Thank you for taking the time to speak with us!

The following tips are intended to enhance your interview experience.

Being part of the Applied Science team at Amazon is one of the most exciting job opportunities in the world today. There
is no richer data environment for a Machine Learning/Applied Science scientist to develop new models and algorithms
and have an impact on millions of customers.

We solve many of Amazon's most difficult and important problems, and in partnership with teams across Amazon, we
build new services that surprise and delight our customers. We have current and future projects in recommendation,
streaming data analysis, natural language processing, deep learning, bandit algorithms, computer security, social
networks, speech recognition, e-commerce fraud detection, artificial intelligence, visual search, probabilistic demand
forecasting, online advertising, product search and more.

Applied Science at Amazon is a highly experimental activity, although theoretical analysis and innovation are also
welcome. Applied scientists work closely with software engineers to put algorithms into practice. They also work on
cross-disciplinary efforts with social scientists, computer vision experts, and others.

Applied Scientists at Amazon work on some of the most important problems the company faces. We are hiring for
various positions around the company. Some of these are on our central ML team, others are on teams that manage ML
models in automated systems, and others are focused on solving key problems in specific areas of the business. All
Applied Scientists at Amazon apply ML techniques to real business problems. We encourage rigorous work, including
cutting edge methods in the ML literature, experimentation, and careful consideration of modeling assumptions.

Technical Topics to Review

In the interview we will cover three broad areas of technical competencies: your domain of expertise, general machine
learning, and problem solving and coding.

Domain Expertise: We are curious about your area of expertise, whether it is automatic speech recognition, natural
language understanding, computer vision, machine learning or statistical modeling. You will be expected to demonstrate
a broad and deep knowledge of your research area and its literature, deep understanding of the field’s classical methods
and your prior work, pros/cons of modeling approaches, data sources, and practical experience in applying research
ideas to modeling problems.

General Machine Learning: Of course, we expect you to understand the basic machine learning methods and algorithms
– revisit your favorite ML text book. Expect to be asked about data-driven modeling, train/test protocols, error analysis,
and statistical significance. For example, given a problem definition, you should be able to formulate it as a machine
learning problem and propose a solution, including ideas for data sources, annotation, modeling approach, and be able
to discuss potential pitfalls.

Problem Solving and Coding: One of the most rewarding aspects of working in applied science is seeing one’s research
make a positive impact on customers. As a scientist you should be able to implement modeling ideas that can be
trained/tested on large-scale data. This requires a strong background in data structures and algorithms, and ability to

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write code. You will be expected to have knowledge of common data structures and algorithms, outline of their
implementation, computational and memory tradeoffs, and the ability to make good engineering choices. The emphasis
is on a sound understanding rather than rote memorization. Amazon’s applied scientists typically code in C/C++/Java
and use scripting languages such as Python/Perl for experimentation. Expect to be asked to write syntactically correct
code—no pseudo code. If you feel a bit rusty coding without an IDE or coding in a specific language, it’s probably a good
idea to dust off the cobwebs and get comfortable coding on a whiteboard.

Our Leadership Principles

Whether you are an individual contributor or the manager of a large team, you are an Amazon leader. These are our
leadership principles and every Amazonian is guided by these. A long with our technical questions, we will also ask non-
technical questions that are based off of our principles.

Amazon currently employs more than 100,000 people around the world. Our Leadership Principles are the foundation of
our culture and guide each Amazonian. Whether you are an individual contributor or a manager of a large team, you are
an Amazon leader.

Customer Obsession
Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay
attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.

Ownership
Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire
company, beyond just their own team. They never say “that’s not my job.”

Invent and Simplify

Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware,
look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by “not invented here.” As we do new things, we accept that we may be
misunderstood for long periods of time.

Are Right, A Lot

Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their
beliefs.

Hire and Develop the Best

Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent, and willingly move them
throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our
people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.

Insist on the Highest Standards

Leaders have relentlessly high standards—many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually
raising the bar and drive their teams to deliver high quality products, services and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get
sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.

Think Big
Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think
differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.

Bias for Action

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Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk
taking.

Frugality
Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency and invention. There are no extra points for growing
headcount, budget size or fixed expense.

Learn and Be Curious

Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore
them.

Earn Trust of Others

Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward
or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their
teams against the best.

Dive Deep
Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdote differ. No
task is beneath them.

Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting.
Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined,
they commit wholly.

Deliver Results
Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks,
they rise to the occasion and never settle.

 In all of these cases, we will ask you to tell us examples from your experience to illustrate your strengths in these
areas. That is, we don't just ask, "Do you think it's important to have a bias for action?" (to pick one of the
leadership principles above). Rather, we will ask a question like, "Tell me about a time when you took action
and made something happen." We want to hear (true!) stories from your own history that provide the
necessary evidence. We would recommend that you take some time before the interview to make a list of the
technical & leadership skills above, and think of 2-3 stories from your background that show that you have those
skills. I suggest writing down your examples and practicing them vocally as it makes it more fluid to speak to
them. Communicate examples of data driven projects you have worked on. Discuss past work/academic
experiences in detail to explain how you have demonstrated Amazon’s leadership principles

Interview Tips

 Be prepared to discuss technologies listed on your resume. For example, if you list Speech recognition you
should expect technical questions about your experience with that technology.

 When asked to provide a solution, first define and frame the problem as you see it. Always listen and try not to
miss a hint if your interviewer is trying to assist you. Consider Amazon’s scale in your solutions, always let your
interviewer know what you are thinking as he/she will be as interested in your process of thought as your
solution.

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  Please ask questions if you need clarification. We want the interview process to be collaborative. We also want
to learn what it would be like to work with you on a day-to-day basis in our open environment. If you are asked
a question, but not given enough information to solve the problem, drill down to get the information that you
need. If that information isn’t available, focus on how you would attempt to solve the problem given the limited
information you have. Often times at Amazon, we have to make quick decisions based on some of the relevant
data.

 When answering questions, be as concise and detailed in your response as possible. We realize it’s hard to
gauge how much information is too much versus not sufficient enough; an effective litmus test is pausing after
your succinct response to ask if you’ve provided enough detail, or if the interviewer would like you to go into
more depth.

 We want to hire smart, passionate people. Please reflect on how you think a career with Amazon would be
mutually beneficial and be prepared to speak to it. Although “Why Amazon?” is a standard type of question, it’s
not a check-the-box type of formality for us. We genuinely want to understand how working together with you
would be great, so we get a better sense of who you are. Our interviewers also appreciate an opportunity to
share their thoughts and experiences, so take a moment to prepare a couple of questions for the interviewer.

Some helpful links:

▪ Algorithm Complexity – It will be good to know big-O complexity analysis. Top Coder Tutorials can be found
here: https://www.topcoder.com/community/data-science/data-science-tutorials/
▪ Data Structures – Consider reviewing as many data structures and algorithms as you can.
▪ A useful website to review for an example of the type of questions that you may face is Amazon Interview
Questions
▪ About Amazon: http://www.amazon.jobs/working/working-amazon
▪ Org to Research: Machine Learning Center of Excellence

Amazon Press


 Fortune: Bezos Article I’ve made billions of dollars of failures’

 Business Insider: Most Reputable Company Award
 Bezos is committed to looking beyond the short-term: http://www.economist.com/node/21548487

We appreciate your interest in Amazon.

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