This is a breakdown of my interview experience for the Amazon SDE I Intern (July–Dec 2026) role. The process spanned a few months and tested both my technical depth and patience.
HIRING INTEREST FORM 1 (Feb 19, 2026)
I received a Hiring Interest Form from Amazon University Talent Acquisition.
HIRING INTEREST FORM 2 (Feb 26, 2026)
A few days later, I received another Hiring Interest Form from Amazon University Talent Acquisition.
ONLINE ASSESSMENT (April 6, 2026)
The OA consisted of:
- 2 Coding Questions
- Leadership Principles Work Style Assessment
THE INTERVIEWS
This is where the most stressful part began — the scheduling maze.
April 17: I received an email stating I was shortlisted for virtual SDE interviews and was asked to ensure my availability for April 30.
April 17 (Later that day): I received the actual interview confirmation and Zoom links. My two rounds were initially scheduled back-to-back on April 21.
April 20: I received a revised confirmation email splitting the interviews across two days: April 21 and April 22.
My first interview took place successfully on April 22. However, the other round underwent another reschedule and was eventually shifted to May 4.
Interview 1 (April 22, 2026)
A standard 1-hour session on Amazon’s live code platform.
- Question 1: A proper coding problem based on Heaps. I coded an optimal solution, discussed complexities, and handled rapid-fire follow-ups on edge cases.
- Question 2: Due to time constraints, this was purely an architectural discussion to check my logic and optimal approach without coding.
Interview 2 (May 4, 2026)
A significantly more intense 1-hour session.
- Question 1 (LLD): I was tasked with building a highly complex, custom data structure from scratch. It required handling strict time-based constraints, dynamic eviction policies, and optimized lookups using Sets. I focused on communicating my thought process and discussing trade-offs.
- Question 2: A deep dive into core CS fundamentals.
THE OUTCOME
A week after my final round, I received an update that I was not selected for the internship. Regardless of the final outcome, the preparation and experience gained through this process will carry forward.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Strengthen your basics in DSA: Focus on writing clean code and handling edge cases effectively.
- Study System Design: Familiarize yourself with Low-Level Design (LLD) and High-Level Design (HLD) and building custom data structures.
- Learn CS Fundamentals: Do not ignore core subjects like OS, DBMS, Computer Networks, and Linux.
- Communicate your logic: Explain your approach clearly, prioritize correctness, and always discuss time and space complexities.
- Master the STAR method: Prepare structured, experience-based answers specifically for Amazon’s Leadership Principles.
- Think out loud: Stay calm, be expressive, and treat the interview as a collaborative discussion.
Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
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