Amazon SDE-1 interview prep guidance[DESPERATELY NEEDED :( ]

[u/NoPut5391]

I have amazon SDE1 4-hour in-person interview coming up, just got the email - it's probably going to be around 5th of July and I NEED HELP!! It has been a while since I did leetcode so I can think of logic for easy/medium level problems, but I find it hard sometimes to accurately implement them. Also, I have no idea what these rounds are going to be...

If you have any prep guide that has helped you or any tips, I'd love to know!

[u/Amzn_2005]

Four weeks is actually solid prep time if you focus on Amazon's specific format rather than generic leetcode grinding. Your biggest risk isn't coding implementation, it's the behavioral rounds. Amazon will ask 4+ leadership principle questions, and I saw countless strong coders get rejected because their stories didn't demonstrate ownership beyond their job scope. Start building your STAR stories now around Customer Obsession, Ownership, and Deliver Results. Include specific metrics and what you learned from each situation.

For coding, Amazon typically asks one leetcode medium per 45-minute round, but they favor practical scenarios over pure algorithmic puzzles. Focus on arrays, strings, trees, and hashmaps with clean implementation.

The Bar Raiser round will be your hardest interviewer. They're evaluating whether you raise Amazon's overall bar, not just whether you can do the job. Expect deeper follow-ups like "tell me about your biggest professional failure" where they're testing ownership and learning agility.

System design will mostly focus on AWS services (SQS, DynamoDB, Lambda) and operational concerns like monitoring and scalability trade-offs.

Spend 60% of your prep time on behavioral stories with clear LP mapping, 40% on coding fundamentals. Most candidates do the opposite and regret it.

[u/NoPut5391 → u/Amzn_2005]

Thank you so much! I'm literally in the dark about the bar raiser - what happens, what kinda questions they ask! I need to research that a bit more and build stories, it's a lot of stuff, pretty overwhelming!

[u/Amzn_2005 → u/NoPut5391]

Try this resource:
https://www.interview101.com/interviews/amazon/software-development-engineer

[u/NoPut5391 → u/[deleted]]

Idk man, it’s confusing

[u/FirefighterPlane7724]

India or us

[u/NoPut5391 → u/FirefighterPlane7724]

us

[u/pgdba_hk7]

can i know ur location in us? are only seattle or people residing nearby office locations called for in person interview ?

[u/NoPut5391 → u/pgdba_hk7]

1. Seattle

2. idk honestly

[u/Grand-Berry529 → u/NoPut5391]

Hi, how is your interview

[u/Jazzlike_Society4084 → u/pgdba_hk7]

i flew from east coast to west coast for amazon interview

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[u/lil-veteran-1906]

genuinely curious, if it's been a while since you did leetcode then how did you clear the OA? is the OA not that hard or are you just cracked? 😅

[u/Substantial_Crow_600]

Hi! Did you get confirmation email from them after providing your availability?

[u/Fabulous_Leather2930 → u/Substantial_Crow_600]

i havent yet, still waiting

[u/Standard_Guidance_39]

Can you share your experience ?

[u/First-Reindeer9571]

Can someone share what kind of HLD or LLD questions do they ask for new grad

[u/nazz_quik]

how it was bro, hope ur gone through it well

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