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Amazon's Interview Process (2026)

Blog / Amazon's Interview Process (2026)

The Amazon software engineer interview process is one of the more structured pipelines in big tech, and most candidates report going through a similar set of stages, though the exact format can vary by team, level, and role.

Recruiter Screen: A short call, usually around 15 to 30 minutes, where a recruiter will ask about your background, your interest in Amazon, and basic eligibility. It is generally light on technical content and more about making sure you are a reasonable fit before moving forward.
Online Assessment (OA): A timed online assessment that typically runs around 90 to 120 minutes and is administered through HackerRank. Most candidates report three parts: two LeetCode-style coding problems at medium to hard difficulty, a work simulation section with scenario-based judgment questions, and a workstyle survey tied to Amazon's Leadership Principles.
Technical Phone Screen: A 45 to 60 minute virtual interview covering one coding problem and a few behavioral questions. This stage is sometimes skipped for new grad candidates or those who performed particularly well on the OA.
Virtual Onsite Loop: The final stage, conducted fully virtually, typically consists of four to five rounds. You can expect rounds covering coding and DSA, system design or object-oriented design depending on your level, behavioral questions tied to Leadership Principles, and a dedicated or blended GenAI fluency round. One of the rounds will be conducted by a Bar Raiser, an interviewer from outside the hiring team.

To prepare effectively, it helps to break your study plan into the core question categories Amazon tests across these stages.

Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA): LeetCode-style coding problems at medium to hard difficulty, tested in the OA and coding rounds of the loop.
System Design (High-Level Design): Distributed systems design questions aimed at SDE II and above candidates.
Low-Level Design (Object-Oriented Design): Object-oriented design problems more commonly seen in SDE I loops.
Behavioral (Leadership Principles): Story-based questions tied directly to Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles, present in every single round.
SQL: Database and query questions that occasionally appear, particularly in data-adjacent SWE roles.

1. Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA)Amazon's coding rounds, both in the OA and the loop, lean toward medium and hard difficulty problems. High-frequency topics include graphs (BFS and DFS), trees, dynamic programming, and sliding window patterns.Spending focused time on dynamic programming questions and graph problems will cover a large portion of what comes up.Specific problems that candidates have reported in recent cycles include Trapping Rain Water, Rotting Oranges, Sliding Window Maximum, and Number of Distinct Islands. These are not guaranteed to appear, but they reflect the style and difficulty level you should be ready for.One thing worth knowing about the OA specifically: the work simulation section trips up a lot of strong coders who treat it as an afterthought. Give it the same attention you give the coding problems. You can browse our full DSA question collection to build a structured practice plan across all major topics.

2. System Design (High-Level Design)System design questions at Amazon are typically aimed at SDE II and above candidates, and they often use Amazon-scale scenarios as the context. You might be asked to design a warehouse management system, a shopping cart that handles 10x traffic spikes, or a real-time ranking system. The focus is on trade-offs, scalability, and how you think about failure modes.Each loop round generally splits time roughly 50/50 between technical content and behavioral questions, so expect to field Leadership Principle questions even during your system design round. Practice talking through your design decisions clearly, not just drawing boxes on a diagram.Use our System Design practice tools to get reps in on distributed systems problems and practice articulating your reasoning out loud.

3. Low-Level Design (Object-Oriented Design)For SDE I candidates, the design round tends to focus on object-oriented design rather than large distributed systems. Common question types include designing a parking lot, a vending machine, or an elevator system. The goal is to see whether you can model a real-world problem cleanly using classes, interfaces, and solid design principles.Amazon interviewers in these rounds want to see that your code is maintainable and extensible, not just that it works. Think about edge cases, how your design handles change, and how you would explain your trade-offs.Get practice with these problem types through Low-Level Design practice to sharpen your object-oriented thinking before the loop.

4. Behavioral (Leadership Principles)Behavioral questions are not just one round at Amazon, they appear in every round, including technical ones. Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles are the framework interviewers use to evaluate fit, and you need to have specific, real stories ready for the most commonly tested ones. The STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is the expected structure.Do not just prepare one story per principle. Interviewers will deep-dive hard, asking follow-up questions like 'What was the specific metric?' or 'What would you do differently now?' Having two to three distinct stories per principle gives you flexibility. Quantify your results wherever you can, since Amazon is a data-driven culture and numbers in your stories stand out.The Bar Raiser round is almost entirely behavioral. This interviewer holds significant influence over the final hiring decision regardless of your technical scores, so treat LP prep as seriously as your coding prep. Start with the Behavioral Interview Course and use the Behavioral Playbook to structure and stress-test your stories.

5. SQLSQL questions do not appear in every Amazon SWE interview, but they come up often enough in data-adjacent engineering roles that it is worth having your fundamentals sharp. Common question types include finding second highest salaries, identifying duplicate records, and basic join optimization.If SQL shows up in your loop, it is usually not the main focus of the round and tends to be on the lighter side. Making sure you are comfortable with joins, aggregations, and basic schema design should be enough coverage for most candidates.

ConclusionAmazon's process rewards candidates who prepare across all dimensions, not just coding. Strong LP stories, a clear sense of how you use AI tools in your workflow, and solid DSA fundamentals are what set top candidates apart. Follow the Amazon Interview Roadmap for a structured, stage-by-stage plan to get ready for every part of the process.