Amazon has one of the most challenging interview processes for software engineers among FAANG+ companies. The Amazon SDE 2 interview process primarily evaluates one’s problem-solving, analytical programming (object-oriented concepts), low-level design, and high-level design knowledge. With a less than 2% acceptance rate, even experienced programmers find it challenging to navigate the interview process. Knowing exactly what to expect at the interview and practicing a good number of Amazon SDE 2 interview questions is key to acing the interview.
If you’re a software development engineer preparing for Amazon’s SDE 2 interview, this list of Amazon SDE 2 interview questions that we’ve compiled will help you understand the type of questions asked so that you can accordingly plan your prep. We’ll cover Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on coding, low-level design, high-level design, and the company’s leadership principles.
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Let’s take a look at some common Amazon SDE 2 interview questions to help you prepare for your interview. We’ll briefly look at the interview process, followed by questions on coding, systems design, and Amazon’s leadership principles.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
The Amazon SDE 2 interview process evaluates your coding, problem-solving, and systems design skills. The process typically consists of four main rounds.
The Online Assessment, or OA, is the first step in the process. Typically, recruiters from human resources will contact you before the OA to understand your interest in the role, expectations, and prior professional experience.
The Online Assessment is a remote coding interview that lasts about 1.5 hours. The hiring manager in this round will ask you to solve 1-2 coding problems in core data structures and algorithms. The interview typically takes place via Amazon Chime.
In this round, the hiring manager will watch your code live and ask you questions about your approach. You’re also evaluated on your ability to solve all edge and test cases.
You can also expect a question about Amazon’s core leadership principles.
Some tips to crack the Online Assessment -
The Technical Phone Screen round usually involves answering Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on systems design and coding. You can expect one question from each category. Design questions are low-level, while the coding problems are usually complicated problems from Leetcode. Brushing up on core design concepts and DSA concepts is crucial to getting past this round and being called for the On-site interview.
An important point to note is that the Technical Screen doesn’t happen all the time. If you’re already asked LLD (low-level design) questions, and coding problems in the Online Assessment and your performance is satisfactory, you’ll be directly invited to the On-site interviews without needing to appear for the TEchnical Screen.
The On-site is the last phase in the Amazon SDE 2 interview process. Also known as the Loop, it typically comprises 3-4 rounds where the Amazon SDE 2 interview questions that are asked evaluate your coding skills, design skills, and understanding of Amazon’s leadership principles.
Take a look at the Amazon Software Development Engineer (SDE) Interview Process, questions, and prep tips.
Amazon SDE 2 interview questions typically evaluate three main areas:
Note that for the SDE 2 position at Amazon, coding questions asked are usually in the medium to hard difficulty range on Leetcode. There’s more emphasis on systems design concepts at SDE 2 interviews as applicants go through the low-level and high-level design rounds.
This section will look at Amazon SDE 2 interview questions in each of these categories.
Coding is an important component of the process. You’re asked Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on coding in the Online Assessment and On-site interviews.
To be able to answer Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on coding, you should be thorough with the following concepts.
Questions asked in this round are typically in the medium-to-hard difficulty level on Leetcode.
Let’s look at some sample Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on coding to give you an idea about the type of questions to expect at your interview.
Check out the comprehensive list of Amazon Interview Questions here.
For more problems with solutions, check out our Problems Page
Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on systems design are mostly asked at the On-site interviews. SDE 2 applicants go through a high-level design round where hiring managers evaluate their ability to build arbitrary, scalable systems with low latency.
Systems design (low-level and high-level design) is a key area of evaluation at Amazon SDE 2 interviews. To prepare yourself for the interview, you should brush up on the following concepts:
Let’s look at some sample Amazon SDE 2 interview questions on systems design and distributed systems.
Amazon leadership principles interview questions are asked during the Online Assessment stage and On-site interviews. You can expect one or two questions at each stage of the interview. Questions in these rounds are based on Amazon’s 16 leadership principles. To give you a clearer idea, let’s look at the type of Amazon SDE 2 interview questions asked.
Check our pages on Amazon Leadership Principles Interview Questions and How to crack the Amazon Behavioral Interview to get a thorough idea of what to expect at these interviews.
Practice these above Amazon SDE 2 interview questions to get ahead with your prep and ready yourself for your upcoming interview.
Q1. How many stages are there in the Amazon SDE 2 interview process?
There are 3 main stages in the Amazon SDE 2 interview process. They are - i) The Online Assessment, ii) The Technical Phone Screen, and iv) The On-site Interview.
Q2. What type of interview questions are asked at Amazon SDE 2 interviews?
Amazon SDE 2 interview questions are mainly around coding and problem solving, distributed and scalable systems, and Amazon’s leadership principles.
Q3. What is the average salary offered to Amazon SDE II?
The average salary offered to Amazon Software Development Engineers is $129,000 per year.
Q4. What are the important coding concepts for the Amazon SDE 2 interview?
The essential coding concepts to prepare to answer Amazon SDE 2 interview questions are - strings, linked lists, arrays, trees, graphs, greedy algorithms, hash tables, recursion, and dynamic programming.
Q5. Should you be good at multiple programming languages to stand out at the Amazon SDE 2 interview?
Having a solid hold on any object-oriented programming language such as Java or Python is sufficient for the Amazon SDE 2 interview.
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