11
Questions
2–5 weeks
Process Length
Hard
Difficulty
Amazon's interview process is unique because it revolves entirely around their 16 Leadership Principles. Every question — technical or behavioral — is evaluated through this lens. Understanding and internalizing these principles is the single most important thing you can do to prepare for an Amazon interview.
Q1: Tell me about a time you had to make a decision with incomplete data. (Bias for Action)
Q2: Describe a time you went above and beyond for a customer. (Customer Obsession)
Q3: Tell me about a time you simplified a complex process. (Invent and Simplify)
Q4: Give an example of when you took ownership of a failing project. (Ownership)
Q5: Tell me about a time you disagreed with your manager and what you did. (Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit)
Q1: Design a system to find the k most frequent elements in a stream of data.
Q2: Implement a function to validate a binary search tree.
Q3: Given a list of meeting times, find the minimum number of conference rooms needed.
Q1: Design Amazon's product recommendation system.
Q2: Design a URL shortener (like bit.ly) that handles billions of URLs.
Q3: Design Amazon's order processing system for Prime Day traffic.
Amazon has 16 Leadership Principles that guide every hiring decision: Customer Obsession, Ownership, Invent and Simplify, Are Right A Lot, Learn and Be Curious, Hire and Develop the Best, Insist on the Highest Standards, Think Big, Bias for Action, Frugality, Earn Trust, Dive Deep, Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit, Deliver Results, Strive to be Earth's Best Employer, and Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility.
The Bar Raiser is an Amazon employee from a different team who joins interview loops to ensure the hiring bar stays consistently high. They have veto power over hiring decisions. The Bar Raiser evaluates whether the candidate raises the overall talent bar of the team they'd join.
A typical Amazon interview has 5–6 rounds: an online assessment, a phone screen, and 4–5 on-site interviews (including the Bar Raiser). Each on-site interview is 45–60 minutes. For senior roles, expect additional system design rounds.