Amazon Leadership Principles (question bank, answers, prep)

To land any role at Amazon, you need to ace the Leadership Principles interview. Technical skill is only half the battle when applying to Amazon. You need to demonstrate these values through strong, structured storytelling to secure an offer.

That’s why we’ve made this guide. In here, we define what the Amazon Leadership Principles are, show you example questions and some sample answers, an effective answer method to structure your stories, plus tips and insights from coaches who’ve interviewed for Amazon.

Here’s an overview of what we’ll cover:

• What are the Amazon Leadership Principles?
• Amazon Leadership Principles question bank 
  • Top 5
  • Per LP
  • Per role (PM, SDE, SDM, TPM, PgM, DS)
• How to answer Amazon Leadership Principles questions 
• Amazon Leadership Principles interview tips
• How to prepare for your Amazon Leadership Principles interview

Click here to practice 1-on-1 with ex-Amazon interviewers

Download the Amazon Leadership Principles question bank in PDF

1. What are the Amazon Leadership Principles?↑

Amazon's Leadership Principles encapsulate the core values and behaviors that guide decision-making and actions across the company. Each principle emphasizes different aspects of Amazon's culture, from prioritizing customer needs to fostering innovation, maintaining high standards, and acting with urgency and integrity.

The idea is that these principles serve as a common language and framework for Amazonians to align their work and behaviors with the company's long-term vision and goals. As you might have guessed, candidates need to be very familiar with them!

Now let’s dig deeper into each Amazon Leadership Principle, with some example questions and a few tips from our Amazon interview coaches. If you’d like to get a comprehensive list of questions, feel free to skip straight to the question bank or download the Amazon Leadership Principles question bank in PDF.

Amazon's 16 Leadership Principles:

1. Customer Obsession
2. Ownership
3. Bias for Action
4. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
5. Invent and Simplify
6. Dive Deep
7. Are Right, A Lot
8. Deliver Results
9. Think Big
10. Hire and Develop the Best
11. Frugality
12. Learn and Be Curious
13. Insist on the Highest Standards
14. Earn Trust
15. Strive to be Earth's Best Employer
16. Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

1.1 Amazon Leadership Principle: Customer Obsession↑

“Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.”

‘Customer obsession’ is the top LP that every Amazon candidate needs to demonstrate. 

Your interviewers want to know how well you understand the consequences that every decision has on customer experience. You also need to demonstrate empathy for your customer, how well you know them, and their underlying needs.

When answering Customer Obsession questions, Amazon interviewer Bilwasiva says you should begin by explaining the importance of this LP to Amazon, to show how well you understand and agree with the principle. 

When telling your story, Bilwasiva advises: “Highlight your commitment to understanding and addressing customer pain points." Discuss specific initiatives or projects where you've gone above and beyond to deliver exceptional customer experiences, highlighting the outcomes and impact.

1.2 Amazon Leadership Principle: Ownership↑

“Leaders are owners. They think long-term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results. They act on behalf of the entire company, beyond just their own team. They never say 'That’s not my job.'"

To demonstrate ownership, you’ll want to prove that you're the type to take initiative when you see a task that needs to be done. You'll also need to show how you can make tough decisions and accept responsibility for your mistakes.

To prepare answers for the Ownership LP, ex-Amazon interviewer Dessy advises talking about a product or feature that you owned from end-to-end in your previous role.

Additionally, show how you demonstrated this leadership principle by talking about "how you go to extreme distance to follow through on your projects and do whatever it takes to deliver" even when working cross-functionally or with other stakeholders. An example she gives is taking the initiative to escalate issues to the other team's leadership if necessary.

1.3 Amazon Leadership Principle: Bias for Action↑

“Bias for Action — Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk-taking.”

Amazon likes to learn by doing, with an eye on results over user projections and research.  This is part of what helps them act quickly and ship their products to customers as fast as they do. 

To show your alignment with this LP, you’ll need to demonstrate your ability to take calculated risks to move things forward.

"Provide examples of how you've taken calculated risks to achieve desired outcomes, demonstrating your ability to navigate ambiguity and drive results in a fast-paced environment,”  Bilwasiva says.

Show you prioritize action and drive momentum in your work and highlight instances where you've made decisions quickly and firmly. 

Also, emphasize the importance of learning from failures and iterating on ideas to continuously improve and move forward. This will also cover another leadership principle: Learn and be curious.

1.4 Amazon Leadership Principle: Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit↑

"Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.”

Any group of smart leaders will disagree at some point. Your interviewer will want to see that you know when to challenge ideas and escalate problems to senior leadership if necessary. 

At the same time, they want to know that you can sense the right time to move forward and deliver wholeheartedly regardless of your disagreement. Show that you’re capable of striking that balance.

For this LP, prepare an example where you were able to deliver successfully on a project even though you had voiced your disagreement earlier in the process.

