Amazon SDE 1 | 2024 Batch | Feb 2025

I recently appeared for Amazon interviews for an SDE 1 role, but had a challenging experience despite preparing extensively, as I encountered questions I hadn't specifically practiced. I received the interview mail on February 25th, and my interviews were scheduled for February 27th and 28th.

Round 1 (Technical)

This round had two interviewers, both with over three years of experience at Amazon. After our introductions, we proceeded with two DSA problems:

1. The first problem was to segregate a list of strings into groups of anagrams. I successfully solved this and provided the expected solution.
2. The second problem involved finding the next greater element in a circular array. I initially struggled to give the optimal expected solution, and the interviewer kept prompting me for a different approach. However, they were eventually satisfied with the approach I presented.

Following the DSA problems, I was asked a Leadership Principle (LP) question: "Something I did beyond my work scope." The interviewers seemed satisfied with my answer.

Round 2 (Technical)

Again, there were two interviewers, both women with over three years of experience. After introductions, we moved on to two more DSA problems:

1. The first problem was "Allocate Minimum Pages." I provided the expected approach but found it difficult to code the solution properly, constantly doubting my intuition, which was largely correct.
2. The second problem was to find the "Maximum Path Sum in a Binary Tree." I gave the expected approach but couldn't code the correct solution initially. Later, when they asked me to dry run, I discovered my mistake and corrected it, though I felt my overall impression had suffered by then.

This round also included an LP question: "Something I Struggled to do." The interviewers did not seem particularly engaged with my answer.

I anticipate being rejected because I couldn't perform at my best, particularly in coding. I've identified my areas for improvement, and I'm happy that I was able to conceptualize the correct approaches for difficult problems during the interview. I will focus on improving my coding skills for future opportunities. I have several more interviews lined up with different organizations, and I'm looking forward to them. I wish everyone good luck in their interviews!