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

Transform retail data with pandas groupby/merge/concat

Using pandas only (groupby/agg/merge/concat; no for-loops), write code to answer the sub-questions below on the following small dataframes. Assume tim...

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

Verify subscriptions and analyze orders with SQL/Python

You are given two tables. Write SQL and Python (pandas) to answer the sub-questions precisely, handling edge cases, ties, and missing data. Schema - s...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
9
0
65 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Data Scientist

Solve subset-count and kth-factor problems

Two Independent Tasks A) Maximum Count Under Sum Constraint You are given an integer array arr and an integer budget n. Return the maximum number of e...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
58 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Data Scientist

Root-cause an incident and drive consensus

Root-Cause Plan: Sudden Drop in Voice Checkout Conversion (Alexa Shopping) You are informed that the "voice checkout conversion" KPI for Alexa Shoppin...

Behavioral & Leadership
7
0
55 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Compute daily work hours from in/out events

Given punch events, compute each employee’s daily hours, handling unmatched events and overnight shifts. Write SQL over: events(employee_id INT, evt_t...

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

Calculate cross-channel login user proportions

Write SQL to compute, for 2025-08-29 through 2025-08-31, the proportion of users who logged in only via mobile, only via desktop, and via both, where ...

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

Describe missed deadline and scope expansion

Behavioral Question: Accountability and Ownership for a Data Scientist You will be asked for two concrete, distinct examples: - (a) One time you misse...

Behavioral & Leadership
5
0
51 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data ScientistSenior+

Implement list overlap and dense-ranked word frequencies

Part A — Multiset overlap count Implement count_overlap(a: List[int], b: List[int]) -> int that returns the size of the multiset intersection of a and...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
38 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Easy
Data Scientist

Describe a time you solved a complex problem

Behavioral (Leadership/Ownership): Describe a time when you solved a complex problem by digging into details. In your answer, cover: - The context and...

Behavioral & Leadership
4
0
71 people solved
Oct 11, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Implement Python Function for Longest Unique Substring Length

Scenario Real-time text analytics service enforcing uniqueness constraints Question Implement a Python function returning the length of the longest su...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
26 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Find Top-3 Salaries Per Department Using SQL

employees +----+---------+--------+---------+ | id | name | salary | dept_id | +----+---------+--------+---------+ | 1 | Alice | 120000 | 10 ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
2 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Determine Length of Longest Unique Substring

Scenario Online assessment: coding portion that follows the SQL questions. Question Implement a function that, given a string s, returns the length of...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
30 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Identify Number Pairs Adding to Target in Array

Scenario Coding round to identify all number pairs that add up to a target in an array containing duplicates. Question Given an integer array (may con...

Coding & Algorithms
26
0
84 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Solve Algorithmic Challenges in Online Coding Assessments

Scenario Online assessment requiring implementation of common algorithmic problems. Question Given an array of integers and a target, return indices o...

Coding & Algorithms
10
0
90 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Create SQL Queries for Sales and Customer Analysis

SALES +----------+----------+------------+------------+----------+---------+ | sale_id | store_id | product_id | sale_date | quantity | revenue | +-...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
6 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Calculate Defect Rate and Identify Top Lanes for Carriers

shipment +-------------+----------+-----------+---------+---------+-------------+-----------+ | shipment_id | order_id | ship_date | carrier | origin ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
66
0
218 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Generate Synthetic Clickstream Data with Python Function

Scenario The analytics team needs to generate synthetic click-stream records to test a new reporting pipeline before real traffic arrives. Question Wr...

Coding & Algorithms
201
1
636 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Solve Search Insert Position Using Binary Search

Scenario Live coding round for an Amazon Applied Scientist position; candidate must solve LeetCode 35 (Search Insert Position) without helper librarie...

Coding & Algorithms
69
0
207 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Implement Reservoir Sampling; Analyze Time and Space Complexity

Scenario Process an unbounded stream of user IDs and maintain a uniform random sample of k users in memory. Question Implement reservoir sampling for ...

Coding & Algorithms
23
0
63 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Data Scientist

Understand SQL: DELETE vs TRUNCATE, VIEW vs TABLE, CROSS JOIN

employees +----+--------+---------+ | id | name | dept_id | +----+--------+---------+ | 1 | Alice | 10 | | 2 | Bob | 20 | | 3 | Car...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
77
0
139 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
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Amazon Data Scientist Interview Prep
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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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