“Show that you understand the pros and cons of a certain decision, that even though you don't 100% agree, you can still see the merit of the decision," says Dessy.

1.5 Amazon Leadership Principle: Invent and Simplify↑

"Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify. They are externally aware, look for new ideas from everywhere, and are not limited by 'not invented here.' Because we do new things, we accept that we may be misunderstood for long periods of time.”

Dessy explained to us that teams at Amazon operate relatively independently, almost like their own start-ups. This is because, despite its vast size, Amazon likes to move quickly and launch things fast.

Related to this is the fact that engineering resources are always limited, so products are launched at minimum viability. Interviewers want to know that you can respond and even thrive under these limitations.

To demonstrate this LP, Dessy says that you can prepare two kinds of stories: coming up with a minimum viable product (MVP) or phase one of a long-term project, or coming up with innovative, alternative solutions instead of building a feature that requires engineering resources.

An example she cites for the second one is using a Google form instead of building your own registration form, or changing the standard operating procedure instead of building a separate feature. This could also cover another leadership principle, Frugality.

1.6 Amazon Leadership Principle: Dive Deep↑

"Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, audit frequently, and are skeptical when metrics and anecdotes differ. No task is beneath them.”

Amazon wants candidates who have a bias for action, but also enjoy diving deep into complex problems. These LPs might strike you as two opposing ends of the spectrum, but what Amazon is really on the lookout for is if you can strike the perfect balance between the two.

Bilwasiva says your answer to this LP interview question should highlight your ability to analyze complex problems with examples of how you've conducted thorough research, gathered data, and delved into root causes to understand underlying issues.

Focus on showcasing your attention to detail, your willingness to dig deeper, asking probing questions, and challenging assumptions. Always end your stories with how your deep dive allowed you to gain valuable insights and drive informed decision-making and actions.

1.7 Amazon Leadership Principle: Are Right, A Lot↑

"Leaders are right a lot. They have strong judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.”

Amazon expects its employees to produce solutions as quickly as possible. This can often involve making decisions with little information. 

To demonstrate this LP, you need to show that you know how to take calculated risks and that you're comfortable having your opinions challenged before moving ahead. When describing past failures, discuss what you’ve learned and how you've grown from them.

1.8 Amazon Leadership Principle: Deliver Results↑

"Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.”

Amazon values action over perfection. When answering behavioral questions about delivering results, you’ll want to indicate that you strive to avoid slipped deadlines and failed goals. If you've missed deadlines and goals in the past, explain the methods you’ve put in place to avoid them.

For this LP, Bilwasiva advises preparing specific examples of projects or initiatives where you set clear goals, developed action plans, and executed effectively to drive impactful outcomes. 

“Showcase your track record of delivering measurable results and achieving key objectives in your previous roles," he says.

Another crucial tip from our coach: "Quantify your achievements wherever possible, using metrics and data to demonstrate the impact of your contributions."

1.9 Amazon Leadership Principle: Think Big↑

“Thinking small is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Leaders create and communicate a bold direction that inspires results. They think differently and look around corners for ways to serve customers.”

Amazon is an enormous company, so it expects its employees to build products and structures of a significant scale to make a difference in the business. To show that you have what it takes, you'll want to demonstrate that you can develop and articulate a bold vision.

To demonstrate this LP, Bilwasiva says you should cite instances showcasing your ability to envision and pursue ambitious goals that have a transformative impact on your team, organization, or industry.

"Share examples of how you've challenged the status quo, pursued innovative ideas, and inspired others to think beyond conventional boundaries," he says. Emphasize your long-term vision and strategic thinking and your ability to break down big ideas into actionable plans.

1.10 Amazon Leadership Principle: Hire and Develop the Best↑

"Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional talent and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in coaching others. We work on behalf of our people to invent mechanisms for development like Career Choice.”

This leadership principle is typically discussed in interviews for very senior engineering positions that involve people management or building a team.

Amazon wants every new hire to “raise the bar,” so your interviewers will want to see that you're the type of senior personnel who seek to hire people smarter than you. They'll also want to know if you enjoy coaching younger colleagues and know how to get the most out of top performers.

Bilwasiva says an excellent way to demonstrate this LP is to describe your approach to talent acquisition and development. Emphasize your commitment to building high-performing teams and cultivating a culture of learning and growth.

Share examples of how you've recruited top talent, assessed candidates effectively, and onboarded new hires to set them up for success. Talk about your efforts to mentor, coach, and provide opportunities for skill development and career advancement to your team.

1.11 Amazon Leadership Principle: Frugality↑

"Accomplish more with less. Constraints breed resourcefulness, self-sufficiency, and invention. There are no extra points for growing headcount, budget size, or fixed expense.”

