Application and Online Assessment (OA)
Questions:
-
First Question: Amazon Prime Games is designing a game. The player needs to pass n rounds sequentially. The rules of play are as follows: The player loses power[i] health to complete round i. The player's health must be greater than 0 at all times. The player can choose to use armor in any one round. The armor will prevent damage of min(armor, power[i]). Determine the minimum starting health for a player to win the game.
-
Second Question: Implement LinkedList operations:
push_front,push_back, andpop_front. -
Work Style Assessment: Focused on Amazon’s Leadership Principles (LPs).
The questions were Easy to Medium level, and I attempted both.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
No feedback provided.
Round 1: DSA Only (16th January 2025)
Questions:
-
First Question: Similar to - Shortest Path in Binary Matrix
- Discussed the Dynamic Programming approach.
- Explained the dry run to validate my logic.
- Coded the solution and explained Time and Space Complexity.
- The interviewer was satisfied.
-
Second Question: Generate Parentheses
- First discussed the naive approach, then improved it using Backtracking.
- Did a dry run before coding.
- Explained Time and Space Complexity after coding.
At the end, the interviewer asked if I had any questions.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
No feedback provided.
Round 2: Machine Coding + LP (23rd January 2025)
Questions:
- Design a Chess Game (changed to designing a Snake and Ladder Game).
I wasn’t prepared for Machine Coding, as I hadn’t expected it for an SDE 1 fresher role. I mentioned my concern, and the interviewer reassured me, explaining how a Machine Coding round is conducted.
- I started by defining classes and functionalities.
- After writing the code, we discussed corner cases, and I implemented the required changes.
Leadership Principles Questions:
- Describe a situation where you showed ownership.
- Describe a situation where you had to deliver a task under a tight deadline. What challenges did you face, and how did you resolve them?
I answered both based on my internship experiences.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
No feedback provided.
Round 3: Bar Raiser (31st January 2025)
Questions:
Leadership Principles Questions:
- Tell me about a situation where you were assigned a critical task. Why was it critical, and how did you solve the challenges faced?
- Describe a time when you had to do a task from complete scratch. What approach did you take, and how did you accomplish it?
- How do you handle deadlines? Have you ever missed one? If so, how did you manage the situation?
The interviewer went deep into my answers, asking multiple follow-up questions. I fumbled in two to three places, as he kept probing into details. By the end, I felt exhausted. Finally, he asked if I had any questions for him.
Candidate's Approach
No approach provided.
Interviewer's Feedback
No feedback provided.
Final Status
I am currently waiting for the results and hoping for the best! Hope this helps others preparing for Amazon’s SDE 1 role!