Start free
All interview guides

Sources checked

Amazon

Everything runs on the 16 Leadership Principles. Every interviewer owns a couple, a Bar Raiser from outside the team guards the bar with relentless dive-deep follow-ups, and STAR answers with real ownership and numbers are the currency.

The Amazon process

4 of 6 stages you can practise here

  1. 01
    Recruiter / HM phone screen40 minchill

    Conversational and friendly

    communication claritymotivationbasic qualification match
  2. 02
    Online Assessment (OA)

    ~118 min, often before human contact: 90 min for two coding questions, ~20 min system-design scenarios, and an 8-min Work Style Survey tied to the Leadership Principles. Section mix drifts by cycle.

  3. 03
    Technical phone screen (coding)50 minrealistic

    45-55 min in a shared editor over Amazon Chime

    correctnessedge casescomplexity
  4. 04
    The Loop (virtual onsite)

    Amazon's SDE-II page says four 55-minute interviews; the general guide says four to six 45-60 min rounds. Mix of coding, system design (SDE-II+), and behavioral. Every round blends technical work with LP questioning.

    2 rounds you can practise

    Onsite loop, coding round55 minbrutal

    55 min, live in a shared editor

    scalable, robust, well-tested codeedge-case handlingtime/space complexity
    Onsite loop, system design55 minbrutal

    45-60 min, spoken over a shared virtual whiteboard

    practicalityscalability & reliabilityefficiency & optimization
  5. 05
    Onsite loop, Bar Raiser / Leadership Principles55 minbrutal

    45-55 min, spoken

    lp behavior via starindividual ownershipdata and metrics
  6. 06
    Debrief & decision

    Interviewers meet for a structured debrief; each submits written feedback with an inclination mapped to LPs and competencies. Feedback typically within ~2 business days after a phone interview and ~5 after the loop.

Common questions

How long is the Amazon SDE online assessment and what's in it?
Amazon's SDE-II prep page describes an assessment of about 118 minutes: 90 minutes for two coding questions, roughly 20 minutes of system-design scenarios, and an 8-minute Work Style Survey tied to the Leadership Principles. The exact section mix drifts by recruiting cycle, but the two-coding-questions plus Work Style Survey core is consistent.
How many interviews are in the Amazon loop?
Amazon's SDE-II page states the loop is "four 55-minute interviews," while its general interview guide describes "four to six" 45-60 minute rounds depending on level. Model four rounds as the default and five for senior levels. Each round is with a different employee and blends technical work with Leadership Principles questioning.
What is the Bar Raiser?
Amazon describes the Bar Raiser as "an objective interviewer from outside the hiring team who ensures Amazon's high hiring standards are maintained." They are Leadership Principles experts, push several dive-deep follow-ups, and hold effective veto power in the debrief, so a weak Bar Raiser round can sink an otherwise strong loop.
How should I answer Amazon's behavioral questions?
Amazon recommends the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) and asks you to include metrics or data where applicable because it is a data-driven company. Interviewers typically ask two or three behavioral questions and focus on the "what," "how," and especially the "why" of your decisions, emphasizing your individual actions over team credit.

Sources

Built from what Amazon publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

Sources last checked . Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.