Company Prep
Amazon OA Preparation Guide 2026: Format, Topics, and Tips
What is the Amazon OA, what it tests, and how to prepare — format, topics, timing strategy, and free practice for the online assessment.
Amazon's online assessment (OA) is the first real filter for SDE internships and new-grad roles. Here is the format and a prep plan that works.
What the Amazon OA actually is
The Amazon online assessment is a timed, proctored test that happens after your application or referral is shortlisted. For SDE intern and SDE-1 roles it usually combines DSA coding questions with some of the sections below, and results decide whether you get an interview loop.
For many candidates, the OA is harder than the first interview round — most applications end here. Treat it as a real exam, not a formality.
Typical sections in the Amazon OA
SDE OAs commonly include 2–3 coding problems at easy-to-medium level (arrays, strings, hash maps, sorting, basic DP), sometimes preceded by work-style or behavioral questions, and for some roles a debug or reasoning section.
Intern and SDE-1 OAs lean on DSA. SDE-2 OAs may include harder problems, concurrency or design-adjacent scenarios. The exact mix varies by drive — check the invitation email carefully.
A 3-week prep plan
Week 1: refresh array, string, hash map, and two-pointer patterns — 2 problems daily with stated complexity. Week 2: add binary search, BFS/DFS, and recursion with memoization; do one timed 70-minute OA simulation with 3 problems. Week 3: solve Amazon-tagged previous year questions, review your wrong submissions, and do two full timed simulations.
After each problem, write one line on the pattern it used. Pattern recall under time pressure is what the OA really tests.
Timing strategy inside the test
Read all problems first and solve the easiest one fully before attempting hard ones. A clean easy solution beats a broken hard attempt. Allocate 15 minutes for the first problem, 25 for the second, and keep 10 minutes to check edge cases like empty inputs and large arrays.
If you finish early, re-read the constraints. Missing a hidden rule — like 64-bit outputs — is the most common way to lose an otherwise correct solution.
Where to practice for free
Use Apply's Company PYQs library for Amazon-tagged previous year questions, the Amazon OA prepare guide at /prepare/amazon-oa-questions, and Amazon-flavored mock interviews at /mock-interview/amazon to practice explaining solutions aloud.
Continue this workflow
Put the guide into practice with the most relevant tools and supporting resources.