Amazon strives to provide customers with as much value for as little cost as possible. Interviewers will be looking for how you can support this idea while maintaining a constant drive for innovation. 

1.12 Amazon Leadership Principle: Learn and Be Curious↑

“Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves. They are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them.”

Amazon demands constant improvement in every part of its business. This requires people who are passionate about improving themselves. For this LP, interviewers want to see your genuine passion for learning new things and exploring new ideas applicable to the job. 

Share examples of how you've pursued learning opportunities in various ways: formal study, self-study, or hands-on experimentation. Elaborate further by talking about how your curiosity has led you to valuable insights, innovations, or improvements in your work.

"Highlight your passion for continuous learning and professional growth, emphasizing your curiosity and eagerness to explore new ideas, technologies, and methodologies,” Bilwasiva says.

The examples listed here are general behavioral interview questions, but they provide a perfect opportunity for you to address this principle.

1.13 Amazon Leadership Principle: Insist on the Highest Standards↑

"Leaders have relentlessly high standards — many people may think these standards are unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high-quality products, services, and processes. Leaders ensure that defects do not get sent down the line and that problems are fixed so they stay fixed.”

At Amazon, rarely is anything deemed “good enough.” Your interviewers want to see how you have pushed yourself to reach standards that were difficult to meet, and how you're committed to upholding such high standards in all your endeavors.

To illustrate this, share examples of how you've set and maintained high standards in your team. You can also talk about the specific processes, guidelines, and quality assurance measures you've put in place in your previous roles.

"Explain your uncompromising commitment to excellence and quality in everything you do, highlighting your attention to detail and pursuit of perfection," Bilwasiva says.

1.14 Amazon Leadership Principle: Earn Trust↑

“Leaders listen attentively, speak candidly, and treat others respectfully. They are vocally self-critical, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. They benchmark themselves and their teams against the best.”

The key part of this leadership principle that candidates often miss is the “vocally self-critical” detail. Show that you're able to own up to a mistake when something goes wrong (instead of figuring out who else to blame) and that your focus is always on coming up with solutions to fix mistakes.

For this LP, Bilwasiva says you'll want to highlight your commitment to building trust and credibility with stakeholders, both internal and external. You also want to show that your approach to strong relationship-building is based on mutual respect, open communication, and delivering on promises.

Share examples of how you've demonstrated integrity, transparency (including taking accountability for any mistakes), and reliability in your interactions and decision-making processes. 

1.15 Amazon Leadership Principle: Strive to be Earth's Best Employer↑

"Leaders work every day to create a safer, more productive, higher performing, more diverse, and more just work environment. They lead with empathy, have fun at work, and make it easy for others to have fun. Leaders ask themselves: Are my fellow employees growing? Are they empowered? Are they ready for what's next? Leaders have a vision for and commitment to their employees' personal success, whether that be at Amazon or elsewhere.”

Like the principle “hire and develop the best,” you'll most likely encounter this in interviews for senior and/or managerial positions. 

Essentially, if “hire and develop the best” means picking and training a top team, being “Earth’s best employer” means keeping that team safe, enriched, and engaged once you’ve got them. This means striving to provide them with a safe, diverse, and just work environment.

1.16 Amazon Leadership Principle: Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility↑

"We started in a garage, but we're not there anymore. We are big, we impact the world, and we are far from perfect. We must be humble and thoughtful about even the secondary effects of our actions. Our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day. We must begin each day with a determination to make better, do better, and be better for our customers, our employees, our partners, and the world at large. And we must end every day knowing we can do even more tomorrow. Leaders create more than they consume and always leave things better than how they found them.”

Amazon wants its employees to understand and fully take on the responsibility of working for a vast, impactful company. For this LP, show how you measure the impact of your decisions, both in your workspace and in the world around you (e.g. sustainability, justice, etc.). 

Check out this video featuring Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explaining each LP.

2. Amazon Leadership Principles question bank ↑

Before we go into the questions, you might want to know the difference between behavioral interview questions and Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions.

To clarify, the Amazon Leadership Principles interview is the company's version of the standard behavioral interview you'll encounter at other companies.

Just like in other job interviews, Amazon interviewers ask behavioral questions about your past work experience, as a way to predict your future behavior. The only difference is that Amazon's behavioral questions are centered around this set of highly specific principles.

To help you prepare strategically for the Amazon Leadership Principles interview, we have used Glassdoor data to identify real questions asked in different Amazon interviews. The questions we’ve chosen come from our research on five Amazon tech roles: product manager, technical program manager, program manager, software development engineer, and data scientist. 

NOTE: This question bank is subdivided into 3 sections. Feel free to skip to the section you need:

• Top 5 most common questions
• List of questions per Leadership Principle
• List of questions per role
  • Product manager
  • Software development engineer
  • Software development manager
  • Technical program manager
  • Program manager
  • Data scientist

Let’s get into it.

