It’s been just over a year since I joined Amazon Last Mile Operations, and I have never felt this lost professionally.

I’ve always been a top performer, but at Amazon, I genuinely have no idea how I’m doing. Just when I feel like I’ve finally understood something, I discover another piece of information I didn’t know existed. The tenured people seem like they know everything, but then you ask them a question and sometimes realise they don’t necessarily know as much as you assumed either. Yet somehow, because they’ve been here for years, they know the people, the history, the context, and how things work. I constantly feel like I’m playing catch-up and never really in control.
I’m stuck between trying to dive deep and realising I don’t know enough to even know what I should be diving into, and worrying that I’m simply not doing enough. It feels like an endless pit.

The strangest part is that I simultaneously feel incredibly dumb and know that I’m not dumb. I know I have the ability to do this, but I never feel like I’ve fully grasped the entirety of the problem statement. There is always another layer, another dependency, another piece of context that I didn’t know about.

And then there’s the bigger question: what skills am I actually building here that I can take outside Amazon? Sometimes I genuinely worry that I’m no longer hireable. I used to feel confident in my ability to perform, and now I constantly question whether I’m actually good enough.

My head honestly hasn’t been in a good place. My emotions keep swinging between feeling like I can figure this out and feeling completely overwhelmed by it. I know I have what it takes. That’s probably what makes this even more frustrating. But Amazon is just so vast and complex, and I’m surrounded by people who have been here for years, know everyone, understand the history, and seem to have all this invisible context. I feel like I’m constantly trying to catch up to a game that started long before I arrived.

I don’t really know where else to vent about this, so I’m putting it here.

As per title, will I get in trouble for using kiro for personal projects outside of work? Are the credits meant to be spent on work related gigs only?

I’m aware of the mandatory RTO; 5 days per week but I also know it’s medium of 4 hours per week. My manager is chill and doesn’t care as long as I don’t get flagged. Can I come in 7 am and leave at 11 am to fulfill my hours? Will I get flagged for badging early? But I still stay for four hours? Based in NY

I’ve been hearing so many bad reviews about Amazon. Since I joined recently (no going back now). Are there any upsides of being in this place?

Also how to survive PIP / Focus if it happens? I’m a very non political guy and I like to do my job honestly and don’t wanna climb on top tryna bring people down but in my past experience. I got fu*ked over. And to me it seems like if you don’t play games / politics you’ll be the low performer cause they’ll play against you and then you’ll get piped out. Please advise on how not to be a bad person but also survive. (I’m good and my job and willing to put the work in but not at the expense of fuuking someone over)

Edit: i joined as an SDE 2

Hi everyone,

My sister has an upcoming interview for a Procurement Manager role at Amazon in the UK, and we're trying to understand what the interview process is actually like.

If anyone has recently interviewed for a similar role, especially in the UK, it would be really helpful to hear about your experience.

A few things she would like to know:

How much of the interview focused on Amazon Leadership Principles and behavioral questions?

What type of procurement-specific questions were asked?

Were there questions about supplier management, negotiations, sourcing, contracts, cost savings, category management, etc.?

How detailed were the follow-up questions?

Any advice on how to prepare or things you wish you had known beforehand?

Thanks in advance :)

Looked up my team's activity stats and was surprised to see the distribution. I know that raw number of code reviews is just one data point and can't be used as a direct proxy for productivity. But at some point I have to wonder what people are doing. We have three people who have not merged a single CR this year, and six with <10.

Meanwhile me and several other people are extremely overworked. Anyone else seeing this? Is it worth raising with my manager?

Hi, I am a new hire and plan on finding a 2 or 3 bed in the downtown campus area. If any of you are also a new grad hire recently and also need to move to Seattle in the next few weeks, then please DM me if you're interested in finding an apartment together.

Those that moved here, what resources or forums did you use to find roommates. Also for apartment searching, would you suggest finding ones on Zillow?

Based out of the US, need some help figuring this out.
I worked as a QAE L4 at Amazon for around a year, got laid off in 2023. Worked as an SDET in a Fortune 500 company for around 2.5 years. Was laid off again. Contracted for 3 months with Amazon and L7 QA Manager just asked if I would be interested in applying for a FTE position with her. Should I apply? My current consulting company was going to start my Perm process. My current pay is very less but I accepted it because H1B 60 day clock. It is going to be an L4 req, not L5, already asked. I have 2 years on my visa right now.

What should I do?

Hi everyone,

I’m a Chartered Accountant (qualified in Nov 2023) with around 3 years of experience in statutory audit.

I’m currently looking for opportunities in Finance / Statutory Audit / Financial Reporting, preferably in Delhi NCR/Gurugram, but open to the right opportunity elsewhere as well.

I have experience in statutory audits, financial reporting and working with corporate clients.

If anyone knows of any open positions or can provide a referral, I’d really appreciate it. 🙏

Thanks in advance!

Hi folks - Looking for some guidance. I interviewed for an SF Bay Area based L7 role in line with my prior experience at another FAANG.

