Amazon Online Assessment 2026: Format, Topics & Prep Guide

Amazon's online assessment (OA) is the first real filter in the Software Development Engineer internship and new-grad pipeline. It is sent after your application passes resume screen, and performing well is effectively a prerequisite for the final interview loop — so it deserves focused, structured preparation rather than a night of panic.

What is the Amazon OA and what format should you expect?

The Amazon online assessment is a supervised, browser-based test you complete on your own within a given window (typically several days from when you receive the invite). Based on widely reported candidate experiences, the standard SDE intern and new-grad OA has three parts:

1. Two coding questions (the core). Medium difficulty, LeetCode-style, with your choice of language. You get around 90–105 minutes total for the coding section. Partial credit exists, and Amazon weighs efficiency — an optimal solution matters more than a brute force that happens to pass.
2. Work simulation (workstyle) section. An interactive "day in the life" simulation: emails arrive, tasks compete for your attention, and you must decide what to do first, who to ask, and how to respond. There are no objectively right answers, but there are strongly preferred ones.
3. Workstyle questionnaire. A set of statements ("I prefer to finish one task completely before starting another") you rate. This is compared against Amazon's Leadership Principles and against the simulation choices for consistency.

The entire process from application to OA invite to interview decision commonly runs about two weeks, so treat the OA as imminent the moment you apply.

What topics and questions should you expect?

The coding questions almost always come from the classic Amazon pool. Historically frequent themes include:

• Arrays and strings: two-sum variants, merge intervals, rotting oranges, number of islands, longest substring without repeating characters.
• Hashing and counting: subarray sum equals k, most frequent items, group anagrams.
• Graphs (BFS/DFS): island counting, shortest path in a grid, course schedule (cycle detection).
• Linked lists: reversal and cycle problems appear regularly in the intern version.
• Greedy and heaps: reorganize string, task scheduler, meeting rooms.

In the work simulation, expect scenarios testing ownership, bias for action, diving deep, and disagreement handling. Choose the option that a calm senior engineer would choose: clarify requirements before coding, escalate blockers early, unblock teammates, and prioritize customer-impacting work.

A 2-week study plan

Week 1 — coding volume and patterns.

• Days 1–2: arrays, hash maps, and two pointers. Work through the Two Sum walkthrough and redo the classic Amazon list problems above until each pattern is automatic.
• Days 3–4: BFS/DFS graphs — number of islands, rotting oranges, course schedule. These three alone have accounted for a large share of reported Amazon OAs.
• Day 5: linked lists and greedy/heaps — reversal, task scheduler, meeting rooms.
• Weekend: two timed mock OAs — two fresh medium problems in 100 minutes, no interruptions. Review every miss against the optimal solution.

Week 2 — simulation, workstyle, and polish.

• Days 1–2: read Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles, focusing on the six most tested for interns: Ownership, Bias for Action, Dive Deep, Learn and Be Curious, Deliver Results, and Earn Trust. For each, prepare a short STAR story from your own experience.
• Day 3: practice work-simulation-style judgment questions. The rule of thumb: communicate early, own the outcome, and never sit on a blocker.
• Days 4–5: redo your missed problems from week 1, plus one final timed mock.
• Day before the OA: light review only — your pattern notes and Leadership Principles stories. Sleep matters more than one more problem.

For a deeper structured plan, see the 4-week interview prep plan and compress it as needed.

How Easy Code Interview helps you practice

The Amazon OA is a timed, screen-based assessment — exactly the conditions Easy Code Interview is built for. During practice sessions, the AI reads the problem from your screen and returns a short answer plus a detailed explanation on your second device, so you can check your approach against the optimal one in real time, learn the pattern, and build speed. Use it to rehearse the 100-minute two-problem cadence: solve, verify, understand why, and move on.

Verdict

The Amazon OA is very passable with two weeks of focused prep because its question pool is narrow and predictable. Nailing the two coding problems clears the technical bar; thoughtful, consistent answers in the work simulation and questionnaire clear the cultural one. If you prepare both halves deliberately, you will walk into the final loop having already passed the hardest filter most candidates fail.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the Amazon OA and how much time do I get?

Plan for roughly two to two and a half hours total: about 90–105 minutes for the two coding questions, plus the untimed-feeling but still clocked work simulation and workstyle sections. You can usually pause between sections, so schedule the coding block when your mind is freshest.

Can I use any programming language in the Amazon OA?

Yes — the editor supports the common languages (Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, and others). Python is the most popular choice for its brevity under time pressure.

What score do I need to pass the coding section?

Amazon does not publish a cutoff, and it likely varies by team and hiring need. Practically, one fully optimal solution plus strong partial progress on the second is usually enough to advance; two brute-force passes with no optimization often is not.

Is the work simulation section really scored?

Yes. The simulation and questionnaire feed your Leadership Principles evaluation and are checked for consistency with each other. Take them seriously rather than clicking through.

What happens after I pass the OA?

Typically you move to a final interview loop (one or two interviews for interns, three for new grads) within a couple of weeks. Use that time to prepare behavioral stories, since Amazon's interviews are Leadership-Principles-heavy.