Friday, April 19, 2024

Amazon Principal Technical Program Manager Interview Questions

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We Strive To Hire Top Talent At Amazon What Are Some Ways You Feel You Can Help Us Raise The Bar

Amazon Prep Video – Technical Program Manager (TPM)

    Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

    Amazon seeks candidates that bring a specific set of talents that will complement their team in such a way that the team is able to perform at a higher level after the candidate is hired. Interviewers who ask this question seek candidates with talents that are complimentary and in direct alignment with the needs of their team.

    Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

    Remember To

    Remember to highlight any applicable talents or behaviors you have that are unique or difficult to find in candidates. Offering value that sets you apart from other candidates could raise your chances of being hired. Also, consider any talents you have that are in direct alignment with the mission of Amazon or the specific Amazon group you are interviewing with.

    Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

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Amazon Tpm Interview Process

See this video by Deepti Rompally, a TPM turned SDM from Amazon.

How To Get A Call From Amazon

To begin with, you will need to get a Hiring Manager or Recruiter to reach out to you. Here are the various ways you can get a call from Amazon:

  • Referral: One of the best ways to get a call is to have someone internally refer you.
  • Apply Online: Apply for a few opportunities at . Generally, if you apply for 3-4 opportunities, there is a high likelihood you will get a call back in 2-3 weeks, if you have the right sort of experience and a decent resume.
  • Linkedin : Join the , where you can see TPM opportunities posted by Amazon HMs. This will give you a chance to reach out to these HMs directly.
  • Linkedin : Reach out to Amazon Recruiters on LinkedIn and politely introduce yourself. Ask them if there are any teams that could use a TPM like yourself.
  • Blind:Blind has always been an excellent place to find referrals on offer.
  • Resume: All the above methods are moot if you do not have a good resume. There is an entire section on the Ace The TPM Interview program which features topics like structuring your resume, the keywords you should and should not use, and examples of the best TPM resumes. Be sure to check it out.
  • Final Interview Remote Onsite

    The final interview had a total of 5 rounds and it was split into two days to accomodate my schedule.

    Round 1 Sr. Software Engineer : in this interview, I was asked to do a systems design for a particular application. It involved me coming up with various systems components, discussing tradeoffs, and talking about some algorithms.

    Round 2 Principal TPM: the interviewer asked a lot of specific questions to gage my understanding of product management.

    Round 3 Sr. Manager hiring manager : Interview with the hiring manager was delightful. She asked me on my culture fit and previous experience collaborating with various teams.

    Round 4 Sr. Manager : The other two rounds honestly felt repetitive as there were several questions that have been already asked previously. I honestly felt a little tired of my own answers.

    Round 5 Sr. TPM

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    Technical Program Manager: Amazon Phone Screen

    There are generally 2 to 3 phone screens.

    Phone Screen 1: Amazon TPM Recruiter Phone Screen Process & Questions

    The first phone screen is going to be from your Recruiter. The Recruiter is generally looking to get a sense of your experience and whether you would be a fit for the team and the organization. Remember that your Recruiter is your main point of contact throughout this process. Be nice to them

    At times, Recruiters do go over a list of softball questions.

    Here are some of the questions they might ask:

  • Tell me about yourself. What have you been doing for the past couple of years?
  • What are you looking for in your next opportunity?
  • What are some of the skill sets that you consider to be your strengths?
  • Where do you see yourself in five years? Are you looking for an IC role or a People Manager role?
  • Can you describe some of the programs you are currently leading?
  • Why Amazon? Why this team?
  • How do you generally go about making decisions at work?
  • Dos and Donts When Talking To The Recruiter At Amazon

    Questions You Should Ask The Amazon Recruiter

    It is really important that you, as a candidate, ask the right questions. This will help you as you go through the other rounds of interviews.

  • How big is the team?
  • What is the charter of the team?
  • How long has this position been open?
  • Is this a new role, or is it a backfill?
  • Can you tell me about the leadership style of the hiring manager?
  • What are the key tenets of the team?
  • Is the team geographically dispersed?
  • How To Answer Amazon Leadership Principle Questions

    Conceptual Marketing Corporation

    Amazonâs bar-raiser round evaluates your responses to behavioral questions and gauges if youâre the right fit for the role. The STAR method is a widely popularized method to answer behavioral interview questions at FAANG companies. The method fundamentally aims to frame responses based on real situations and incidents. Letâs look at it in slight detail:

    STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. While answering leadership principle questions, make sure you address each of these areas to craft the perfect response.

    • Situation: The Situation should answer the âWhen,â âWhy,â and âWhereâ of the response. When youâre asked a behavioral question, start off with the Situation before moving on to the other elements.
    • Task: The Task should throw light on what your particular role in the situation was. Highlight what your key responsibilities were and what was expected of you.
    • Action: The Action part should address what steps you took towards meeting the requirements of the task.
    • Result: The Result part should essentially answer the outcome of the task. This part should also talk about challenges encountered along the way and the actions taken to tackle them.

