Amazon Software Engineer Interview Questions

Amazon Software Engineer interview questions typically assess both algorithmic craftsmanship and fit with Amazon’s culture. What’s distinctive is the dual emphasis: expect intense coding and problem-solving rounds (data structures, algorithms, complexity and correct edge-case handling), a system-design evaluation for more senior roles, and behavioral deep-dives tied to Amazon’s Leadership Principles. The interview loop often includes an online assessment or phone screen, followed by a multi-interviewer loop that features a Bar Raiser whose role is to ensure high hiring standards. Clear communication, tradeoff reasoning, and testable, clean code are repeatedly evaluated. For interview preparation, focus on three threads: timed coding practice on medium-to-hard problems with careful explanation of complexity and edge cases; concise STAR-format behavioral stories that map directly to Leadership Principles and show impact; and system-design sketches for senior levels that justify choices around scalability, availability, and cost. Run mock interviews to practice speaking clearly, articulate tradeoffs, and rehearse writing and testing code under time pressure. Recruiters will guide scheduling, but sustained, focused practice gives the best chance to demonstrate both technical depth and cultural fit.

362 Questions 1 Company08.11.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Demonstrate leadership with STAR examples

Demonstrate leadership with STAR examples Behavioral (STAR) Prompts for a Software Engineer Onsite Context You are preparing for a Software Engineer o...

Behavioral & Leadership
6
0
44 people solved
Jul 31, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Decide reachability with buses and limited walking

You are given: ( 1) a start point (xs, ys), ( 2) an end point (xe, ye), ( 3) an integer K, and ( 4) an undirected graph of bus stations where each nod...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
38 people solved
Jul 31, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve LeetCode string and list problems

Question LeetCode 767. Reorganize String LeetCode 23. Merge k Sorted Lists LeetCode 138. Copy List with Random Pointer https://leetcode.com/problems/r...

Coding & Algorithms
12
0
45 people solved
Jul 29, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Discuss deadline, challenge, feature

Discuss deadline, challenge, feature Behavioral Questions for a Software Engineer Phone Screen These prompts assess your ownership, delivery under pre...

Behavioral & Leadership
8
0
29 people solved
Jul 29, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Minimize cost & recommend movies

Question Given arrays size[] and cost[] where size[i] is the size of the i-th product and cost[i] is the cost to increase size[i] by one unit, compute...

Coding & Algorithms
18
0
63 people solved
Jul 29, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Compute minimum passes over permutation

Question You are given an array shelf representing a permutation of the integers 1..n. Starting with target = 1, you repeatedly scan the array left-to...

Coding & Algorithms
66
0
139 people solved
Jul 29, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Describe achievements, ambiguity, conflict, efficiency, challenges

Describe achievements, ambiguity, conflict, efficiency, challenges Behavioral Technical Screen — Multi-part Prompt Context: You are interviewing for a...

Behavioral & Leadership
2
0
31 people solved
Jul 16, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Explain core ML fundamentals

Explain core ML fundamentals Machine Learning Fundamentals: Regularization, Losses, PCA, and Random Forests Assume standard supervised learning with l...

Machine Learning
6
0
46 people solved
Jul 15, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Demonstrate Bias for Action

Demonstrate Bias for Action Behavioral Prompt: Acting With Incomplete Data (Bias for Action) Describe a time you moved a project forward despite havin...

Behavioral & Leadership
4
0
31 people solved
Jul 15, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Merge overlapping intervals

Merge overlapping intervals Given a list of half-open numeric intervals [start, end), merge all overlapping or contiguous intervals and return a list ...

Coding & Algorithms
2
1
44 people solved
Jul 15, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Find first unique character

Find first unique character Given a lowercase/uppercase alphanumeric string s, return the index of the first character that appears exactly once; if n...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
32 people solved
Jul 15, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer

Explain deep learning and transformer concepts

Deep Learning, Transformers, and Audio ML Concepts You are interviewing for a machine-learning role focused on sequence and audio modeling, such as sp...

