Preparation for Amazon Web Services requires a balanced approach. You must be technically proficient in low-level programming while being able to articulate your decision-making process through the lens of Amazon's culture.

Role-related knowledge – You must demonstrate deep fluency in C/C++, kernel-level programming, and hardware protocols like I2C, SPI, or PCIe. Expect to be tested on your ability to read schematics and understand the physical constraints of server hardware.

Problem-solving ability – Interviewers care more about your thought process than the final answer. When presented with a technical problem, vocalize your assumptions, structure your approach, and be prepared to iterate based on feedback or new constraints.

Leadership – Even in engineering-heavy roles, Amazon looks for ownership. Demonstrate how you take responsibility for your code beyond just "making it work," focusing on testing, reliability, and long-term maintainability.

Culture fit / values – Familiarize yourself with the 16 Leadership Principles. You will be asked to provide specific examples of your past work that map to values like Dive Deep, Deliver Results, and Earn Trust.

The interview process at Amazon Web Services is rigorous and highly structured. You should expect an initial screening—often conducted via Chime or Zoom—which sets the tone for the technical depth of the subsequent rounds. The process is designed to evaluate your technical competency, your ability to handle feedback in real-time, and your alignment with the company’s operating philosophy.

The pace is fast, and the bar is high. You will likely face a series of technical interviews focusing on coding, system design, and behavioral scenarios. Do not be surprised if an interviewer provides a hint or pushes back on your solution; this is a deliberate tactic to see how you collaborate and adapt when faced with new information.

The timeline above illustrates a typical path, starting with a recruiter screen and progressing through multiple technical rounds. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you have ample time to review both your low-level programming fundamentals and your behavioral stories.

Firmware & Hardware Interaction

This is the core of the role. You are evaluated on your ability to write code that interacts directly with hardware.

Be ready to go over:

• Register-level programming – Understanding how to manipulate hardware via memory-mapped I/O.
• Device drivers – Familiarity with Linux kernel drivers or bare-metal driver development.
• Hardware protocols – Deep knowledge of I2C, SPI, UART, and PCIe.

Example scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you would initialize a device over I2C."
• "How do you handle hardware state changes in your firmware?"

Coding Rigor

Amazon expects code that is not just functional but also robust and readable.

Be ready to go over:

• Memory management – Avoiding leaks and managing buffers in constrained systems.
• Concurrency – Handling race conditions and synchronization in multi-threaded firmware.
• Code reviews – Be prepared to explain how you would review someone else's code for safety and efficiency.

Example scenarios:

• "Your code works, but it's not thread-safe. How would you fix it?"
• "How do you ensure your code handles malformed input from the hardware?"

As an Embedded Engineer at Annapurna Labs, your daily work centers on the lifecycle of server hardware. You will be responsible for developing and maintaining the BMC and SMC software that controls our Machine Learning accelerators. This is not a research role; it is a product engineering role.

You will collaborate extensively with board design teams, manufacturing teams, and software groups. Your day-to-day might involve writing exercisers for manufacturing, performing board bringup in the lab, or debugging firmware issues that only appear under specific thermal or electrical conditions. You are the final line of defense in ensuring our hardware fleet is reliable, manageable, and ready for customer workloads.

A strong candidate for this position demonstrates a blend of deep technical skill and the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

• Must-have skills – 3+ years of professional software development experience, deep proficiency in C/C++, and experience in low-level architecture or firmware design.
• Nice-to-have skills – Experience with Linux kernel development, knowledge of server management standards (like IPMI or Redfish), and exposure to hardware lab environments.
• Soft skills – Strong communication, the ability to document complex systems clearly, and a proactive approach to mentorship and code reviews.

Q: How technical are the behavioral questions? A: They are not technical in content, but they are evaluated based on your ability to solve problems. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to keep your answers structured and impactful.

Q: What if I have never worked with BMCs specifically? A: Amazon values transferable skills. Focus on your experience with low-level systems, driver development, or any role where you had to bridge the gap between software and physical hardware.

Q: Is there a lot of travel? A: While primarily based in your office location, roles in Annapurna Labs may occasionally require lab-based testing or collaboration with offsite manufacturing teams.

• Own your mistakes: If you encounter a problem during a live coding session, stay calm. Acknowledge the issue, explain why it happened, and propose a fix. This demonstrates maturity.
• Master the Leadership Principles: Do not just memorize them. Have two or three stories from your career that you can adapt to different principles.
• Prepare for "Dive Deep": Expect follow-up questions. If you say you implemented a feature, be ready to explain the low-level details of how it interacted with the hardware.

The Embedded Engineer role at Amazon Web Services is a challenging, high-visibility position that serves as the backbone of our cloud hardware strategy. Success in this interview process requires a disciplined focus on both your technical firmware expertise and your ability to demonstrate ownership and problem-solving through the lens of the Amazon Leadership Principles.

Preparation is your greatest asset. Use the insights provided here to simulate the interview environment, refine your technical communication, and ensure your past experiences are framed in a way that highlights your impact. You have the potential to contribute to the technology that powers the world’s most advanced cloud platform—stay focused, stay curious, and prepare with purpose.