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Amazon L4 (SDE I) Software Engineer Interview Guide
A comprehensive guide to the Amazon L4 (SDE I) Software Engineer interview process.
Amazon's L4 SDE1 interview has five main steps: recruiter call, online assessment, technical phone screen, then a virtual onsite with 4 interviews (2 coding, 1 design, 1 behavioral). Most people finish the whole thing in 3 to 6 weeks, though team matching might push it to 8 weeks.
The behavioral interview matters most for L4 candidates. Amazon cares deeply about seeing their Leadership Principles in action through your real examples, and this round often determines your final outcome.
For L4, the design interview covers object oriented design instead of large scale systems. Interviewers look for strong fundamentals and potential: good coding skills, clear problem solving, and Amazon's values in action. Your examples can come from school projects or internships since most L4 candidates have 0 to 2 years of experience.
Notably, Amazon temporarily removed the Bar Raiser requirement for entry-level hires during COVID but brought it back in 2024.
The interview consists of 5 to 6 total rounds:
- Recruiter Introductory Call
- Online Assessment (OA)
- Technical Phone Screen
- Onsite Loop (Usually virtual)
- Coding Interview #1
- Coding Interview #2
- Object Oriented Design Interview
- Bar Raiser Leadership Principles Interview
Interview Rounds
Recruiter Introductory Call
The recruiter call is a straightforward 30-minute conversation to cover the basics. They want to know if you're genuinely interested in Amazon, eligible to work, and a reasonable fit for an entry-level engineering role. It's not a trick interview, just setting expectations for what comes next.
You'll walk through your background, explain why Amazon interests you, and discuss logistics like timeline and location preferences. The recruiter might ask about Leadership Principles that resonate with you or want a quick example of ownership or customer focus. They want genuine responses that show you've researched Amazon's culture, not polished interview stories.
The recruiter evaluates three things: how clearly you communicate, whether your interest seems genuine, and basic cultural fit. No technical assessment here; they're just getting a sense of whether you'd work well in Amazon's environment.
Ask thoughtful questions about the role, team structure, or what success looks like for new engineers. This shows genuine interest and helps you figure out if Amazon works for you too.
Online Assessment (OA)
The online assessment is a 90 minute proctored test you take at home. You'll solve two coding problems (70 minutes), debug seven code snippets (20 minutes), then complete a work styles assessment (15 minutes).
The coding problems are medium difficulty algorithms covering arrays, strings, trees, and graphs. Amazon likes practical scenarios involving customer data or inventory management. You'll code in their online editor without autocomplete, so syntax matters.
The debugging section has seven code snippets with obvious bugs like missing semicolons or off by one errors. Each takes 2 to 3 minutes if you spot the issue quickly. The work styles section shows workplace scenarios tied to Leadership Principles, like "Your team disagrees on a technical approach" with multiple choice responses.
You can access language documentation and standard library references, which helps a lot. Knowing Python's collections module or Java's HashMap methods saves time. The platform emails you between sections; passing coding doesn't guarantee you'll get debugging.
Your performance determines if you advance to the phone screen. Generally, you need to solve one coding problem completely plus get most debugging questions right. The work styles section rarely eliminates candidates but can help if your responses align with their principles.
Technical Phone Screen
The technical phone screen is a 45 to 60 minute video call with an Amazon engineer. After quick introductions, they'll give you one coding problem, sometimes two if you finish the first one fast.
You'll code in a shared editor without being able to compile or run anything. Think through your solution completely before writing, and talk through your approach as you work. Explain why you're choosing certain data structures and state any assumptions about the problem.
The problems are medium difficulty, similar to the online assessment but with more follow-up questions. Expect array manipulation, string processing, or tree traversal problems testing fundamental algorithms.
After coding, most interviewers spend 10 to 15 minutes on behavioral questions. These touch on Leadership Principles but aren't as intensive as the dedicated behavioral round. Expect questions like "Tell me about a challenging project" or "How do you handle tight deadlines."
You're evaluated on four main aspects:
- Problem Solving & Algorithms: Your ability to understand requirements, choose appropriate approaches, and work toward optimal solutions
- Code Implementation: Writing correct, clean code in real time without compilation, including proper syntax and edge case handling
- Communication & Thought Process: Clearly explaining your approach, asking clarifying questions, and incorporating feedback
- Leadership Principle Awareness: Demonstrating Amazon's values through how you tackle problems and interact during the interview
The phone screen is your final technical filter before the onsite. Interviewers want to see that you can handle the coding rounds while getting a read on your communication and cultural fit.
