Software Dev Engineer FTE position at Amazon Audible

I recently completed the final virtual onsite interviews for the Software Development Engineer (SDE) – Full-Time Role through Amazon University Talent Acquisition, and I’d like to share my full experience for those preparing for similar roles.

Interview Details:

• Date: April 15, 2025
• Hosted from: Oregon (Virtual from East Coast, USA)
• Platform: Amazon Chime + LiveCode
• Format: 3 Interviews (1 hour each), back-to-back with a 30-minute break between round 2 and 3

Round 1 – Leadership Principles (Behavioral Only)

Entirely focused on Amazon’s LPs
Key questions included:

• "How do you handle missing deadlines?"
• "Tell me about a time you took initiative on a task outside your role."

The interviewer was friendly and focused on depth of examples using the STAR method.

Round 2 – Pure Coding (DSA)

Interviewer: SDM (Software Development Manager)
Two questions:

• Q1: Variation of Binary Tree Level Order Traversal (Easy) — return levels using a linked list format
• Q2: Medium-level Amazon K-Winner Lottery Problem — Weighted random winner based on customer purchase amount (e.g., $1 = 1 chance, $10 = 10 chances)

I fully solved the first question. I struggled a bit on the second but communicated my approach.
The interviewer was very understanding and helped me stay on track with helpful clarifications.

Round 3 – Mixed: Behavioral + Coding

~30 min behavioral:

• "Tell me about a time you worked under pressure."
• "Have you ever missed a deadline? What did you learn?"

~30 min coding:
Word Search in a 2D Grid — Classic DFS with backtracking problem (LeetCode Medium)
Interviewer was calm, gave hints when appropriate, and made the session very engaging.

Key Learnings:

• Communicate clearly even if you’re stuck — your thought process matters.
• Leadership Principles are deeply woven into the process — prepare personalized STAR stories.
• Interviewers care more about how you think and learn, not just about passing every test case.
• Stay calm, own your story, and show growth.

Final Note:

This was my first full SDE onsite-style experience and I walked away learning a lot about Amazon’s culture — leadership, mentorship, and high standards.

If you're on a similar journey, feel free to reach out. Happy to exchange notes and prep tips!