2.1 Top 5 Amazon Leadership Principles questions↑

First, we want to highlight the most common questions about leadership principles that Amazon asks across every role we’ve studied. You’ll likely be asked at least one of these questions. Regardless of the role you're applying for, you'll see that Amazon wants to know why you specifically want to work for them, how you face setbacks, and whether you’re willing to stand up for your ideas.

Below are the questions. If you're ready to dive deep, just click on each question and you'll find a comprehensive guide on how to answer it.

2.2 Example questions per Leadership Principle↑

Here’s a list of questions that can help you showcase each Leadership Principle. Do note that some questions may touch on multiple Leadership Principles (‘Invent and simplify’ stories can also show ‘Frugality, etc.).

Use these example questions to make sure you have a story that demonstrates each LP.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Customer Obsession

• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult customer.
• Which company has the best customer service and why?
• Describe a time when a customer asked you for one thing, but you knew that they needed something else.
• Tell me about one of your projects where you put the customer first.
• Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer
• What is the most difficult customer situation you’ve had, and how did you handle it?
• Tell me about a time when you couldn’t meet a customer demand.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Ownership

• Tell me about a time you did something at work that wasn't your responsibility / in your job description.
• Tell me about a time when you had to make an important decision without approval from your boss.
• How would you make Amazon.com better?
• Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond your job responsibility in order to help the company.
• Tell me about a situation where you took ownership of a critical issue.
• How do you handle difficult situations?
• Tell me about a time when you took complete ownership of a project and drove it to completion despite obstacles.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Bias for Action

• Tell me about a time you had to make an urgent decision without data.
• Tell me about a time when you launched a feature with known risks.
• Tell me about a time when you found an opportunity that no one else saw
• Can you describe a time that you had to pivot?
• Tell me about a time you made a hard decision.
• Tell me about a time you had to work with incomplete data or incomplete information.
• Tell me about a time you had to change your approach to avoid missing a deadline.
• Tell me about a time you saw an issue that your team could face and proactively took action to mitigate it.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit

• Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a coworker or manager and how you approached it.
• Tell me about a time when your work was criticized.
• Tell me about a time when people in your team didn't agree with you.
• Tell me about a time when your manager challenged you to think differently.
• Have you ever stood against your boss to address a customer situation? Why and how?
• Tell me about a time you had to persuade a stakeholder to take a different approach.
• Tell me about a time when you had to stand up to your manager.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Invent and Simplify

• Tell me about a time you re-designed/improved a process and why
• Tell me about a time you solved a big problem in your company.
• Tell me about a time when you had a plan but ran into some obstacles. What did you do about it?
• Tell us about a time where you solved a really complex problem with a simple solution.
• Can you describe your experience in managing large-scale, complex programs?
• Describe a time you solved a complex problem and you were the main problem solver.
• Tell me about a time when you were faced with a problem that had a number of possible solutions.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Dive Deep

• Tell me about a project in which you had to deep dive into analysis.
• Tell me about the most complex problem you have worked on.
• Tell me about a time when you used a lot of data in a short period of time.
• How do you ramp up to learn a new space/area in a project?
• Tell us about a goal that took a long time to complete.
• Tell me about a time you managed a complex project well.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Are Right, A Lot

• Tell me about how you deal with ambiguity.
• Tell me about a time when you were faced with a problem that had a number of possible solutions.
• Tell me about a time you applied judgment to a decision when data was not available.
• Tell me of a recent event where you did something going against the natural flow or group conviction. How did it pan out?
• Describe a time when you had to make a decision against the suggestion of your larger team.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Deliver Results

• Tell me about a time when the deadline given to you for a project was earlier than expected.
• Tell me about the most challenging project you've ever worked on.
• Tell me about a time when you had to handle pressure.
• Tell me about a project where you had to oversee an implementation from design to delivery. How involved were you in the process?
• Tell me a situation where you did not hit your goal. How did you manage that?
• Give me an example of a time when you not only exceeded a goal, but vastly surpassed it.
• Tell me about a time you faced a challenging problem, how you approached it, and what impact your solution had.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Think Big

• Tell me about your most significant accomplishment. Why was it significant?
• Tell me about a time you proposed a non-intuitive solution to a problem and how you identified that it required a different way of thinking.
• What was the largest project you've executed?
• Tell me about a time when you challenged the status quo.
• Give me an example of how you innovated in your area.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Hire and Develop the Best

• Tell me about a time you provided feedback that was helpful to a peer.
• Tell me about a time you hired or worked with people smarter than you are.
• Tell me about a time you stepped in to help a struggling teammate.
• Tell me about a time when you had to coach a member of your team.
• Talk about a time when you fired someone.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Frugality

• Tell me about a time you successfully delivered a project with a limited budget or resources.
• Tell me about the last time you figured out a way to keep an approach simple or to save on expenses.
• When managing a budget, what are some ways you get more out of less?
• When managing projects, what is your process for managing resources?