Live, up-to-date
Most commonly asked Coding questions
Amazon
Junior
Onsite
Coding Interviews
The two coding rounds run back to back, about an hour each with different interviewers and a short break between. You'll use the same shared editor as the phone screen, testing your technical skills under pressure.
Each interviewer starts with one medium difficulty problem. Solve it quickly and cleanly, and they'll often give you a second, harder problem to see how you handle increased complexity and adapt mid interview.
Amazon likes practical scenarios where your binary tree might involve product categories or your graph question might be about delivery routes. Write production quality code with edge cases, good time complexity, and clean solutions.
You're evaluated on four main aspects:
- Data Structures & Algorithms Mastery: Choosing the right approach and implementing it efficiently with solid CS fundamentals
- Coding Quality and Efficiency: Writing correct, optimized code under time pressure with minimal guidance
- Analytical Thinking: Breaking complex problems into manageable pieces and adapting when new challenges arise
- Leadership Principles in Action: Demonstrating Amazon's values through how you communicate and tackle problems during the interview
After coding, interviewers spend 10 to 15 minutes on behavioral questions tied to Leadership Principles. Questions like "Tell me about debugging a tricky problem" or "How do you handle tight deadlines" give them another data point on cultural fit.
Live, up-to-date
Most commonly asked Coding questions
Amazon
Junior
Object Oriented Design Interview
The design interview is different from the coding rounds. You'll spend an hour with an engineer discussing class structures and how components work together. Instead of distributed systems, you'll design concrete things like a parking lot system, library checkout, or elevator control.
The interviewer presents a scenario, then you ask clarifying questions. How many vehicle types? Should the library track late fees? Does the elevator optimize for energy? Good questions show you understand requirements before designing.
After clarifying scope, outline your main classes and relationships. For a parking system: Customer, ParkingSpot, Vehicle. For a library: Book, Member, CheckoutTransaction. You'll discuss structure and key methods, not write code. Show solid object oriented principles like encapsulation and single responsibility.
Then come the curveballs. "What if we need multiple parking garages?" or "How do you handle book reservations?" They want to see how you adapt your design without starting over. Can you extend existing classes or add new interfaces?
You're evaluated on four main aspects:
- Design Problem Analysis: Breaking down requirements and identifying core constraints before diving into solutions
- Object Oriented Design Skills: Creating clean class structures with appropriate methods, relationships, and separation of concerns
- Clarity of Communication: Explaining your design choices clearly and incorporating feedback from the interviewer
- Adaptability & Depth: Handling follow up changes or scaling questions by thoughtfully extending your existing design
This round requires a different mindset than algorithmic problems. You're thinking like a software architect about maintainability and real world constraints, not optimizing runtime complexity. Most design problems have multiple valid solutions, so your thought process matters more than finding the "correct" answer.
Bar Raiser Leadership Principles Interview
The behavioral interview is different from the technical rounds and carries significant weight in your final decision. You'll spend an hour with an interviewer evaluating whether you embody Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles through real examples from your past. This conversation matters a lot for your final outcome.
The interviewer opens with something like "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate," then digs deeper with follow-ups. "What did you say? Why that approach? How did they react? What was the outcome?" They take notes, mapping your responses to Leadership Principles and looking for patterns in how you handle challenges.
For L4 candidates, your examples can come from school projects, internships, or part time jobs. Amazon cares about the thinking behind your actions and whether you naturally show ownership, customer focus, and bias for action. Debugging a class project with difficult groupmates can showcase the same leadership qualities as managing production systems.
You're evaluated on four main aspects:
- Leadership Principles Alignment: How naturally your past behaviors reflect Amazon's core values like Customer Obsession, Ownership, and Bias for Action
- Depth and Honesty of Answers: Your willingness to dive into specifics, own mistakes, and explain your actual thought process during challenging situations
- Communication & Clarity: Structuring responses in clear STAR format while staying focused and providing relevant details
- Problem Solving Attitude: Evidence of resourcefulness, resilience, and continuous learning when facing obstacles
This round determines cultural fit more than any other part of your interview loop. Amazon values cultural alignment highly, especially around ownership and judgment.
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Most commonly asked Leadership Principles questions
Amazon
Junior
1. Tell me about a project where the requirements were not clear or kept changing. How did you adapt and maintain productivity?
2. Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker. How did you resolve it?
3. Describe a time you failed and how you managed the situation
4. What is the last constructive criticism you received?
5. Give me an example of a calculated risk that you have taken where speed was critical.
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