Amazon Software Engineer interview: Top-K variation and a restaurant-manager problem

After an online assessment, I went through back-to-back interviews covering DSA, low-level and higher-level design, Leadership Principles, and a final bar raiser.

There were a few unusual details. One round asked an AI-usage-style question. Another began with a hiring-manager version of a Top-K problem without API help. A technical prompt used a restaurant manager handling arriving groups, so I had to translate the requirements into an approach.

The interviews were less about pattern memorization than explaining my reasoning while building solutions. I did not get an offer, but the loop felt structured and coherent, and it seemed designed to assess both problem-solving depth and communication.

Location: Haifa. Overall feedback: neutral. Offer status: no offer.