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Learn and Be Curious

• Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly
• Tell me about your biggest career failure and what you learned from it.
• Tell me about a time you taught yourself a skill.
• What did you learn recently?
• How do you ramp up to learn a new space/area in a project?
• Tell me about a time you realized you did not have the skills needed to do the job.
• Tell me about something you learned that made you better at your job.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Insist on the Highest Standards

• Tell me about the most successful project you've done.
• Tell me about a project that you wish you had done better and how you would do it differently today.
• Tell me about a time when you had a goal that was hard to achieve. What did you learn from that experience?
• How would you improve this [project on your resume] if you had more time?
• If you could improve a process further right now, what would you do?
• Tell about a time you had to make a trade-off between sacrificing quality and delivering on time.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Earn Trust

• How do you earn trust within a team?
• Tell me a piece of difficult feedback you received and how you handled it.
• A co-worker constantly arrives late to a recurring meeting. What would you do?
• Tell me about a time you managed cross-functional stakeholders.
• Tell me about a time that the team's trust was damaged by someone or you, and how you fixed it. How was the result?
• How do you deal with negative feedback?
• How do you communicate to stakeholders when there’s a change in direction?

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer

• How do you manage a low performer in the team?
• Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond for an employee.
• Tell me about a time you saw an issue that could negatively impact your team. How did you deal with it?
• How do you identify a good performer in the team and help in their career growth?
• Tell me about a time you fired someone.

Example Amazon Leadership Principle questions: Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

• Tell me about a time when you made a decision that impacted the team or the company.
• Tell me about a decision you made about your work that you regret now.
• Tell me about a time when you failed to do the right thing.
• Talk about a time you were driving toward a goal and realized more than halfway in that it may not be the best goal.

Click here to download this Amazon Leadership Principles question bank in PDF.

Now, if you want to see the most recently reported questions relevant to your role, the next section is for you.

2.3 Example Amazon LP questions per role (PM, SDE, SDM, TPM, PgM, DS)↑

In this section, we list the most recently reported Amazon Leadership Principle questions on Glassdoor for the following roles (click to go straight to the role you’re applying for):

• Product manager
• Software development engineer
• Software development manager
• Technical program manager
• Program manager
• Data scientist

Before your interviews, your Amazon recruiter should let you know which Leadership Principles you need to focus on. We’ve done something similar here. We list the priority LPs per role, based on our analysis of Glassdoor data and/or coach insights. Our advice is to prioritize these LPs when thinking of stories, but to also try your best to incorporate more.

2.3.1 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for product managers

According to Diana (Amazon Senior Product Manager), “Amazon PMs are expected to demonstrate all LPs with emphasis on specific ones, depending on the stage of the product.”

• Think Big + Invent and Simplify. How do they define an executable vision from scratch?
• Bias for Action + Ownership. How do they drive the team forward and remove blockers?
• Deliver Results during product shipment
• Earn Trust as well as Disagree and Commit for leading cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment and velocity
• Customer Obsession at every stage of the product life cycle

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon product manager interview process.

2.3.2 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for software development engineers

According to Artiom (Amazon Sr. Frontend Engineer), here are the following Leadership Principles he prioritizes when evaluating SDE candidates:

• Ownership. The most valuable LP for SDEs of all levels. Strong SDEs don’t wait to be told what to do: they identify problems, drive solutions, and act autonomously.
• Deliver Results. In today’s environment of cost and efficiency optimization, this principle is essential. Amazon expects engineers to deliver with startup urgency.
• Invent and Simplify + Insist on the Highest Standards. Inseparable in practice. Invent and Simplify drives better designs, fewer moving parts, and faster development. Insisting on high standards ensures those designs are maintainable, secure, and operationally sound.
• Think Big. SDEs are expected to act as leaders, not just implementers. Thinking beyond known patterns enables real invention and unlocks larger business impact. It’s how teams move from local optimizations to scalable platforms.

Aside from the above, Lakshmi (ex-Amazon SDM) adds the following to her list of must-haves in SDE candidates:

• Customer Obsession. Allows them to deeply understand requirements based on customers’ needs
• Learn and Be Curious. Having the ability to quickly ramp up on new technologies

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon software development engineer interview process.

2.3.3 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for software development managers

You can apply the same four Leadership Principles for SDEs to SDMs, with the addition of people management-related LPs like Hire and Develop the Best and Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer.

Essentially, if “hire and develop the best” means picking and training a top team, being “Earth’s best employer” means keeping that team safe, enriched, and engaged once you’ve got them. 

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon software development manager interview process.

