Questions that have appeared at Amazon for a Software Engineer (Technical) interview.

1. System Design

Question: How would you design an efficient, scalable and reliable system for an e-commerce platform?

Question: How would you design a distributed caching system with high availability?

Question: Can you describe a time when you had to design a highly scalable system? What were the key considerations and challenges?

2. Algorithms and Data Structures

Question: Explain how a hash table works and where it might be used?

Question: Can you explain the difference between a stack and a queue?

Question: Describe a situation where you would use a linked list instead of an array?

3. Operating Systems

Question: What is the role of a kernel in an operating system?

Question: Can you explain the difference between processes and threads?

Question: How would you handle a situation where a process is in a deadlock?

4. Networking

Question: Can you explain how the TCP/IP model works?

Question: What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS?

Question: Can you discuss the implications of network latency on a distributed system?

5. Databases

Question: What is the difference between SQL and NoSQL databases? Give an example of when you might use each one.

Question: Explain ACID properties in the context of databases.

Question: What are the considerations when choosing between a relational database and a non-relational database?

6. Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

Question: How would you handle a situation where a critical bug is found in your application after it's been deployed?

Question: Can you describe your experience with Agile methodologies?

Question: How do you ensure quality in each phase of software development?

7. Scalability and Performance

Question: How would you design a system to handle a sudden spike in traffic?

Question: What are some strategies you would use to improve the performance of a slow application?

Question: Discuss a time when you had to scale up a system. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

8. Testing

Question: What is the difference between unit testing and integration testing?

Question: How do you decide which parts of your application to test?

Question: Can you describe a time when thorough testing helped you catch a critical bug before deployment?

9. Security

Question: What are some best practices for ensuring the security of an application?

Question: Can you describe a situation where you had to deal with a security vulnerability?

Question: How would you handle a situation where a security breach has occurred?

10. Problem Solving

Question: Describe a complex technical problem you had to solve. What was your approach and what was the outcome?

Question: How do you approach debugging a problem in your code?

Question: Can you describe a time when you had to make a trade-off between the perfect solution and a faster, more practical solution?