Amazon Data Scientist Interview Questions

Amazon Data Scientist interview questions are famously comprehensive because Amazon evaluates both technical depth and Amazonian fit. Expect a mix of SQL and Python problems, statistics and experiment-design questions, machine‑learning discussion, and behavioral probes tied to Amazon’s Leadership Principles. Interviews typically include an initial recruiter screen, one or two technical phone screens, and a loop of 4–6 on‑site/virtual interviews where each 45–60 minute slot focuses on a different competency. Interviewers look for clear problem decomposition, metric-driven thinking, defensible trade‑offs, and the ability to translate analysis into business impact. For effective interview preparation, build a structured plan: craft concise STAR stories mapped to Leadership Principles with quantified outcomes, drill SQL (joins, window functions, CTEs, performance), refresh statistics and A/B testing fundamentals, and sharpen Python/data-manipulation skills. Practice explaining assumptions, communicating results for technical and non‑technical audiences, and walking through model choices and evaluation metrics. Mock interviews and timed problem sets that simulate the loop rhythm are especially valuable to convert knowledge into polished, confident answers.

200 Questions 1 Company06.08.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Retrieve First Active and Last Inactive Dates per User

Given a table activity that tracks user activities, write a SQL query to retrieve the first active date and last inactive date for each user. Table Sc...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
187
9
357 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Data Scientist

Demonstrate Leadership in Challenging Situations and Decision-Making

Demonstrate Leadership in Challenging Situations and Decision-Making Amazon Data Scientist Onsite — Bar-Raiser Behavioral Loop Context You will be ask...

Behavioral & Leadership
81
0
253 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Compare RNNs and Transformers for Long-Sequence Text Classification

Compare RNNs and Transformers for Long-Sequence Text Classification Scenario You are designing a long-sequence text classification system under tight ...

Machine Learning
48
0
102 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Diagnose Business Decline Using Key Data Metrics

Diagnose Business Decline Using Key Data Metrics Diagnose a Sudden Business Downturn Using Data Context You are the data scientist supporting a large ...

Analytics & Experimentation
6
0
37 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Calculate Weekly, Monthly Watch Hours for Paid Users

video_view_logs +---------+----------+----------------+------------+------------+ | user_id | video_id | watched_seconds| watch_date | device_type| +-...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
87
0
212 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Identify First Daily Order for Each Merchant

Orders +----------+-------------+---------+------------+ | order_id | merchant_id | amount | order_date | +----------+-------------+---------+-------...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
76
0
274 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Optimize Email Strategy for New Prime Video Series Launch

Optimizing Email Strategy for a New Prime Video Series Launch You are designing, deploying, and evaluating ranking models and marketing emails for Pri...

Machine Learning
69
0
30 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Evaluate Cost, Time, Security, Flexibility for Training Options

Evaluate Cost, Time, Security, and Flexibility for Training Options Your company needs to roll out an organization-wide employee training program. The...

Behavioral & Leadership
91
0
321 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Explore Subscription Patterns and Status Transitions with SQL/Pandas

subscriptions +-----------------+---------+-------------+ | subscription_id | status | status_date | +-----------------+---------+-------------+ | 10...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
67
0
8 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Data Scientist

Build Accurate Energy Consumption Prediction Model for Utilities

Build an Energy Consumption Prediction Model for Utilities You need to build and productionize a regression model that predicts daily energy consumpti...

Machine Learning
15
0
51 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Demonstrate Leadership and Ownership in Energy Analytics Role

Behavioral Interview: Ownership, Resume Walkthrough, and Energy Analytics Motivation You are interviewing for a Data Scientist role on an Amazon-style...

Behavioral & Leadership
23
0
86 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Profile and visualize an unfamiliar dataset

Task: Quickly Understand an Undocumented Events+Purchases CSV and Produce Executive-Ready Visuals Context You are handed a single CSV that mixes user ...

Analytics & Experimentation
8
0
63 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Find daily first-order merchants with SQL

Given the table below, write a single SQL query using window functions to: A) For each calendar date (UTC), return all merchant_id(s) whose order is t...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
1
1
10 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Design student–course data models and SQL

Scenario: Model a university domain with Students, Courses, Departments, Instructors, and Enrollments. Tasks: 1) OLTP ERD: Specify normalized tables w...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
6 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Solve two-sum variants at scale

Base task: Given nums = [3, 1, 2, 2, 4] and target = 4, return the 0-based index pair (i, j) with i < j such that nums[i] + nums[j] = target. If multi...

