Technology Operations Engineer, Amazon Studios

Amazon

Implement a Stack data structure using one or more Queues. Your stack should support the standard push, pop, top (peek), and empty operations. push(x):** Adds element x to the top of the stack. pop():** Removes the element on the top of the stack and returns it. top():** Returns the element on the top of the stack without removing it. empty():** Returns whether the stack is empty. For example, consider the following sequence of operations: push(1) push(2) top() // returns 2 pop() // returns 2 empty() // returns false Explain your approach clearly, focusing on how you would use queue operations (enqueue and dequeue) to achieve stack-like behavior. Discuss the time complexity of each operation in your implementation. Consider edge cases and potential optimizations.

Amazon

Let's explore your problem-solving skills with a practical scenario. Imagine you're building a feature for an e-commerce website that recommends products to users based on their past purchases. The system currently uses a simple algorithm: it identifies the products most frequently bought by users with similar purchase histories and suggests those. However, you've noticed a few issues: Lack of Novelty: The recommendations are often too obvious or repetitive. Users who bought coffee are constantly recommended coffee, even though they might be interested in other related items like filters, mugs, or coffee makers. Cold Start Problem: New users with limited purchase history receive generic recommendations that aren't very helpful. Ignoring User Context: The system doesn't consider factors like the time of year (e.g., recommending winter coats in July) or current trends. Your task is to enhance the recommendation system to address these issues. Describe your approach, considering both algorithmic improvements and data enrichment strategies. Provide specific examples of how you would: Incorporate a measure of diversity to introduce novelty into the recommendations. Handle the cold start problem for new users. Leverage additional data sources (e.g., product descriptions, user reviews, social media trends) to improve recommendation accuracy and relevance. Explain what machine learning algorithms and evaluation metrics you would use to validate your improvements. How would you A/B test your changes to ensure they are positively impacting user engagement and sales?

Amazon

Describe a time when you and a teammate had a fundamental disagreement about a project. What was the disagreement about? How did you approach resolving the disagreement? What was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience?