The Amazon 2024 UX Interview Guide, from interns — Sr designers.
Read about all the insights updated for 2024 on Amazon Interview Prep!
Who often gets interviews?
UXGO has helped over 20+ members land their Amazon offer from 2021–2024. It’s also the main reason why many students first learn about UXGO.
We help our members through various guides & courses we have released. So, today let us take a look at this ultimate overview and data break down for 2024 regardless of your level, or background, for Amazon UX Interviews!
UXGO internal reference index:
During 2021–2023: 16 interviews progressed to 11. (Campus Recruitment + Social Recruitment)
During 2023–2024: 4 progressed to 2. Currently, Amazon’s main issue is giving many lowball offers, and often the interview loop ends halfway through. However, we still recommend Amazon as a company to interview with. Amazon treats most candidates seriously and is willing to move fast, which is why as long as you prepare well, Amazon is a great big tech company to start with.
Content to prepare for the interview:
The internship level is very simple, most end the battle in 90–120 minutes. You can learn more in our past articles or from our video here.
NG is a bit harder — 5 rounds of loop, the same format as mid/sr loops. (Prepare everything from BQ, Deck, Whiteboard & Onsite)
We call this the onsite (final round 4 — 5 back-to-back interviews, where the whiteboard happens).
For Sr UXD — Which is more difficult? It’s likely that after interviewing for sr L6, you’ll be offered L5 mid.
Break down of Amazon UX leveling:
L4: Intern/New Graduate (0–2 Years of Experience) This level is typically for those who are just starting their careers or have recently graduated. The focus at this level is on understanding the candidate’s potential to grow and adapt to Amazon’s dynamic work environment.
L5: Mid-Level (2–6 Years of Experience) At this level, candidates with mid-level experience are evaluated. It’s important to note that many seniors with more experience might get down leveled to L5 at Amazon. The evaluation at this level is more rigorous, assessing not just technical skills but also the ability to handle complex projects.
L6: Senior (5–10 Years of Experience) Senior level is for those with substantial experience, often involving leadership or specialized expertise. It’s noteworthy that individuals in staff or design lead positions from other companies could be down-leveled to senior positions at Amazon. The interview process at this level is quite comprehensive, focusing on a candidate’s leadership abilities, technical depth, and strategic thinking.
Next Level: Principal Beyond L6, the next level is the Principal UX Designer, but it’s important to recognize that Amazon has only around 100–200 Principal UX Designers. This makes it a very rare and high-level title within the company. Attaining this level indicates a significant achievement and recognition of expertise and leadership in the field.
The hardest part of the interview in 2024:
As always the LP flexible application in BQ interviews, aka knowing which question tests which LP aspect, is still the core at Amazon.
So to prepare for Amazon specifically in 2024: BQ, BQ, BQ.
Try two here:
- Why do you want to work at Amazon? (Believe it or not many folks stumble on this one, and simply say, well I just want to work at a big tech company — very bad answer)
- How do you balance business needs & user needs? (Hard question for many folks who lack cross-team experience)
If you’re not well-prepared for BQ at Amazon, it’s a big GG. (Game over)
(Those interested in how to specifically prepare for BQ are welcome to read past articles from us.)
How good is the final offer:
First of all, as long as you interview well and are not down-leveled, Amazon’s salary is impressive, just like any FAANG company’s salary.
The TC range for L4 NG is 140k for, for L5 mid is 240k, for L6 Sr is 300K+
(Locations will adjust the TC)
How stressful is the job?:
Actually, there’s not much pressure at work, since you won’t be PIPed. (Despite the common myths)
The only thing is depending on your team, it may be hard to get a promotion at Amazon. So if you believe the hiring manager's promise of a 1year promotion after being down-leveled from Amazon l6 -sr to l5, you may be caught off guard if things do not pan out the way you want.