Coding & Algorithms
9
0
69 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Design idempotent daily loads with deduping

You need to load the last 7 days of orders into a large fact table from a noisy staging feed. Assume today is 2025-09-01. Requirements: idempotent rer...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
3
0
58 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Diagnose MySQL joins and GROUP BY/HAVING errors

You are using MySQL 8.0 with ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY enabled. Answer all parts precisely. Provide the exact SQL you would run and the final result shapes/v...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
5 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Data Scientist

Quantify build-vs-buy training decision

Quantitative Decision Framework for Selecting a New Employee Training Program Context Your company must choose one of three ways to launch a new emplo...

Analytics & Experimentation
2
0
35 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Generate primes up to n efficiently

Implement a function that returns all prime numbers in the inclusive range 1..n. Requirements: handle n up to 10^7 efficiently (time and memory); retu...

Coding & Algorithms
5
0
36 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Append country tables and rank salaries in USD

You have separate country-level employee tables that must be appended and ranked by salary converted to USD using an exchange rate table. SQL schema a...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
6 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Amazon Data Scientist interview questions?
Amazon Data Scientist interview questions are typically challenging because they combine technical depth, problem decomposition, and behavioral rigor. Interviewers assess core statistics and machine learning knowledge, SQL fluency on large datasets, and practical coding or analysis skills, all while testing how you communicate tradeoffs and impact. Difficulty varies by level and team: entry-level roles emphasize fundamentals and clarity, while senior roles probe systems thinking, experimental design, and stakeholder influence. Expect ambiguity in business problems and follow-up questions that dig into your assumptions. Strong preparation across fundamentals, applied examples, and concise storytelling substantially improves your chances.
What is the typical Amazon Data Scientist interview process and where do data science questions appear?
The Amazon Data Scientist process usually begins with a recruiter screen, then one or two technical phone screens, followed by a multi-interviewer onsite or virtual loop. Data science topics appear throughout: SQL and coding often surface in phone screens, while machine learning modeling, statistics, experiment design, and case-style analytics problems appear in onsite technical rounds. Behavioral assessment against Amazon’s Leadership Principles is woven into every interview and can be decisive. One final interviewer may act as a Bar Raiser to evaluate long-term fit. Timing and exact rounds vary by team and level.
How long should I prepare for an Amazon Data Scientist interview and how should I pace my study?
A focused preparation window of six to twelve weeks is common, though prior experience can shorten that. Early weeks should reinforce fundamentals—SQL, probability, statistics, A/B testing, and core Python skills—while documenting measurable project results for behavioral stories. Mid-prep weeks are best devoted to solving realistic SQL problems, building small end-to-end modeling or analysis exercises, and practicing clear explanations of assumptions and tradeoffs. The last two weeks should emphasize timed mock interviews, rehearsing Leadership Principle stories with quantified outcomes, and polishing concise narratives that translate technical work into business impact.
Which key subtopics should I master for Amazon Data Scientist interviews?
Master SQL (joins, window functions, CTEs, aggregation and performance considerations) and Python for data manipulation and light coding. Solid grounding in statistics is essential: hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, power, bias sources, and A/B testing nuance. Machine learning topics should include model selection, validation, feature engineering, and how models drive business decisions rather than pure algorithmic novelty. Be comfortable with metrics design, cohort analysis, and interpreting model outputs for stakeholders. Finally, develop clear communication and structured problem decomposition so technical answers convey impact and limitations.
What standout tips and common pitfalls should I be aware of when interviewing as a Data Scientist at Amazon?
Prioritize concise storytelling that ties technical choices to measurable business outcomes and explicitly map examples to Leadership Principles. Always clarify ambiguous problem statements, state assumptions, and verbalize tradeoffs when proposing solutions. Practice writing and explaining SQL with performance-aware approaches for large datasets, and rehearse A/B testing scenarios including guardrail metrics and sample-size reasoning. Common pitfalls include vague behavioral answers, failing to quantify impact, ignoring data quality or edge cases, and overfocusing on technique without customer or business context. Treat every interviewer as both a technical and behavioral evaluator.

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