I recently completed the Amazon 2026 New Grad SDE1 Online Assessment, and luckily passed both coding questions. Since a lot of people are starting to receive OAs recently, I wanted to share my full experience while everything is still fresh.
My biggest takeaway: the questions were not insanely difficult, but Amazon is extremely good at disguising standard algorithm problems with long business-heavy descriptions.
At first glance, the questions looked like cloud infrastructure and deployment optimization problems, but once you break them down, they were still classic coding patterns.
OA Timeline
- Late March: Applied
- Early April: Received OA invitation
- 7 days to complete the assessment
- About one week later: Received next-round update
The OA was hosted on HackerRank.
- 90 minutes
- 2 coding questions
- No behavioral questions
- No system design
Very straightforward format — finish coding, submit, and you're done.
Question 1: Server Allocation Optimization
The first question was heavily wrapped in an Amazon-style business scenario.
You were given:
- A capacity array representing server capacities
- A request array representing task requirements
You were allowed a limited number of reallocation operations between servers, and the goal was to maximize the number of completed requests.
Example (modified numbers):
capacity = [4,7,2,9] request = [3,5,8]
At first, I considered brute force, but quickly realized the complexity would be too high.
The actual core concepts were:
- Sorting
- Greedy
- Prefix sum
- Edge case handling
My final approach:
Sort the requests first → prioritize smaller requests → maximize total completed tasks.
This question passed sample cases immediately, but I failed two hidden test cases initially.
The issues were:
- Integer overflow
- Duplicate handling
- Transfer limit = 0 edge case
I spent around 10–15 minutes debugging before finally passing.
Question 2: Minimize Deployment Latency
This one felt trickier.
You were given a deployment sequence like:
ABCAACB
Each character represented a deployment region.
Latency rules:
- Adjacent identical regions reduce latency
- Different adjacent regions increase latency
You were allowed exactly one swap operation between any two positions.
Goal:
Find the minimum possible latency.
At first, I thought this might require DP.
It turned out to be more of:
- String simulation
- Greedy observations
- Case analysis
My solution:
- Calculate baseline latency
- Enumerate possible swaps
- Track the best result
It probably wasn’t the most optimized solution, but the constraints were manageable and it passed all test cases.
Difficulty Rating
If I had to compare them to LeetCode:
- Question 1 → Medium
- Question 2 → Medium/Hard
The hardest part wasn’t the algorithms themselves.
It was understanding Amazon’s long problem statements under time pressure.
What Helped Me Most
When solving Amazon OA problems:
Don’t panic when you see a huge business description.
Immediately identify:
- Input
- Output
- Constraints
- Allowed operations
Once those are clear, the underlying algorithm usually becomes much easier to identify.
What You Should Practice
- Arrays
- Greedy algorithms
- Hash maps
- Sorting
- String simulation
- Amazon OA high-frequency problems
Amazon has been sending out a lot of new grad OAs recently, so practicing these topics can definitely help.
Additional Preparation Tip
If you're balancing recruiting, school, internships, and multiple OAs at the same time, time pressure can become a huge issue.
Some candidates choose external preparation support to better understand OA formats and avoid mistakes during timed assessments.
Programhelp offers support for:
- HackerRank assessments
- CodeSignal tests
- Amazon OAs
- Debug assistance
- Real-time interview support
It can be helpful for candidates who struggle with time management during online assessments.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Amazon 2026 New Grad SDE1 OA was not as terrifying as people make it sound.
That said, speed and problem comprehension matter a lot.
If you recently received your OA invite, start practicing early and focus on Amazon-style problem wording.
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