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Amazon·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate
May 2026

Summary

Three coding problems at Amazon for a software engineer role. Nothing too wild but the tree one had a subtle edge case that I fumbled a bit, and the third problem took me longer to see the right approach than I'd like to admit.

Questions Asked (3)

Q1

Given n distinct students with unique IDs, return all possible ways to arrange them in a line. Follow-up: return all distinct circular arrangements, where rotations count as the same.

Algorithms & Data Structures
Author's notes

The linear part is just generating all permutations, pretty standard.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying that the problem is about generating all permutations of n distinct elements, which can be solved with backtracking in O(n!) time. For the follow-up, explain that circular arrangements are (n-1)! because fixing one element eliminates rotational duplicates. Then discuss implementation details, complexity, and potential optimizations.

Pro tip: Mention that for large n, generating all permutations is impractical, so you'd discuss trade-offs or use an iterator/generator to avoid memory blowup. Also, for circular arrangements, emphasize the mathematical insight that fixing one element reduces the problem to permutations of the remaining n-1 elements.

1. Clarify the problem

Confirm that students are distinct and that 'all possible ways' means all permutations. For the follow-up, clarify that rotations are considered the same, but reflections are not (unless specified).

2. Outline the approach

For linear arrangements, use backtracking (swap-based or used-array) to generate all n! permutations. For circular, fix one student at a reference point and permute the remaining n-1 students, yielding (n-1)! arrangements.

3. Analyze complexity

State that time complexity is O(n!) for linear and O((n-1)!) for circular, with space complexity O(n) for recursion depth (excluding output storage).

4. Discuss implementation details

Explain how to avoid duplicates (though elements are distinct, so none) and how to handle the circular case by fixing the first element. Mention iterative vs recursive approaches.

5. Consider edge cases and optimizations

Handle n=0 or n=1. For large n, discuss that generating all permutations is infeasible and suggest using generators or lazy evaluation to save memory.

Key Points to Mention

  • Permutations of n distinct elements: n!
  • Circular permutations: (n-1)! by fixing one element
  • Backtracking algorithm with swapping or used array
  • Time and space complexity analysis
  • Handling edge cases (n=0, n=1)
  • Memory considerations for large n and use of generators

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.

Q2

Given a binary tree and two target nodes, classify their relationship: return 'siblings' if they share a parent, 'cousins' if they're at the same depth with different parents, or 'others' in all remaining cases including if either node is missing from the tree.

Algorithms & Data Structures
Author's notes

I jumped straight to BFS tracking depth and parent, which is the right move.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Use a single traversal (BFS or DFS) to record each target node's parent and depth, then compare these attributes to classify the relationship. Handle edge cases like missing nodes or the same node by returning 'others'.

Pro tip: Clarify upfront whether the two target nodes can be the same node or if the tree can be empty, as this affects the classification and shows attention to detail. Also, mention that a single traversal is more efficient than two separate searches.

1. Clarify assumptions and edge cases

Ask if the tree can be empty, if the two nodes can be the same, and if node values are unique. This ensures you handle all scenarios correctly.

2. Choose traversal strategy

Decide between BFS (level-order) or DFS (pre-order) to find both nodes. BFS naturally tracks depth, while DFS can pass depth and parent as parameters.

3. Record parent and depth for each target

During traversal, when you encounter a target node, store its parent node and its depth. If a node is not found, mark it as missing.

4. Compare attributes and classify

If either node is missing, return 'others'. If parents are the same, return 'siblings'. If depths are equal but parents differ, return 'cousins'. Otherwise, return 'others'.

5. Analyze complexity and test

State time complexity O(n) and space complexity O(n) in worst case. Walk through examples like siblings, cousins, and missing nodes to verify.

Key Points to Mention

  • Single traversal to find both nodes efficiently
  • Tracking parent and depth for each target node
  • Handling missing nodes by returning 'others'
  • Edge case: same node should return 'others'
  • Time and space complexity analysis
  • Choice between BFS and DFS and its implications

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.

Q3

Given an unsorted integer array and a positive integer k, find the longest subsequence of strictly increasing distinct values where every consecutive pair differs by less than k.

Algorithms & Data Structures
Author's notes

This one took me a minute to even parse correctly.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Clarify that the subsequence must preserve the original order, then reduce the problem to finding the longest path in a DAG where edges connect earlier elements to later elements with value difference < k. Use dynamic programming with a Fenwick tree or segment tree over compressed values to efficiently query the best previous subsequence ending with a value in (v-k, v+k).

Pro tip: Emphasize that the 'distinct values' constraint means you can safely ignore duplicates when building the DP, and mention that the Fenwick tree approach achieves O(n log n) time, which is optimal for this problem.

1. Clarify the problem

Confirm that the subsequence must maintain the original order, values must be strictly increasing and distinct, and each consecutive pair must differ by less than k. Ask about constraints on n and value range.

2. Define DP state

Let dp[i] be the length of the longest valid subsequence ending at index i. The recurrence is dp[i] = 1 + max{ dp[j] | j < i, arr[j] < arr[i], arr[i] - arr[j] < k }.

3. Optimize with data structure

Since we need max dp[j] over a value range (arr[i]-k, arr[i]), use a Fenwick tree (BIT) or segment tree indexed by compressed values to query and update in O(log n).

4. Handle duplicates and order

Process elements left to right. For duplicates, since values must be distinct, we can either skip duplicates or ensure we only update after querying to avoid using the same value twice.

5. Analyze complexity

Time complexity is O(n log n) due to sorting/compression and O(log n) per element. Space complexity is O(n) for the DP array and Fenwick tree.

Key Points to Mention

  • Subsequence vs. subarray: order matters but elements need not be contiguous.
  • Dynamic programming recurrence and the need for range maximum query.
  • Coordinate compression to map values to indices for Fenwick tree.
  • Fenwick tree (BIT) for efficient prefix maximum queries.
  • Handling duplicates to enforce distinct values.
  • Time and space complexity analysis: O(n log n) time, O(n) space.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.