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    Example Amazon Bar Raiser Questions:

    • Tell me about a time you had to trust your gut when making a decision? Were you comfortable making that decision? How did it play out?
    • What do you do when you don’t have enough data?
    • How do you stay organized?
    • Tell me about the best customer experience you’ve shipped.
    • Do you regret any product decisions you made? Is there a product you worked on that you still think about how you could have improved?
    • If you had to cut one of Amazon’s products, what would it be?
    • Name a company Amazon should acquire.

    Salary Negotiations After A Job Offer

    Did you get a job offer and you want to maximize the compensation that you are being offered? If so, then you have 2 main ways:

  • Ask the help of a professional
  • Levels.fyi negotiation services: Chat with former tech recruiters whoâll guide you on exactly what to say to get you a higher offer
  • Levels.fyi: Find the salary band for your level in any tech company
  • 71 Brilliant Salary Negotiation Email Samples by Lewis Lin : Learn how to negotiate your salary with easy-to-use emal samples and phone scripts
  • You May Like: Front End Development Interview Questions

    How Does The Amazon Tpm Interview Process Work

    The Amazon TPM interview process is typically divided into the following stages.

    Recruiter Phone Screen

    First off, you will have a conversation with an Amazon recruiter over the phone. You can expect Amazon TPM phone interview questions addressing your area of expertise and professional background. These questions are mainly behavioral, like âhow would you handle a situation where â¦,â and the likes.

    TPM Phone Screen

    In this round, you can expect technical questions that test your ability to work as a TPM at Amazon. Recruiters check your technical eligibility for the post and decide if you should proceed with the on-site interviews through this screening.

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    Writing Exercise

    In several cases, you may also need to write an essay of one or two pages as a part of your preparation for on-site interviews. It can be on topics such as the most innovative project you have worked on or a time where you were able to simplify the lives of customers.

    This tests your written communication skills.

    On-site Interview

    Once you clear the phone screen rounds, youâll face 4-6 on-site interviews at one of Amazonâs premises. It includes both one-on-one interviews and panel discussions with the team or division you are applying for.

    You will speak to product managers, TPMs, software developers, software development managers, and the likes throughout the course of these interviews.

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    How Many Projects Do You Typically Manage Concurrently

    SDM/TPM Interview Systems Design

      Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

      Interviewers ask this question to get a sense of the scale of the programs a candidate has experience managing. The answer a candidate provides helps to determine if their experience is in alignment with the level of responsibility that is expected of the open program manager role at Amazon.

      Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

      Remember To

      Remember to provide high-level details regarding the number of resources that work on the project teams included within your answer. For example, a project manager responsible for one project with fifty individuals assigned might be comparable to a program manager responsible for five projects assigned to five smaller teams.

      Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

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    Discovery

    Read Also: How To Prepare For A Big Interview

    Faqs On Amazon And Tpm Role

    1. What is the average TPM salary at Amazon?

    The average TPM salary ranges between $135,000 and $150,000 annually, depending on experience. However, this is exclusive of around $45,000 cash bonus and $22,000 through a stock bonus annually. Your final offer will also greatly depend on how well you negotiate.

    2. What are Amazonâs employee benefits?

    Some of the premium employee benefits for TPMs at Amazon include â healthcare coverage parental leave financial benefits and other resources to improve health and well-being.

    How To Nail Your Next Tech Interview

    Amazon Technical Program Manager interviews are incredibly challenging. You can expect tricky questions specific to Amazon and other broader topics. However, you can certainly answer even the most difficult Amazon TPM interview questions with the right preparation. We have, therefore, prepared this ultimate guide to help you ace your TPM interview at this FAANG company.

    Having trained over 13,500 software engineers, we know what it takes to crack the toughest tech interviews. Since 2014, Interview Kickstart alums have been landing lucrative offers from FAANG and Tier-1 tech companies. The highest ever offer received by an IK alum is a whopping $1.2 Million!

    At IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from expert instructors who are hiring managers and tech leads at Google, Facebook, Apple, and other top Silicon Valley tech companies.

    Want to nail your next tech interview? Sign up for our FREE Webinar.

    In this article, weâll cover:

    • How Does the Amazon TPM Interview Process Work?
    • Amazon TPM Interview Questions
    • Amazon Senior TPM Interview Questions
    • 6 Key Tips to Crack Your Amazon TPM Interview
    • FAQs on Amazon TPM Interview Process

