed graph. I had to write the entire code from scratch — from taking input to printing the output — in an online compiler.
Low-Level Design: Design Features from Past Experience
Asked me to design 2 features from my past experience.
Behavioral: Describe a Complex Problem
Describe a complex problem I solved in my past experience.