Amazon Frontend Engineer Interview Experience 2024, Berlin

Overview

The candidate's interview process at Amazon for a Frontend Engineer (FTE I) position at DealX in Berlin spanned approximately four to five months. The timeline included an initial application, online assessments, multiple phone interviews, and a final interview loop consisting of four rounds. The candidate emphasized the importance of a strong foundation in computer programming fundamentals, problem-solving skills, and familiarity with Amazon's Leadership Principles.

Interview Rounds

Online Assessment

The online assessment comprised two coding challenges focused on DOM manipulation in JavaScript. The candidate had two hours to complete the assessment, with one hour allocated to each problem.

• Q1: Design an accordion collapse component using plain JavaScript.
• Q2: Design a Data Table Component with a search option, including dynamic row addition, local storage data persistence, and a search bar with debouncing.

Phone Interview 1

Despite being termed a "phone interview," it was conducted via Amazon Chime with both audio and video. The interview was divided into two segments:

• Leadership Principles (30 minutes): This segment focused on behavioral questions based on Amazon's Leadership Principles, requiring responses in the STAR format. Preparation and practice were crucial, with follow-up questions probing deeper into the candidate's experiences.
• Technical Problem (30 minutes): The candidate was tasked with solving a medium-level LeetCode problem in an online editor without a compiler or test environment. The candidate was able to provide a working solution but not an optimized one.

Phone Interview 2

Similar to the first phone interview, this round included:

• Leadership Principles (30 minutes): Further exploration of the candidate's past experiences and alignment with Amazon's Leadership Principles.
• Technical Question (30 minutes): The candidate was asked to design a UI component to display a file system-like interface on the web, using any framework. Given the limited time, the candidate focused on conveying the overall approach and key code implementations to the interviewer.

Key Takeaways

• Preparation is paramount: A strong understanding of computer programming fundamentals, data structures, algorithms, and DOM manipulation is essential.
• Leadership Principles are critical: Amazon places significant emphasis on its Leadership Principles. Candidates should prepare STAR method responses and anticipate follow-up questions.
• Communication is key: During technical interviews, clearly articulate the problem-solving approach and trade-offs made due to time constraints.
• The interview process can be lengthy and require persistence: The candidate's experience highlights the importance of consistent follow-up and flexibility in scheduling.
• Even if a profile is shortlisted, candidates should be certain of joining before proceeding.