Embedded Engineer · Full Journey · Multiple Types

Amazon — Embedded Engineer ❌ Failed

Level: Senior-Level

Round: Full Journey · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 7/10 · Duration: 300 min · Interviewer: Neutral

Topics: Algorithms, System Design, Embedded Systems, Optimization

Location: Seattle, WA, US

Interview date: 2026-01-08

Got offer: False

Summary

Round 1: Phone Screen

Question: Implement memcpy. Handle misaligned blocks.

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Round 2: System Design

Question: Design a storage locker system for storing and retrieving items. Multiple sizes are available. I needed to pick optimal sizes or report an error if no suitable size was available.

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Round 3: Coding

Question: Implement instrumentation to debug a binary. I don't remember the specific details of this question.

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Round 4: Optimization

Question: Implement vectored computation optimized for a non-SMP architecture. The architecture has asymmetric cores, with some cores only capable of division and others having accelerated multiplication and division. The goal was to find a near-optimal solution.

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Round 5: System Design

Question: Design a tracing/profiler system. Focus on stack trace and function instruction register expansion.

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Details

Preparation Tips & Key Takeaways

What I Learned

• Pay attention to edge cases in basic algorithm implementations like memcpy.
• Be prepared to discuss optimization strategies for heterogeneous architectures.
• System design questions can be very broad, so it's important to clarify requirements and constraints.

Recommended Preparation

Coding Practice

• Practice implementing standard library functions.
• Review optimization techniques for different hardware architectures.

System Design

• Study design patterns for storage systems.
• Understand how to design tracing and profiling tools.

Embedded Systems

• Familiarize yourself with embedded systems concepts.
• Research embedded debugging and profiling techniques.

Resources I Recommend

• Textbooks on embedded systems design and optimization.
• Online resources on system design best practices.