Software Development Engineer

Amazon

Explain the concept of a circular linked list. Describe its advantages and disadvantages compared to a singly linked list. Provide an example of a scenario where a circular linked list would be a suitable data structure, and write code snippets in Python or Java to demonstrate how to insert a node into a circular linked list and traverse the list. Explain how to detect if a circular linked list has a loop.

Amazon

Let's dive into a debugging scenario. Imagine you are working on a critical e-commerce platform used by millions of customers. During a peak shopping period (like Black Friday), you receive alerts indicating a significant slowdown in the checkout process. Customers are reporting that it takes an unusually long time to complete their purchases, and some are even experiencing transaction failures. This is directly impacting sales and customer satisfaction. Your team suspects a performance bottleneck somewhere in the system. The architecture involves multiple microservices, including a user authentication service, a product catalog service, an inventory service, a payment processing service, and an order management service. These services communicate with each other via REST APIs and message queues. The database consists of both relational (PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (Redis) databases. You have access to logging, monitoring tools (like Prometheus and Grafana), and distributed tracing (like Jaeger). How would you approach debugging this issue systematically, identify the root cause, and propose a solution? Be specific about the tools and techniques you would use at each stage. For example, walk me through what metrics you'd focus on, how you would narrow down the problematic service, and what steps you'd take to pinpoint the exact code or configuration causing the bottleneck. Provide specific examples of commands or queries you might use to gather data or test hypotheses. Also consider potential causes related to scaling, caching, database performance, and code inefficiencies. How would you ensure minimal disruption to the platform during the debugging process? How do you handle conflicting information or dead ends during debugging?

Amazon

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague. What was your approach to resolving the disagreement, and what was the outcome? How did you ensure that your interaction remained professional and respectful, even with differing viewpoints? For example, imagine you're working on a new feature for an e-commerce platform. You believe that a simplified checkout process will lead to higher conversion rates, while your colleague argues that adding more security steps is crucial, even if it adds friction for the user. Describe the situation, your reasoning, your colleague's reasoning, and the steps you took to reach a resolution that benefited the project and maintained a positive working relationship. What did you learn from this experience?