Software Engineer · Virtual Onsite · Multiple Types

Amazon — Software Engineer

Level: Intern

Round: Virtual Onsite · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 120 min · Interviewer: Neutral

Topics: Behavioral Questions, Hash Table, Heap, Design

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Interview date: 2026-01-20

Summary

Round 1: Behavioral (BQ)

Question: Tell me about a time you went out of your responsibility. Tell me about a time you had a tight deadline and made a risky decision.

---

Round 2: Coding

Question: LeetCode 347 variant: Design a music player that prioritizes playing the most frequent songs. Once a song has been played, it cannot be played again until all other songs have been played.

---

Details

Coding Question Details

The coding question I encountered was a variation of LeetCode 347, involving the design of a music player with specific requirements.

Problem: Design a music player that receives new {user, song[]} entries. The player needs to prioritize playing the most frequent songs, but with the added constraint that once a song is played, it cannot be played again until all songs have been played at least once.

Considerations:

• How to efficiently track song frequencies?
• How to ensure that all songs are played before repeating any song?
• How to handle real-time updates of song frequencies as new entries are added?

Preparation Tips & Key Takeaways

What I Learned

• This question blends data structure selection with system design principles.
• Prioritizing the right data structures and algorithms is essential for efficient implementation.

Recommended Preparation

Coding Practice

• Practice implementing priority queues (heaps) and hash tables.
• Focus on problems involving frequency tracking and prioritization.

System Design

• Review design patterns for managing data streams and real-time updates.
• Study approaches for handling constraints in system design, such as ensuring fairness or preventing starvation.

LeetCode similar: LeetCode 347