2.3.4 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for technical program managers

According to the interview questions we’ve analyzed from Glassdoor data, TPM behavioral interviews tend to focus on the first 6 LPs, namely:

• Customer Obsession
• Ownership
• Bias for Action
• Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
• Deliver Results
• Learn and Be Curious

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon technical program manager interview process.

2.3.5 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for program managers

Program managers share a lot of similarities with TPMs, so you can expect your LP interviews to focus on the following:

• Customer Obsession
• Ownership
• Bias for Action
• Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
• Deliver Results
• Learn and Be Curious

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon program manager interview process.

2.3.6 Amazon Leadership Principle questions for data scientists

According to Akhilesh (ex-Amazon Data Science Manager), the following are his top 3 priority LPs for data science candidates:

• Dive Deep. A data scientist is supposed to pay keen attention to detail in enormous amounts of data available and find the right patterns in the data and be able to apply discretion in what's important detail and what's not. 
• Invent & Simplify. It's easy to get lost in the detail and numerous approaches available to address a problem; it's important to develop quick and easy solutions to start with. 
• Learn & be curious. Because of the nature of the evolving industry, especially in GenAI technologies. It's important to stay relevant and stay ahead of the curve.

Click here to learn more about the entire Amazon data scientist interview process.

3. How to answer Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions↑

Now that you’ve seen many of Amazon’s real LP questions, let’s work on a technique for answering them.

3.1 Technique

When answering Amazon's Leadership Principles interview, you should focus on your most relevant achievements and communicate them clearly. An easy way to achieve this is to use a step-by-step method to tell your stories. 

Below, we’ll show you two storytelling methods to use to structure your answers: the often-recommended STAR framework, and IGotAnOffer’s alternative, the SPSIL framework (which is a more efficient structure).

3.1.1 STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) 

The STAR method is a popular approach for answering behavioral questions because it’s easy to remember. You’ll see it’s recommended by many articles you can find on Google, similar to this one (they tend to copy each other!).

However, the STAR method has two problems:

• We’ve found that candidates often find it difficult to distinguish the difference between steps two and three, or task and action. 
• It ignores the importance of talking about WHAT YOU LEARNED, which is often the most important part of your answer.

To correct those two faults, IGotAnOffer actually developed our own (very slightly different) framework that many of our candidates have used successfully over the years: the SPSIL method.

3.1.2 SPSIL (Situation, Problem, Solution, Impact, Lesson)

You’ll notice that this method covers very similar themes to the STAR method. We like it because a lot of the candidates we work with find this framework easier to use, as there’s no overlap between any of the steps in your story.

You should practice using whatever method you’re most comfortable with. If you’d like to start practicing right away, jump back to the full list of questions here. 

Otherwise, to get a better idea of how our method works, work through the examples below.

3.2 Amazon Leadership Principles example answers 

In this section, we’ll show you a few sample answers to some of the most commonly asked Leadership Principle questions. 

We’ll attribute an LP to each question, but you’ll find that you can also demonstrate other principles with a well-structured answer.

Try answering the question below by following your preferred method. Play both the role of the interviewer and the candidate. Write down your answer, then practice saying it out loud before going through our example response. Once you’ve finished, compare your response to our example to fill in any gaps in your story.

3.2.1 Ownership question: Tell me about a time you failed at work. What did you learn from it?

Example answer:

(Situation)

“In my last position, I was the product manager for a key feature of a new product we were about to launch. My team had been able to roll through research and development ahead of schedule, so I was excited to beat our deadline. In an update with our chief product officer, I told her that we were working quickly and would likely finish a week before the deadline. She was pleased to hear this and rearranged launch dates accordingly.

(Problem)

However, I had allowed myself to get swept up in our previous progress and moved up our deadline without fully considering all the factors at play. As we continued work on the launch, it quickly became clear that the final details would take longer than anticipated, and we would not be meeting the earlier deadline.

(Solution)

As it was my mistake to move up the deadline, and not my team’s, I took it upon myself to speed up the process. First, we discussed our progress, and I added some of their workload to my plate to accomplish everything faster. I worked overtime to take care of the loose ends, then booked a new meeting with the chief product officer. 

I explained to her that I had spoken too hastily and that we would not meet the new deadline that I had imposed. We reworked the launch plan and returned to the original timeline.

Ultimately, we were able to complete our preparations a couple of days before the original launch date, though not a full week ahead like I'd anticipated.

(Impact)

Clearly, the deadline mix-up had some negative repercussions, as the launch date was pushed forward and then moved back again. Thankfully, since it was only the earlier deadline I failed to meet, the product was still  launched on the original launch date one week later.

