Amazon SDE Interview Experience (L5 – Bangalore)

I recently interviewed for the L5 SDE role at Amazon in Bangalore. The process was intense, insightful, and full of surprises. Here's a breakdown of each round and what I learned along the way.

Role Details

• Position: Software Development Engineer
• Level: L5
• Location: Bangalore
• Amazon Alexa backend team

Round 1: Online Assessment

This was the initial screening round. It tested core problem-solving skills and coding proficiency.

Round 2: Problem Solving + Leadership Principles

One of the key questions involved converting a, e.g., Input: 11023579 Output: Eleven million twenty-three thousand five hundred seventy-nine. This output will serve as a spoken response within the Alexa voice interface. I solved it within the given time. As a follow-up, the interviewer asked how the solution would scale for larger numbers, and we discussed time and space complexity. Beyond coding, we also discussed my past experiences and how I handled real-world scenarios as an SDE, aligning with Amazon’s Leadership Principles.

Round 3: DSA + Leadership Principles

I don’t recall the exact question, but it involved a mix of sliding window and two-pointer techniques—something like optimizing car capacity over time. The interviewer also asked standard behavioral questions to assess leadership traits and decision-making.

Round 4: System Design

The first half focused on resume-based and scenario-driven questions, which I answered using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). This round had a hiccup. Midway through the interview, my internet went down due to a power cut. I tried to rejoin, but the interviewer had already left. I immediately informed the recruiter and explained the situation.

The interview was rescheduled, and this time I was asked to design a Parking System—an open-ended question. I approached it methodically: Defined functional and non-functional requirements, discussed scalability, concurrency, and data modeling, walked through my thought process clearly. This round went well and felt like a strong performance.

Final Round: The Unfortunate Twist

Despite clearing the previous rounds, the final interview was rescheduled multiple times. Unfortunately, the interviewer didn’t join the call each time. Eventually, I received a rejection email stating that the position had been filled without even getting a chance to complete the final round.

Final Thoughts

This wasn’t my time. I’m not sure what went wrong, but I’ll revisit this post in a year or two and reflect again. Every experience is a step forward.