Machine Learning
4
0
63 people solved
May 28, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software EngineerIntern

Find Most Frequent Values

Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return the k distinct values that occur most frequently in nums. The result may be returned in any order...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
14 people solved
Mar 18, 2025
Amazon logo
Amazon
Hard
Software Engineer

Find Two-Word Compound Words

Given a list of unique lowercase words, return every word that can be formed by concatenating exactly two other words from the same list. For each com...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
18 people solved
Jul 5, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Easy
Software Engineer

Implement Regular Expression Matching

Implement Regular Expression Matching Determine whether an entire input string matches a pattern containing lowercase letters and two special symbols:...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
16 people solved
Jul 4, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Easy
Software Engineer

Unify Stock-Trading Profit Variants

Unify Stock-Trading Profit Variants Given daily stock prices, return the maximum profit when you may complete at most max_transactions buy-then-sell t...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
13 people solved
Jul 4, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Leaf Domain Cumulative Scores

This question evaluates a candidate's ability to model hierarchical string data and aggregate values along a tree structure, a common pattern in codin...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
11 people solved
Jun 23, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software EngineerNew Grad Locked

Caesar Cipher with Translation-Table Optimization

This question tests practical string manipulation and modular arithmetic by requiring implementation of a classic Caesar cipher with correct case-pres...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
11 people solved
Jun 15, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Course Prerequisite Feasibility

This question tests graph theory fundamentals, specifically cycle detection in directed graphs as modeled by dependency constraints. It evaluates prac...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
4 people solved
Jun 13, 2026
Amazon logo
Amazon
Medium
Software EngineerNew Grad Locked

Inventory Allocation by Bid Priority

This question assesses simulation and priority-queue design skills, requiring careful implementation of tiered, round-robin resource allocation under ...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
13 people solved
Jun 9, 2026
Editorial prep
Amazon Software Engineer Interview Prep
Concept walkthroughs, worked examples, and the real questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Amazon Software Engineer interview questions?
The difficulty of Amazon Software Engineer interview questions varies by level and team but is generally rigorous. For entry-level SDE roles expect medium-to-hard algorithm and data-structure problems under time pressure, while more senior roles include complex system-design and architecture discussions that probe tradeoffs and scalability. Interviewers evaluate not just correct solutions but clarity of thought, communication, and how you justify design choices; behavioral evaluation against Amazon’s Leadership Principles also influences outcomes. Preparation that improves problem selection, complexity analysis, and spoken explanation will materially raise your chances of success.
What is the typical interview process for an Amazon Software Engineer, and where do coding, design, and behavioral questions appear?
Amazon’s Software Engineer hiring loop commonly begins with a recruiter screen, may include an online coding assessment, followed by one or more technical phone screens and an onsite (or virtual) interview loop of multiple interviews. Coding questions typically appear in the online assessment and technical phone/on-site algorithm rounds, design questions appear in object-oriented design or system-design interviews (more for senior levels), and behavioral questions tied to Amazon’s Leadership Principles are asked in nearly every loop, often including a Bar Raiser who evaluates long-term fit. Timing and format can vary by team.
How much time should I plan for interview preparation for Amazon Software Engineer roles?
Preparation time depends on your baseline skills and the role level, but a focused plan typically spans four to eight weeks for most candidates. Beginners should allocate time to master fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, and Big-O analysis while practicing timed coding problems and mock interviews; mid-level candidates should add system-design and architecture practice; senior candidates need deeper design, distributed systems, and leadership-story preparation. Regular timed practice, review of common patterns, and rehearsing STAR-format behavioral examples will improve performance more than ad-hoc study. Use the recruiter’s guidance to tailor your timeline.
What key subtopics should I focus on for Amazon Software Engineer interview questions?
Focus on core computer-science fundamentals first: arrays, strings, linked lists, trees, graphs, heaps, hash tables, and common algorithms for searching, sorting, traversals, and dynamic programming, with comfortable Big-O reasoning. For mid-to-senior roles add object-oriented design, system design, databases, networking basics, and distributed-systems tradeoffs including caching, consistency, and scalability. Don’t neglect coding hygiene, testing, and clear communication. Behavioral preparation should map examples to Amazon’s Leadership Principles, demonstrating ownership, bias for action, and customer obsession. Prioritize depth in areas most relevant to the role you applied for.
What are standout tips and common pitfalls when preparing for Amazon Software Engineer interviews?
Standout tips include clearly communicating your approach before coding, writing correct and readable code with edge-case checks, iterating from a simple solution to optimizations, and tying behavioral stories to concrete outcomes aligned with Amazon’s Leadership Principles. Use mock interviews to practice pacing and explanation. Common pitfalls are diving into code without outlining the plan, ignoring complexity tradeoffs, failing to test examples or handle edge cases, and giving vague behavioral answers. Be honest about unknowns and show how you would learn or validate assumptions; recruiters value candid problem-solving processes.

Explore more Amazon Software Engineer interview questions

Real questions from candidate reports, grouped by topic, role and company.

By category
Other roles at Amazon
Software Engineer questions at other companies
Browse all