What questions will Amazon ask?

Amazon interviews are known for their thorough evaluation of both technical skills and cultural fit. The questions typically revolve around problem-solving, coding, system design, and behavioral scenarios aligned with Amazon’s Leadership Principles. Here's a breakdown of the types of questions you can expect:

1. Behavioral Interview Questions (Leadership Principles)

Amazon heavily focuses on its 14 Leadership Principles, and you’ll be asked to demonstrate how your past experiences align with them. Behavioral questions are typically framed using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Common Behavioral Questions:

• Customer Obsession: “Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.”
• Ownership: “Describe a situation where you took complete ownership of a project and its outcomes.”
• Bias for Action: “Give an example of a time you made a quick decision when faced with limited information.”
• Invent and Simplify: “Tell me about a time when you found a simpler solution to a problem.”
• Dive Deep: “Describe a time when you had to dig into details to solve a problem.”

To prepare for these, align your answers with Amazon’s leadership principles, and practice using the STAR method. For in-depth prep, Grokking Modern Behavioral Interview by DesignGurus.io is a great resource.

2. Technical Interview Questions (Coding and Algorithms)

For technical roles, Amazon interviewers will assess your problem-solving ability and coding skills. You’ll face algorithmic challenges, often related to common data structures and algorithms.

Common Coding Topics:

• Arrays and Strings: Questions like “Find the longest substring without repeating characters” or “Merge two sorted arrays.”
• Sorting and Searching: “Implement quicksort” or “Write a binary search algorithm.”
• Linked Lists: “Detect a cycle in a linked list” or “Reverse a linked list.”
• Trees and Graphs: “Find the lowest common ancestor in a binary tree” or “Determine if a graph is bipartite.”
• Dynamic Programming: “Find the maximum sum of non-adjacent numbers in an array.”
• Recursion and Backtracking: “Solve the N-Queens problem” or “Generate all subsets of a set.”

How to Prepare: Practice these coding patterns using Grokking the Coding Interview by DesignGurus.io, which covers the most common algorithmic patterns.

3. System Design Questions (For Mid-Senior Roles)

For senior and engineering leadership roles, system design questions will assess your ability to design scalable, efficient systems that can handle millions of users.

Common System Design Questions:

• Design a URL Shortener: Discuss how to build a system like bit.ly, including database schema, how to generate short links, and how to scale.
• Design a Global Web Service: Create a design for a web service that handles millions of requests per second, with considerations for high availability and load balancing.
• Design an E-Commerce Platform: How would you design a system like Amazon.com that handles product listings, user reviews, and payments?
• Design a News Feed System: Discuss the architecture of a social media news feed (like Facebook’s) and how to ensure timely delivery of updates.

How to Prepare: Use Grokking the System Design Interview by DesignGurus.io to learn the fundamental principles of designing scalable systems, which are frequently asked in Amazon interviews.

4. Bar Raiser Interview Questions

During your onsite interview, one interviewer will be the Bar Raiser, a senior Amazon employee trained to ensure the company’s hiring standards remain high. They focus on both technical skills and how well you fit Amazon’s culture.

What to Expect:

• Tougher Behavioral Questions: “Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager and how you handled it.”
• Long-Term Vision: They may ask how you align with Amazon’s long-term goals or how you approach challenges over the long term.
• Leadership Focus: They’ll evaluate your leadership potential and your ability to handle ownership and accountability.

5. Role-Specific Questions

Amazon customizes some interview questions based on the specific role you’re applying for. For instance, if you’re interviewing for a machine learning role, you’ll get questions related to ML concepts and algorithms.

Examples for Specific Roles:

• Machine Learning: “How would you implement a recommendation system?” or “What is the difference between supervised and unsupervised learning?”
• Data Engineer: “How would you design a data pipeline to handle terabytes of data?” or “How do you optimize SQL queries for performance?”
• Operations Management: “How do you prioritize tasks in a high-pressure environment?” or “Tell me about a time you improved efficiency in an operational process.”

6. General Problem-Solving Questions

Amazon may ask some open-ended problem-solving questions to assess your ability to think on your feet and break down complex issues.

Example Questions:

• “How would you improve Amazon Prime?” This question tests your ability to think creatively and offer realistic solutions.
• “How do you handle ambiguity in decision-making?” Here, they’re looking for how you approach situations where you don’t have all the information.

Conclusion

Amazon’s interview process is designed to assess both your technical skills and how well you align with the company’s leadership principles. You can expect a mix of coding challenges, system design problems, and behavioral questions. To succeed, it’s essential to prepare thoroughly by practicing algorithms, system design, and behavioral responses.

To master these interview types, courses like Grokking the Coding Interview and Grokking the System Design Interview from DesignGurus.io provide an excellent way to hone your skills and get ready for Amazon’s rigorous selection process.