(Lessons)

The failure to meet that deadline reminded me to make decisions based on data and observation, not excitement. Also, the final details of a project are extremely important and shouldn’t be rushed. These were both things I had been aware of before, but I had forgotten them in the excitement over how quickly we were progressing in other areas. Thankfully, since this mistake, I’ve always been meticulous about deadlines, only setting or changing them after I’ve discussed them with the team and considered the repercussions. Thanks to that, I haven’t missed a deadline since. ”

3.2.2 Insist on the highest standards question: Tell me about a project that you wish you had done better and how you would do it differently today.

Example answer:

(Situation)

“Earlier in my PM career, I led the launch of an analytics dashboard for enterprise customers.

We shipped on time, but adoption lagged, and support tickets increased because key workflows were unintuitive.

(Problem)

In hindsight, I didn’t insist on the highest standards for usability. During beta, we saw minor friction points, but I accepted them as “good enough” to meet the deadline. Functionally, the product worked, but the experience wasn’t at the bar our customers expected.

(Solution & Impact)

If I were doing it today, I would set explicit usability benchmarks such as task success rates and onboarding completion metrics before launch. I would also be willing to push timelines if those standards weren’t met. 

(Lessons)

That experience taught me that meeting a date isn’t success; maintaining a high-quality bar is what earns long-term customer trust.”

3.2.3 Invent and simplify question: Tell me about a time you had to improve a difficult process

Example answer (from Dessy, ex-Amazon Senior PM)

(Solution)

"While working in e-commerce, we aimed to enable sellers to accept cash on delivery, leading to complex money flow processes.

(Problem)

Inaccuracies in invoicing, due to multiple money flows for each transaction, resulted in a 5% error rate.

(Solution)

After analyzing transaction processes, I simplified money flows, reducing them from four to two, and implemented flexible payment methods for sellers.

(Impact)

Accuracy in invoicing improved to over 99.5%, saving $400,000 and reducing finance operation time from five hours to less than one hour monthly.

(Lessons)

Reviewing processes comprehensively and implementing strategic changes can significantly enhance efficiency and accuracy."

3.2.4 Hire and develop the best: Tell me about a time when you had to coach a member of your team.

Example answer:

(Situation)

“As an Engineering Manager, I had a high-potential mid-level engineer on my team who was technically strong but struggling in a senior-level stretch role. He had recently been given ownership of a core service, but his design documents lacked clarity, and he had difficulty aligning stakeholders, which began impacting delivery timelines.

(Problem)

If the pattern continued, it would not only risk the program’s milestones but also stall his growth toward senior engineer. I had to decide whether to reduce his scope to protect delivery or invest time coaching him while still meeting our commitments.

(Solution)

I chose to take ownership of his development rather than reassigning the work. I scheduled weekly coaching sessions focused specifically on system design and stakeholder communication. Before major reviews, we would walk through his design docs together, and I would challenge assumptions, push for clearer trade-off analysis, and model how to anticipate cross-team concerns.

I also gave him candid, specific feedback about gaps while reinforcing that I believed he could meet the higher bar. To protect delivery, I temporarily paired him with a senior engineer for critical decisions, ensuring quality while still keeping him accountable as the owner.

(Impact)

Over the next quarter, the quality of his design proposals improved significantly, review cycles shortened, and cross-team friction decreased. We delivered the service on schedule, and he demonstrated enough growth to be promoted to Senior Engineer in the following review cycle. More broadly, the team saw that strong performance was supported with real investment, which reinforced a culture of development and high standards.

(Learning)

I learned that as a manager, I need to actively coach people through stretch opportunities. I also learned that being a manager means balancing short-term delivery with long-term talent growth — raising the bar while ensuring the team succeeds.”

3.2.5 Customer Obsession question: How have you previously measured customer satisfaction?

Example answer (from Jason, ex-Amazon PM)

(Situation)

"In my role as a product manager in the Amazon Marketplace organization, I encountered a significant challenge regarding declining retention rates among customers purchasing from individual sellers.

(Problem)

Despite consistent conversion rates, there was a noticeable decline in repeat purchases, indicating dissatisfaction among customers with their overall experience.

(Solution)

To address this, I conducted extensive research by engaging with both customers and individual sellers to understand their pain points. Through one-on-one conversations and surveys, I delved into their satisfaction levels, browsing experiences, and purchase behaviors. Additionally, I analyzed metrics such as conversion rates and repeat purchases to gauge overall customer satisfaction.

(Impact)

By triangulating qualitative feedback with quantitative data, I was able to pinpoint areas for improvement and devise targeted solutions to enhance customer satisfaction. Implementing improvements such as enhancing product detail pages, adding more images, and improving product descriptions resulted in a notable increase in repeat purchases and overall customer satisfaction.

(Lessons)

This experience taught me the importance of combining qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer satisfaction. It underscored the significance of proactive engagement with customers and continuous iteration to meet evolving needs and preferences."

