How do I show that I'm at a SWE 2 level when interviewing?

Question

I have ~3 years of work experience, but it was spent working a non-SWE role within Amazon. Because of this, companies consider me between SWE 1 and SWE 2 when I'm interviewing.

What’s the difference between SWE 1 and SWE 2 on the job, and how can I show that I'm in the latter camp in interviews so I can get a SWE 2 offer instead of being set back with a SWE 1 offer?

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

The core difference between a SWE 1 and a SWE 2 is an extremely high level of technical proficiency. A SWE 2 needs to be able to execute on any small to medium size task with minimal hand-holding. A SWE 2 can still ask a lot of questions, but they need to do deeper in nature. Instead of asking How does this code work?, it should be questions like, I have 2 approaches to make this code work with these tradeoffs, which one is best? On an interview, the main signals for leveling are the behavioral and system design round. Leetcode rounds are just a basic coding check. For SWE 2 behavioral, have stories about solving complex technical problems with a high degree of independence. For SWE 2 system design, just have system design skills in general. Be able to understand the system at a very high level holistically, understanding how different pieces come into play (e.g. database -> back-end -> API -> front-end).

How do I show that I'm at a SWE 2 level when interviewing?

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