Amazon SDE 1 Application & Interview Experience (1-Year Timeline)
Summary
I shared my full Amazon SDE 1 interview experience, detailing a process that spanned almost a year from my application to the final Bar Raiser round, encompassing multiple coding, leadership principles, and a Gen AI Fluency round.
Full Experience
Hi everyone,
Sharing my full interview experience below. I’ve also included timelines since many posts here discuss them.
Timeline
Applied:
March 2025 (via Amazon Careers)
Online Assessment:
5th December 2025
Standard Amazon-style OA (don’t remember the exact questions).
Next Communication:
26th December – Received mail for In-Person Drive preference (date & location).
Interview Invitation:
2nd January 2026
On-site Interview:
11th January 2026
Interview Rounds
Round 1
- Two coding questions
- One relatively easy
- One similar to Open the Lock (LeetCode-type problem)
Round 2
- Two standard Leadership Principles (LP) questions
- One coding question similar to merging 2/k sorted arrays
- Strong focus on clean code and structure
Recruiter mentioned the final round would be scheduled the following week.
Follow-ups
- 18th January
- 6th February
Received replies stating they were scheduling and would update soon. After that, I stopped following up.
Additional Round (Gen AI Fluency)
16th February (around 9:30 PM):
Received a call to schedule an additional “Gen AI Fluency” round (it was essentially a DSA round).
Round Held On:
19th February
Question:
Similar to finding nodes at distance K from a target node (expected O(n) time complexity and no parent mapping).
No communication after that.
Bar Raiser Round
28th February (around 9:30 PM):
Bar Raiser Round
Received a call for the Bar Raiser round scheduled on 2nd March.
The round lasted around 22 minutes.
The Bar Raiser was a very polite interviewer from the EU and strictly followed the interview format that was shared before the interview began.
In my experience, Bar Raisers from our country sometimes include DSA questions in this round, which feels a bit unusual since the Bar Raiser round is typically focused on Leadership Principles. Perhaps this is done to utilize the full one-hour slot.
Again Really good guy who took this interview.
Bar Raiser Focus:
- Introduction
- Why Amazon
- Three standard LPs:
- Deep Dive
- Learn & Be Curious
- Earn Trust
Overall Duration
The entire process spanned almost a year from application to final round.
About Me
- 2025 graduate from a Tier-4 college (It have INI status but still belong to tier 4)
- Currently working at a service-based company
Thanks for reading. Hope this helps someone.
Interview Questions (6)
Open the Lock
Similar to the LeetCode problem Open the Lock.
Merge K Sorted Arrays
A coding question similar to merging 2 or K sorted arrays.
Nodes at Distance K from Target Node
Similar to finding nodes at distance K from a target node, expecting O(n) time complexity and no parent mapping.
Deep Dive (Leadership Principle)
Standard Amazon Leadership Principle: Deep Dive.
Learn & Be Curious (Leadership Principle)
Standard Amazon Leadership Principle: Learn & Be Curious.
Earn Trust (Leadership Principle)
Standard Amazon Leadership Principle: Earn Trust.