I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in May 2015
Interview
The hr people are nice and efficient. It is a very small group of Amazon made up by a group of SDEs who think themselves know Statistics. Their knowledge on Statistics come purely from experience so it is very difficult to explain to them using the terms I learned in college. They think it is me that do not understand Statistics but it is actually them. They obvious only want computer science people because they themselves are. But what they really need is real Statisticians who have a formal education from college on Statistics.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
They asked a lot of details and they do have a certain answer that they want to hear.
Looking back, I'm relieved I declined the offer, despite the intense experience. The interview process felt overwhelming, starting with some tough core ML concepts before diving into the LLM fundamentals. During the technical round, I recognized a tokenization question from a PracHub session I had done just a week before. It felt like a small win in an otherwise challenging interview. Ultimately, the pressure and expectations were high, but I felt it wasn't the right fit for me.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
LLM fundamentals: tokenization design and KL-regularized SFT
There are three rounds in total. The process begins with a coding round, followed by the main interview loop, where you will meet the team and discuss technical skills, experience, and fit.
First round is fun, second round, which is also the final round involved 5 sessions, with different focus. For some sessions, not be able to present my story completely, time was tight, and interviewers were rushing.