The Top AWS Tech U Interview Questions You Need To Know

Getting hired by AWS for the Tech U program is no easy feat. The interview process is notoriously rigorous, testing both your technical skills and behavioral traits. As someone who has gone through the process myself, I wanted to share some of the most common AWS Tech U interview questions I encountered to help prepare future candidates.

I’ll provide tips on how to answer both technical and behavioral questions along with examples based on my own experience interviewing with AWS. This inside knowledge will give you a huge leg up on the competition.

Overview of the AWS Tech U Interview Format

The AWS Tech U interview is a multi-stage process, typically involving:

• A 30-60 minute preliminary phone screen focused on technical skills
• A 5 hour onsite loop interview covering technical and behavioral skills

You’ll speak with 4-5 interviewers in rapid succession during the loop interview, so endurance and stamina are key.

Now, let’s dive into the nitty gritty of the actual interview questions.

Technical AWS Tech U Interview Questions

The technical questions aim to validate your hands-on knowledge of key concepts like networking, operating systems, and databases. Expect rapid-fire questions testing the full breadth of your technical abilities.

Here are some examples of common technical questions:

• **Explain DNS and how it works.**DNS (Domain Name System) is a hierarchical decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet. It translates domain names into IP addresses needed for locating and identifying computer services and devices. DNS servers store DNS records containing mappings between domain names and IP addresses which are used to route traffic across the Internet.

• Compare relational and non-relational databases. Relational databases are structured and have predefined schemas. Data is stored in tables with rows and columns. Relationships can be defined between tables. Non-relational databases are unstructured, distributed, and have a dynamic schema. Data is stored in JSON, document, key-value or graph formats. Non-relational databases are more scalable while relational databases allow for more complex queries.

• Explain load balancing. Load balancing distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers or compute resources. This allows for higher availability, increased capacity, and improved performance. Load balancers can use different algorithms to determine how to distribute requests like round-robin, least connections, source IP hashing etc. Load balancers also regularly health check connected resources to ensure traffic is not routed to unhealthy hosts.

• How does IPsec work? IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) is a framework for securing IP communications at the network layer. It uses cryptographic security protocols to authenticate and encrypt data packets between participating devices. This prevents eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery. IPsec includes protocols like IKE for key exchange, AH for integrity, and ESP for encryption/confidentiality. Tunnel and transport modes are used to apply IPsec to packet flows.

Behavioral AWS Tech U Interview Questions

AWS behavioral questions focus on the Leadership Principles and use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Here are some common behavioral interview questions and how to construct STAR responses:

• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer.

Situation: I was working as a software engineer at a previous company.

Task: We discovered a major software bug in a customer-facing product after it had already been released.

Action: I volunteered to work overtime nights and weekends, testing and releasing a hotfix patch to resolve the issue quickly.

Result: The customer was very grateful we prioritized their problem, which improved our working relationship.

• Give an example of how you improved a process.

Situation: At my last job, we had a manual testing process that was becoming inefficient as the product grew.

Task: It was my responsibility to help optimize and streamline the testing process.

Action: I automated our test suite and implemented continuous integration allowing tests to run on every code change.

Result: We accelerated our testing velocity 5x while reducing human effort.

Questions to Ask the Interviewer

At the end of your AWS interviews, you’ll have a chance to ask questions. Prepare 2-3 thoughtful questions beforehand that show your interest in the role and the company.

Some good questions to consider:

• What are the most important skills for someone to develop in their first 6 months in this role?
• How would you describe the work culture on your team?
• What opportunities are there for professional development and growth?
• What do you enjoy most about working for AWS?

How to Prepare for the AWS Tech U Interview

With hardcore preparation, the AWS Tech U interview is very conquerable. Here are my top tips for getting ready:

• Study the Leadership Principles – Know them inside and out. Have stories ready linking your past work to each principle.

• Practice STAR responses – Get comfortable articulating Situation-Task-Action-Result answers. Say your stories out loud.

• Refresh technical knowledge – Review core CS fundamentals like OS, networking, security, distributed systems etc.

• Do mock interviews – Interview practice helps calibrate your performance and timing.

• Research AWS products – Know the key services and use cases so you can speak intelligently.

• Review job description – Understand the role and your motivations for wanting it.

If you prepare systematically and diligently, you can walk into that AWS interview with confidence. Now you have an inside look at the questions they’ll ask and how to nail your responses. With these AWS Tech U interview tips, you’ll be ready to land your dream job.