Amazon | SDE 1 Fresher | Accepted ✅ | India | Interview Experience

Application and Online Assessment (OA)

• Applied on: 26th December 2024
• Received Hiring Interest Form: 28th December 2024
• Received OA Mail: 2nd January 2025 (with a 3-day deadline)

OA Details:

• Two DSA Questions (70 mins): The first question involved determining the minimum starting health for a player in a game with specific rules, including health loss per round and armor usage. The second question required implementing standard LinkedList operations: push_front, push_back, and pop_front. The questions were Easy to Medium level, and I attempted both.
• Work Style Assessment: This section focused on Amazon’s Leadership Principles (LPs).

After clearing the OA, I received a call from HR on 8th January to schedule my first interview.

Round 1: DSA Only (16th January 2025)

This round was conducted by an SDE 2 from the SageMaker team. The interviewer introduced himself, and I introduced myself. He mentioned there would be two DSA questions, which I had to solve optimally.

DSA Questions:

1. First Question: I was given the Minimum Path Sum problem. I discussed the Dynamic Programming approach, explained the dry run to validate my logic, and then coded the solution. I also explained the Time and Space Complexity. The interviewer was satisfied.
2. Second Question: This was the Generate Parentheses problem. I first discussed the naive approach, then improved it using Backtracking. I did a dry run before coding and explained the Time and Space Complexity after coding.

At the end, the interviewer asked if I had any questions. I received a call from HR on 22nd January, confirming I had passed this round and scheduling Round 2 for the next day.

Round 2: Machine Coding + LP (23rd January 2025)

This round was taken by another SDE 2 from the SageMaker team. After introductions, the interviewer initially asked me to design a Chess Game. I wasn’t prepared for Machine Coding for an SDE 1 fresher role, and I mentioned my concern. The interviewer reassured me and changed the problem to designing a Snake and Ladder Game. I started by defining classes and functionalities. After writing the code, we discussed corner cases, and I implemented the required changes. I learned a lot from this round, as the interviewer guided me through structuring my code efficiently.

Leadership Principles Questions:

1. Describe a situation where you showed ownership.
2. Describe a situation where you had to deliver a task under a tight deadline. What challenges did you face, and how did you resolve them?

I answered both questions based on my internship experiences. I was nervous about whether I would proceed further, but I received a call from HR the very next day (24th January) confirming my final round (Bar Raiser) on 27th January, which was later rescheduled to 31st January.

Round 3: Bar Raiser (31st January 2025)

This round was conducted by a Senior SDM (Software Development Manager). The interviewer outlined the interview structure, which focused heavily on Leadership Principles (LPs).

Leadership Principles Questions:

1. Tell me about a situation where you were assigned a critical task. Why was it critical, and how did you solve the challenges faced?
2. Describe a time when you had to do a task from complete scratch. What approach did you take, and how did you accomplish it?
3. How do you handle deadlines? Have you ever missed one? If so, how did you manage the situation?

The interviewer went deep into my answers, asking multiple follow-up questions. I fumbled in two to three places, as he kept probing into details. By the end, I felt exhausted. Finally, he asked if I had any questions for him.

Final Status: Selected 🎉

I received a mail from the recruiter three days later and was offered the role.