Here's a professionally refined version of your experience post, suitable for sharing on LinkedIn or any community group to help others going through the Amazon SDE-1 process:
Throwback to My Amazon SDE-1 Interview Journey 🚀
Hey everyone!
I’m incredibly grateful for all the support and knowledge I’ve gained from this community over time. This post is a small way of giving back — especially for those currently in the pipeline or preparing for the SDE-1 role at Amazon.
I’ll be sharing my complete interview experience — from start to finish.
Profile Snapshot
- Experience: 1.5 years
- Previous Company: Mobility-based well-known startup
- Position Offered: SDE-1
- Total Duration: ~4 months
- Rounds: All were eliminatory
1. Online Assessment (OA)
I don’t remember the exact questions, but both required either a dynamic programming or mathematical approach. I solved them analytically using math.
Note: It took almost 30 days post-assessment to receive the next update.
2. Technical Round 1
Q1. Binary Tree Validation
Given a list of TreeNode objects (val, left, right), determine whether they form a valid binary tree.
Example:
[TN(1, 2, 3), TN(2, None, None), TN(3, None, None)] → True
🔹 It seems simple, but it’s a very elegant question.
🔹 I started from scratch — defining classes, clean variable names, modular functions, and explained everything as I went.
Q2. Drone Delivery Route
Problem described an array representing drone positions. I was asked to model an efficient delivery tracking logic.
🔹 Solved it within 8 minutes.
🔹 Explained my full thought process clearly — intuition first, code next.
🔹 By this point, the interviewers seemed very satisfied.
Leadership Principles (LP):
- A time when you went through fast-paced learning.
- How would you approach learning a new language/framework used in the company?
3. Technical + LP + Design Round
Leadership Principles:
- A time when you did more than what was required, anticipating customer needs.
- The most technically challenging task you’ve worked on.
System Design:
Design a flexible music playlist system — create and manage playlists, handle song playback, etc.
I began by discussing everything I was thinking out loud and explaining each step of implementation. However, I sensed that the interviewer wasn’t very engaged. Still, I stayed calm and continued articulating my thoughts clearly.
Feedback:
"Try to align better with the interviewer’s expectations, but DSA, design thinking, and code quality were strong."
4. Bar Raiser Round
The interviewer had 8+ years of experience.
🔹 Started with mutual introductions.
🔹 Asked about my past projects — I discussed two in depth.
🔹 Questions on architecture, tech stack choices, and alternative tools.
Eventually, he compared my stack with unfamiliar ones. I was honest and said:
"I’ve explored limited tools so far due to time constraints, but what I used worked well for my project needs with zero production issues. I’m always open to learning more."
My responses were clear, confident, and honest, especially around topics I truly understood — and I didn’t bluff where I wasn’t 100% confident.
Final Outcome 🎉
After 7 days, the recruiter called:
“You got very good response from HM and also other candidates were in the list, so we are going with you first, please let us know . We’d like to move forward with your offer.”
Of course, I said YES!
A Few Notes for Aspirants:
- Be patient — the process takes time (it was 4 months for me).
- Follow up — If there's delay, don’t hesitate to reply to the interview invite email or recruiter contact.
- Clarity over fluff — Speak only what you’re sure of. Depth matters more than breadth.
- Prep leadership principles as much as DSA and LLD/System Design.
- Interviewer’s engagement might vary — keep your calm and keep delivering quality.
Happy to answer if you’re preparing for Amazon or similar interviews.
Feel free to DM or drop questions in the comments 🙌