Build the core in-memory engine behind AWS ElastiCache and MemoryDB, extending open-source Valkey

Own the data path, durability layer, replication protocol, and advanced data structures (including vector and full-text search) inside Amazon's Valkey-compatible in-memory database. Deep C/C++ systems work at the intersection of database internals and distributed systems, serving customers like Disney+, Snap, Zoom, Lyft, and Airbnb at sub-millisecond latency.

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What this interview tests

In-memory database durability: transaction logs, snapshotting, replication
Performance engineering: memory allocators, I/O optimization, lock-free concurrency
Extending open-source systems (Valkey) with new capabilities without breaking compatibility
Active-active replication and conflict resolution for distributed data
Production debugging: crash dumps, memory corruption, hot-path profiling
Technical leadership and mentoring

Common question themes

Design the durability/replication layer for a sub-millisecond in-memory database

A time you tuned a memory allocator or I/O path for major throughput gains

Integrating a new feature (e.g., vector search) into an open-source engine without breaking compatibility

Debugging a production memory-corruption or crash-dump issue in C/C++

Tradeoffs in active-active replication and conflict resolution

Leading an architecture/design review and mentoring engineers on the team

How candidates describe it

Real Senior Software Development Engineer interview stories — retold from candidates' public write-ups, with sources.

Amazon · SDE I (New Grad, MS CS)Offer

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Interviewed October 2019 · Seattle, WA, US

Amazon · SDE I (New Grad)Offer

Amazon SDE 1 new grad interview: one OA, four back-to-back onsite rounds, offer

A fresher found the posting through a LinkedIn connection, cleared the OA within a week of applying, and faced a six-hour virtual onsite: four one-hour rounds where every behavioral answer drew three to four follow-up questions.

Interviewed January 2021 · Seattle, WA, US

Amazon · SDE INo offer

Amazon SDE I Interview Experience: Global Selling Team, 2022

A LinkedIn referral bypassed Amazon's usual online assessment for this SDE I candidate, who then worked through a telephonic DSA screen and two technical rounds pairing coding problems with Amazon Leadership Principles questions before receiving no further response.

Interviewed March 2022 · Not specified

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