Updated by Amazon candidates
Software Development Engineer 1 (SDE-1) Interview Experience
They asked about compensation right on the recruiter call, and I basically kicked that can down the road until I got to the hiring manager. The live coding itself was pretty classic data structures and started with building a queue.
Interview process
I interviewed for SDE-1. The process was a recruiter screen first, then a live coding interview, then a couple of technical rounds with different team members, and the last round was with the hiring manager. It felt pretty straightforward from a structure standpoint. After that final conversation with the hiring manager, I got the offer.
- Recruiter screen
- Technical interview
- Final round
Interview rounds
4 questions across 4 roundsRecruiter screen
3 questionsOverview
I had a recruiter screening first, and the recruiter was actually helpful about walking me through the process and helping me prep.
Question types asked
Specific questions asked
What is specifically interesting to you in this role?
I talked through why Amazon and what was specifically interesting to me about the role. It felt like a pretty standard recruiter conversation, more about fit and interest than anything technical.
What is your availability?
I answered the regular availability questions and a few logistical things. That part was straightforward and felt like they were just making sure timing worked on both sides.
What compensation range are you looking for?
They tried to find out what my compensation range was going to be, and I tried to deflect that until I met with the hiring manager. That is when we actually discussed compensation.
Technical interview (1)
1 questionOverview
My first actual interview after the recruiter screen was a live coding round, and it was mostly data structures.
Question types asked
Specific questions asked
Create a queue.
I basically had to create a queue and do some work with data structures around that. It was a live coding round, so the focus was really on implementing it cleanly rather than talking through broad theory.
Technical interview (2)
Overview
After the coding round, I had a couple more technical interviews with different team members.
Question types asked
Final round
Overview
The last round was with the hiring manager, and after that I got the offer.
Question types asked
Interview tips
I would be ready for a pretty standard live coding round on data structures, because mine basically asked me to create a queue and work through that cleanly. I also would not feel pressured to lock in compensation too early, because they asked about range on the recruiter call and I just deflected it until I talked with the hiring manager.
Company culture
The recruiter was actually useful in this process and helped me go through prep, which stood out. The early screen felt very standard on their side. They were mainly checking why Amazon, what was interesting to me in the role, availability, and the usual logistics before moving me into the technical rounds.
Get full access with a membership, or share your experience to try it free.
More Amazon interview experiences
“It was the usual four-round AWS loop, but the HM actually spent time on how I use GenAI to fast track my workflow, and the Bar Raiser was basically all LPs with tons of follow-ups.”
“They brought up on-call in multiple conversations, so that was the culture signal I actually believed. Then the hiring manager had me design a package tracker that could survive duplicate, out-of-order updates during Prime Day.”
