Amazon hires software engineers through an online assessment, a technical phone screen and a virtual onsite loop of four or five interviews, one of them with a Bar Raiser from outside the team. Leadership Principles questions come up in every round.
def longest(s):
seen, left, best = {}, 0, 0for i, ch in enumerate(s):
if seen.get(ch, -1) >= left:
left = seen[ch] + 1
seen[ch] = i
best = max(best, i - left + 1)
return best
SDE
Hold Space to answerTap to answer Type instead12:40
Scored on 5 criteria
Rounds
4 rounds
Length
45–60 min a round
Panel
One interviewer a round
They read first
Your Résumé
See one run
Amazon SDE: the phone screen, from your Résumé to the report
What a mock looks like in the room, step by step. The panel, its order, the form and the criteria are the real round's; the words and numbers are illustrative.
1
You fill in your Résumé once
The interviewer has your résumé open. Expect questions on anything you listed — every project and every tool — and a level pitched to the role you name at Amazon.
Your RésuméYou fill it once
Name
Role and level you're interviewing for
Education
Experience
Projects
Languages and tools
2
The SDE interviewer asks
In the order the real one moves: leadership principle, then problem, then approach, then code, then test, then follow-up. Follow-ups come from what you just said.
def longest(s):
seen, left, best = {}, 0, 0for i, ch in enumerate(s):
if seen.get(ch, -1) >= left:
left = seen[ch] + 1
seen[ch] = i
best = max(best, i - left + 1)
return best
SDE
Hold Space to answerTap to answer Type instead09:20
3
You write the code; the interviewer reads it
Not run, as in most real screens: the interviewer reads it as you write and asks about your choices.
Shared editorIllustrative
solution.pyRead, not run
def longest(s):
seen, left, best = {}, 0, 0for i, ch in enumerate(s):
if seen.get(ch, -1) >= left:
left = seen[ch] + 1
seen[ch] = i
best = max(best, i - left + 1)
return best
4
The report says what to fix
Scored on the 5 criteria this round is assessed on, with every line of your Résumé marked as held up, shaky or not yet asked. A practice estimate, never a forecast.
Your reportIllustrative
Phone Screen · practice estimate
62 / 100 indexHire
This board gives no marks of its own, so it is a practice index out of 100. For finding what to fix, not for predicting a result.
What was assessed
Problem solving7/10
Coding6/10
Verification7/10
Communication6/10
Leadership Principles5/10
Your Résumé, under questioning
Name: Held up Role and level you're interviewing for: Shaky Education: Not asked yet
Nothing to buy first. Pick the round, fill in your Résumé, and the interviewer is ready. Your recording, if you ask for one, never leaves your device.
One SDE, on a video call with a shared code editor.
Amazon's screens pair behavioural and technical questions in the same hour: a Leadership Principles story first, then a problem to solve in code while explaining your thinking.
1 Leadership principle
2 Problem
3 Approach
4 Code
5 Test
6 Follow-up
There is no score. The interviewer writes feedback against the level's hiring bar, which decides whether you go to the loop.
Assessed on: Problem solving · Coding · Verification · Communication · Leadership Principles
2
Loop · Coding (DSA)
Coding 55–60 minutes
One SDE from the hiring team or a partner team, on a video call.
Every loop interview combines Leadership Principles with the technical topic of that round.
1 Leadership principle
2 Problem
3 Approach
4 Code
5 Test
6 Follow-up
There is no score. Each loop interviewer writes feedback against the level's bar, and the loop decides together with the Bar Raiser.
Assessed on: Problem solving · Coding · Verification · Communication · Leadership Principles
3
Loop · System design (SDE II and above)
System design 55–60 minutes
One senior SDE, on a video call with a shared whiteboard.
1 Leadership principle
2 Prompt
3 Requirements
4 High-level design
5 Deep dive
6 Scale & failure
Usually for SDE II and above; SDE I loops often have a low-level design or a second coding round instead.
Assessed on: Requirements and scope · High-level design · Depth · Trade-offs and scale · Communication · Leadership Principles
4
Loop · Bar Raiser
Behavioural 55–60 minutes
One Bar Raiser from outside the hiring team.
Amazon evaluates candidates against a target level set before the loop, and a Bar Raiser from outside the hiring team anchors the final decision.
1 Introduction
2 Customer Obsession
3 Dive Deep
4 Disagree and commit
5 Failure
The Bar Raiser comes from outside the hiring team and can hold up an offer if the candidate does not raise the bar. This round may also include a coding question; here it is the behavioural half.
Assessed on: Customer Obsession · Ownership · Dive Deep · Deliver Results · Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit · Learn and Be Curious
What they read before you walk in
Your Résumé
The interviewer has your résumé open. Expect questions on anything you listed — every project and every tool — and a level pitched to the role you name at Amazon.
NameThe interviewer may use it.
Role and level you're interviewing forThe interviewer pitches the difficulty to this line.
Education
ExperienceAnything you did is fair game — including a gap year.
ProjectsAnything here can be asked about line by line.
Languages and tools
Achievements and extracurriculars
Why Amazon?
Job description (optional)Kept with your résumé for this company only.
Practise it here
Three ways in, one report
Every sitting — AI, real or peer — is scored on the same 5 criteria, so you can see a line move instead of weighing one opinion against another.
Amazon hires software engineers through an online assessment, a technical phone screen and a virtual onsite loop of four or five interviews, one of them with a Bar Raiser from outside the team. Leadership Principles questions come up in every round. In order: Phone screen (coding, 45–60 minutes); Loop · Coding (DSA) (coding, 55–60 minutes); Loop · System design (SDE II and above) (system design, 55–60 minutes); Loop · Bar Raiser (behavioural, 55–60 minutes).
What does the interviewer assess?
Problem solving, Coding, Verification, Communication, Leadership Principles. Amazon publishes its Leadership Principles but no coding rubric; the coding areas are what its interviewers are widely reported to assess.
What will I be asked about?
The interviewer has your résumé open. Expect questions on anything you listed — every project and every tool — and a level pitched to the role you name at Amazon. The Résumé lines it draws on: name, role and level you're interviewing for, education, experience, projects, languages and tools, and more.
Can I practise the Amazon SDE interview online?
Yes. The Practice Studio runs a mock of each round the way the real one moves — a problem set in a shared code editor the interviewer reads as you write — and scores you on the same criteria. You can also book a real interviewer for a free, demo or paid session by video.