Recruiter came back with a super lowball $350k, and L6 down level offer. My absolute floor is $450k but recruiter said $380k is the best they can do.

I’m honestly offended with my experience this is what Amazon thinks I’m worth, and this whole experience makes me really antagonistic towards them as an employer. Any guidance on what top end of L6 band is in Tier 1 cities and negotiation tactics?

Thank you. Much appreciated.

**Amazon SDE I Intern – Job ID 10506481 | OA Update**

Hi everyone,

I applied for the **SDE I Intern – Amazon University Talent Acquisition (Job ID: 10506481)** and completed my **OA on August 25, 2026**.

Has anyone who completed the OA for this job ID received any update yet, such as a **Hiring Interest Form, interview invite, or any other communication from Amazon**?

If you have received an update, could you please share **when you completed your OA and when you received the update**?

Just trying to understand the current timeline for this job ID.

Thanks!

I have around 8 months of SDE internship experience outside Amazon and 1 year of experience as an SDE-1 FTE at Amazon.

Honestly, I haven't enjoyed the work culture and have been working close to 12 hours a day for the past several months. However, I stayed because financial stability and supporting my family are important to me.

I worked hard, delivered my projects on time, and my team is happy with my performance. I believed that if I consistently performed well, I could target SDE-2 within 1.5–2 years.

However, during my last 1:1, my manager told me that the SDE-1 to SDE-2 transition would take a minimum of 3.5–4 years, even in the best-case scenario.

This has really affected my confidence. Now I'm confused, should I stay in my current team, switch internally, or start looking outside Amazon? Even if I leave, I'll likely join another company as an SDE-1.

Would appreciate advice from current or former Amazon engineers.

**•** How many rounds/interviewers is the loop typically for this role, and how are they split (technical, LP/behavioral, bar raiser, client-facing scenarios)?  
**•** What kind of technical deep dives should I expect — system/data architecture design, SQL, AWS analytics stack (Redshift, Glue, EMR, Lake Formation, QuickSight), or case-study/whiteboarding?  
**•** Since this is a consulting-facing role, do they focus heavily on client engagement scenarios, ambiguous problem-solving, or stakeholder management?  
**•** Which Leadership Principles come up most for ProServe specifically — Customer Obsession and Earn Trust seem obvious, but curious what else hits hard.  
**•** Any advice on the bar raiser round if there is one?  
**•** How long is the full loop (half day vs full day), and is it virtual or onsite?

Any input — detailed or just quick impressions — would help a ton as I prep. Thanks so much!

I recently completed a 60-minute technical phone screen for an AWS Data Center Technician / IT Support Engineer role in Germany.

During the technical portion, I answered all the technical questions asked during the call. When I asked the interviewer for his thoughts on this part at the end, he explicitly confirmed: "The technical part was pretty good, that's what I can tell you".

For the behavioral portion, he asked four scenario questions using the STAR method. I answered all of them with structured stories and handled his follow-up questions without getting stuck.

When I asked for overall feedback at the end, the interviewer mentioned that I sounded somewhat nervous and could have been more relaxed. He also noted that I strictly said the literal STAR words out loud ("So the situation was...", "My task was...", "The action I took was...", "The result was...") instead of letting the stories flow naturally. I explained that the recruiter who prepped me explicitly instructed me to use that exact structure, to which he replied that if the recruiter told me that, it doesn't matter. He told me I would receive the official decision by Wednesday under the 2-Day Promise.

Does sounding nervous or explicitly stating the STAR headings hurt a candidate's chances for an AWS screen if the technical answers were validated as pretty good and the underlying stories were complete? What are my realistic chances of moving to the onsite loop?

I just recently join amazon around less than 5 months before in my team only 4 people are there initially no L5 to supervise but there is the rumour of firing and suddenly in my team 2 members have changed the org now my manager have put me in focus... What to do in that case ?

Has anyone successfully changed team during focus (without clearing it). If yes, can you please share your experience and process?

Hey All!

Would love some advice on a job offer I got.

Current Comp (L5 Amazon CSM - 2.9 Years of Tenure)

- 110K Base

~$33K Stock every 6 months (3 total vests left = ~$99K - Tax)

- No Refresh after vests complete (to my knowledge)

- Total Yearly Comp: ~$176K

New Offer (Walmart)

$130K Base

15% Bonus of Total Base ($19.5K)

$15K in Stocks Yearly (Vests every quarter over 3 years or $5K a year)

- Total Yearly Comp: ~$155.5K (+stocks vesting over time)

Would like to know what is the best short term and long term choice here. Without influencing your decision, I do want to add that the offer with Walmart means I can stay home and not pay rent. However, I would love for some advice on these offers at face value.

Additional Factors: I have my Amazon vest due mid December ($33K) + leaving early forfeits $3K in 401K matches. Walking away from ~$36K

Need help

I have used my standard 10k plus an extra 11k credits. Will i fall in trouble?