    Don’t Miss: How To Interview For A Product Manager Position

    Various Types Of Technical Program Managers

  • Front End: Web, iOS, Android.
  • Backend: API, SDK Platform.
  • Integration: PM who works with 3rd parties to integrate their APIs.
  • Business Intelligence: Big data, Hadoop, Machine learning, AI, etc.
  • ERP: Implementing Oracle EBS, SAP, SalesForce, Microsoft Dynamics, etc.
  • Localization: To take existing products/services to international markets.
  • Hardware: Chip Manufacturing. VMWare, Nvidia, Intel, etc
  • Data Center: With all the cloud stuff happening, there is a dearth for datacenter PMs.
  • Process : Lean, Six Sigma, Process optimization, Scrum/Agile Coach, PMO.
  • Launch /Release PMs Coordinating with 10 or 20 other PMs to get a Program to a launch.
  • GRC : Managing Risk, Governance, Compliance.
  • Operations: Stability, Scalability, Monitoring, Disaster Recovery, System Health.
  • UX/UI: Specialize in managing large UX teams to have a consistent story and feel within the product.
  • Of course, there possibly are many more and there are PM generalists as well. You should read the blog Being a Generalist vs Specialist TPM Advantages and Disadvantages. This will give you an idea of the path you should choose while pursuant your TPM career as well as while applying.

    Amazon Manager Job Description

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    The role of a manager for Amazon is crucial in ensuring the company continues to maintain its position as the number one online retailer in the world. Depending on the specific Amazon Manager role you are applying for, the following core responsibilities may form part of your everyday working life:

    • The requirement to manage, inspire and lead a team of people to ensure all task are completed to the highest standards possible
    • Conducting staff appraisal on a periodic basis to ensure all staff have the necessary training, skills and qualities to perform the duties correctly
    • Keeping up-to-date with Amazons operating procedures, company guidelines and protocol
    • Learning, understanding and making sure all of the 14 Amazon Leadership Principles are at the core of everything you do
    • Keeping the Area Manager updated on your team or departments performance in line with company goals
    • Attending management meetings and reporting on team performance
    • Motivate and lead your team to achieve Amazon targets and objectives
    • Use an innovative and concise approach to dealing with difficult situations to ensure Amazons operations run smoothly and in line with operational protocol
    • Achieve all target set by your Area Manager.

    To make sure you are fully prepared for your interview, we strongly recommend you download a copy of our 26 GREAT ANSWERS TO YOUR AMAZON MANAGER INTERVIEW!

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    Amazon Principal Technical Program Manager Interview Questions

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    744.7K

    Anonymous Interview Candidate in Seattle, WA

    I applied online. I interviewed at Amazon in Apr 2020

    Interview

    Anonymous Interview Candidate in San Jose, CA

    Application

    I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Amazon in Apr 2020

    Interview

    Amazon recruiter reached out on this position. initial screening with technical recruiter and he forwarded resume to this position and asked to work with another recruiter. She reached out and scheduled interview with Hiring Manager after a week. HIring manager grilled on my current background and situation/behavior based questions. And the experience was neutral and it looked to me that interviewer was kind of un-interested or as if the position is already closed.

    Your Customer Obsession Interviewer Will Be Looking For:

    • Did you evaluate the product from the lens of a user, not just a PM?
    • Did you propose creative, interesting ideas? Is your plan feasible?
    • When explaining how to improve a product, did you talk about the companyâs mission and goals and how the product fits in?
    • Did you have a plan to make sure that customer is satisfied? How will you measure this? Will this affect the roadmap?

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    Describe A Time When You Had To Sacrifice Quality Due To Budgetary Resource Or Time Constraints

      Why the Interviewer Asks This Question

      Interviewers at Amazon understand constraints and the need to make concessions when delivering program or project-level solutions. They ask this question to determine how a candidate ensures that the sacrifices made are intelligently selected based on need and value.

      Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

      Remember To

      Remember to include the details of how you supported a client or your stakeholders through a difficult situation due to constraints. Interviewers understand that the outcome of the situation was less than optimal, but are interested in hiring candidates that add value and offer excellent customer service even when options are limited.

      Written by Karrie Day on September 30th, 2022

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    Situational

    General Tips & Tools For Tpms When You Look For Opportunities

    The TPM Interview vs the PM-T Including the Tech Bar

    Network & Referrals: Its a good to start networking go to meetups, talk to people about the tools, process and the technology they use. Having a referral most definitely helps you stand out from the crowd. A great way to get a referral is to reach out to hiring Mangers directly. , join the group and start reaching out to hiring managers. Another way is to reach out to your family and friends and ask them if they know people who can refer you, it never hurts to ask.

    LinkedIn Premium: Gives you some insight to the people applying to the opportunity. It also gives you the breakdown on the number of people and their background. It may be pricy but its worth a shot to get an edge over your competition.

    Another interesting this is that with LinkedIn Premium you get access to that is a decent resource. Having a good LinkedIn profile also helps. Dont take this lightly.

    Indeed.com

    Indeed.com is a great place to look for jobs as well.

    Resume

    You need to have kick-ass Resume! I have a whole post on how TPMs should structure their resumes here. Remember a resume is what gets you through the door and it is what represents you. Put in the effort to make it standout.

    Certifications: You can read how I feel about certifications in general here. I believe having the PMP and Scrum certification is good and almost necessary if you are starting out, if you have been around for a while it might not help a lot.

    Salary Asks & Negotiation For A Technical Program Manager

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