Amazon

Role: SDE-1 (University Talent Acquisition Program)

College: IIT Roorkee

Interview Date: OA: May 12, 2025; Round 1: June 12, 2025; Offer: July 9, 2025

Interview Type: Off-Campus / Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Rounds: 3 rounds + Online Assessment

Topics Asked: Data Structures (Stack, Arrays), Algorithms (Monotonic Stack), Problem Solving, Work Simulation, Behavioral (Leadership Principles), Light System Design, Projects

Experience:

Naina Vangani, a 2024 IIT Roorkee graduate (Mechanical Engineering) currently working as a Software Developer, interviewed for Amazon SDE-1 through their University Talent Acquisition Program. She received an offer on July 9, 2025, after three rounds of problem-solving and leadership discussions.

Application Process: She applied through the Amazon Careers page and received the online assessment link on May 12, 2025.

Online Assessment (OA): The OA had three parts:

• DSA Section: One easy and one medium problem, which she completed in 20 minutes.
• Work Simulation: This round simulated a typical day at Amazon, involving handling email-based modules, responding to customer issues, debugging product errors, and prioritizing tasks. It assessed alignment with Amazon's Leadership Principles like Customer Obsession, Bias for Action, and Deliver Results.
• Behavioral (Situational MCQs): Multiple-choice questions requiring selection of the most and least appropriate responses for workplace situations.

Round 1 (June 12, 2025 - DSA + Problem Solving): The interviewer was an SDE-II. Questions included a classic Monotonic Stack problem (similar to Daily Temperatures) and a logic-heavy, non-standard problem that tested presence of mind, which she solved with one hint. She was required to write the entire code, including input handling and output printing, and dry-run it step-by-step.

Round 2: (Details not explicitly provided in snippet, but implied to be a technical or problem-solving round as part of the "3 rounds of intense problem-solving").

Round 3 (Leadership Principles + Light System Design): This was a pure behavioral round with a light touch of system design at the end. The focus was on how she handles ambiguity, past challenges, ownership, and her problem-solving approach, all mapped back to Amazon's values.

Tips: The experience highlighted the importance of practicing coding end-to-end solutions, including input/output handling. It also suggested not to neglect System Design fundamentals, even for SDE-1 roles, advising comfort in discussing how to build simple, scalable components. Additionally, candidates should be prepared to deep dive into past projects, explaining architecture, trade-offs, challenges, and impact.