Amazon Interview Guide
Company GuideLast checked Nov 2026
Amazon hires engineers through a loop of interviews in which every interviewer scores technical skill and a set of assigned Leadership Principles. A Bar Raiser from outside the hiring team joins each loop as an objective third party and helps the hiring manager reach the decision. Amazon publishes its own prep pages for the SDE II and Senior SDE loops and for the early-career online assessment.
How Amazon Hires
- Leadership Principles questions come up in every round, typically two or three per interviewer, so coding and design interviews carry behavioral time too.
- The Bar Raiser comes from outside the hiring team, judges fit for the role and for long-term success at Amazon, and makes sure every interviewer's view is heard in the debrief.
- Amazon recommends the STAR format for behavioral answers, with metrics where they apply. Interviewers probe what you did, how you did it, and why you made each call.
- Coding happens in a shared editor without running the code. Amazon expects syntactically correct code that handles edge cases and invalid input.
- The target level is set before the loop. A minor, coachable gap can lead to an offer one level down.
- Amazon aims to share loop results within five business days.
Loops by Level
- Amazon SDE I LoopJuniorSDE IThe SDE I loop rests on correct, clean coding, an object-oriented design round, and Leadership Principles stories that can draw on internships and school projects. The Bar Raiser round is almost entirely behavioral, so thin stories can sink an otherwise strong loop.See the Rounds
- Amazon SDE II LoopMidSDE IIThe SDE II loop pairs coding with at least one system design question, and every interviewer also asks Leadership Principles questions. Amazon looks for scalable, robust, and well-tested code and a design you validate by asking good questions. A minor, coachable gap can lead to an SDE I offer.See the Rounds
- Amazon Senior SDE LoopSeniorSenior SDEThe Senior SDE loop runs five interviews, and Amazon looks for a system-wide, architectural view alongside strong coding. Design depth and stories with impact beyond a single team carry the level decision. System design is where SDE II and Senior SDE candidates most often separate, so a shallow design can lead to an SDE II offer.See the Rounds
- Amazon Principal SDE LoopStaffPrincipal SDEThe Principal SDE loop centers on architecture and organizational strategy, with scope that reaches across the organization. Design depth, technical direction you set, and Leadership Principles stories at that scope carry the decision. Evidence that stays at the scale of one team can lead to a Senior SDE offer.See the Rounds
Sources
Last checked Nov 2026. Loops vary by team and change over time, so confirm the details with your recruiter.