Amazon (sde2) Virtual Onsite (de - Amazon

Summary

I recently interviewed virtually for an SDE2 position at Amazon in December 2023. Despite performing well in most technical rounds, I unfortunately did not receive an offer after failing to correctly identify and solve a critical graph problem in the final round.

Full Experience

I had my virtual onsite interview for an SDE2 position at Amazon on December 19th, 2023. The interview process consisted of several rounds, each including a couple of behavioral questions in addition to the technical problem. I won't be detailing the behavioral questions as there were too many to remember, but a strong understanding of Amazon's leadership principles is key for those.

My first round involved a Data Structures & Algorithms problem. The second round was focused on Object-Oriented Design. The third round was a System Design question, requiring me to design a high-level system for a sensor package. Round four was entirely behavioral, and I don't recall the specific questions.

The final technical round was another Data Structures & Algorithms problem that proved to be my downfall. I failed to identify it as a graph question during the interview and thus couldn't provide a working solution. Post-interview research revealed that the problem was best solved using a topological sort, with a question similar to 'Alien Dictionary' being a good fit. Unfortunately, because I didn't get a working solution and another candidate did, I did not receive an offer.

Interview Questions (4)

Shortest Path in Binary Matrix

Data Structures & AlgorithmsMedium

Find the shortest clear path in a binary matrix. A clear path is a path from the top-left cell (0, 0) to the bottom-right cell (n-1, n-1) such that all visited cells are 0. You can move in 8 directions (horizontally, vertically, and diagonally).

Design a Parking Lot

System DesignMedium

Design a parking lot system. Consider different types of vehicles (e.g., car, bike, bus), various parking spot sizes, entry and exit points, and a mechanism for assigning and vacating spots. The design should account for scalability and efficient management.

Sensor Data Heatmap System Design

System DesignHard

Given a sensor package with 1 million sensors, design a high-level system to display a heatmap of the data to a team of farmers. What information do you expect the sensors to provide? How frequently will they transmit data, and how will you store it efficiently for real-time display and historical analysis?

Package Dependencies (Topological Sort)

Data Structures & AlgorithmsHard

A problem involving package dependencies. I later realized this was a graph problem requiring a topological sort. A similar problem that fits this description well is 'Alien Dictionary'. The task is to determine a valid build order or sequence based on dependencies.

Preparation Tips

I focused my preparation on Amazon's leadership principles for the behavioral rounds, as each technical round also included several such questions. For the technical aspects, I practiced data structures and algorithms, though I admittedly struggled with certain graph-related problems, which ultimately impacted my performance in one of the crucial rounds.

Amazon (SDE2) Virtual onsite (Dec 2023)

Summary

Full Experience

Interview Questions (4)

Preparation Tips

Join the Discussion

No comments yet