3.3 Example answers to various LP questions

Answering Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions can seem fairly straightforward on paper, but when you get into the actual interview, it can feel a bit more difficult.

We recommend watching and doing plenty of mock interviews. Check out the video below - Jason (ex-Amazon PM) answers some very common leadership principle questions.

4. Amazon Leadership Principles interview tips↑

Finally, before we move on to some interview prep resources, we'd like to give you five helpful tips to keep in mind.

4.1 Get used to setting up the situation in 30 seconds or less

Use a timer while you practice to ensure you provide only the necessary information. Spending too much time on the Situation step is one of the most common mistakes candidates make.

4.2 Stay focused on essential details

Interviewers hear a lot of behavioral stories a day. If you go into unnecessary details you are likely to lose their attention. Share your stories with a few different people before your interview and ask them what details they would suggest cutting.

4.3 Strike a balance between your ambitious and collaborative nature

The ideal Amazon candidate is ambitious and driven, but your interviewer will also want to see evidence of how well you collaborate with others. 

So be sure to get the right balance between ‘we’ and ‘I’. At first, concentrate on saying 'I' to clearly demonstrate your own actions and elaborate on the impact YOU had, then acknowledge team effort by talking about what 'we' did as a team.

4.4 Adapt to follow-up questions

Don’t panic if your interviewer asks follow-up questions; this is perfectly normal. Listen carefully to the way your interviewer is asking these questions, as there will often be a subtle clue about the specific skills they’re looking to assess in the next part of your answer.

4.5 Explain how failure made you better

When talking about failure, don’t try to hide your mistakes or frame a weakness as a strength. Instead, show what you learned and how you grew from the failure.

5. How to prepare for the Amazon Leadership Principles interview↑

Now that we’ve been through all the Amazon Leadership Principles interview questions and the method you can use to answer them, we've come up with a step-by-step prep plan you can follow, plus some resources to help you prepare:

5.1 Learn about Amazon

Most candidates fail to do this. But, even before investing hours preparing for an interview at Amazon, you should take some time to make sure it's actually the right company for you.

Amazon is prestigious so it's tempting to assume that you should apply without careful consideration. But it's important to remember that the prestige of a job alone won't make you happy in your day-to-day work. It's the type of work and the people you work with that will.

If you know people who work at Amazon or used to work there, talk to them to understand what the culture is like. The Leadership Principles we discussed above can give you a sense of what to expect, but there's no replacement for a conversation with an insider.

Finally, we would also recommend checking out the following resources:

• Amazon's technology culture video mix (by Amazon)
• Amazon vision and mission analysis (by Panmore Institute)
• Amazon strategy teardown (by CB Insights)
• The Leadership Principles Explained by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy 
• An Amazon interviewer dives deep into how she uses the Leadership Principles (by Amazon)
• Amazon SDE mock interview for Leadership Principles (by Amazon)

Leadership Principle questions will appear at every stage of your interview with Amazon, so we recommend familiarizing yourself with the interview process for the specific role you're going for:

• Amazon interview process
• Amazon SDE 1
• Amazon SDE 2
• Amazon software development manager (SDM)
• Amazon product manager
• Amazon data scientist
• Amazon applied scientist
• Amazon data engineer
• Amazon machine learning engineer
• Amazon program manager
• Amazon technical program manager
• Amazon technical account manager

5.2 Practice by yourself

Acing the Amazon Leadership Principles interview is much harder than it looks. You’ll stand out if you put in the required work to craft concise and direct answers. Here's how you can do that:

5.2.1 Write down your stories

First, make a list of key moments in your career (e.g., accomplishments, failures, team situations, leadership situations, etc.) that you can use to answer one or multiple questions.

We recommend you come prepared with at least one story per Leadership Principle, as well as a few ‘flex’ stories that you could apply to multiple LPs. 

After you’ve finished your list, write out a story for each key moment in your career using the structure we've laid out in section 3. Be sure to emphasize your impact in each of these examples, quantify the results of your actions, and explain the lessons you learned from the experience. 

Once you have a bank of stories, go through the questions in section three and make sure you can answer all of them, either by using one of the stories you’ve written directly or by adapting it on the fly. If you identify any gaps, add stories to your bank until you’re comfortable you can cover all the questions listed in this article.

Click here to download the Amazon Leadership Principles question bank in PDF.

Click here to practice with more common behavioral questions and see example answers.

5.2.2 Practice your stories out loud

After you've written everything down, a great way to practice your answers is to interview yourself out loud. This may sound strange, but it will significantly improve the way you communicate during an interview. 

You should be able to tell each story naturally, without missing key details or memorizing them word-for-word.

However, by yourself, you can’t simulate thinking on your feet or the pressure of performing in front of a stranger. Plus, there are no unexpected follow-up questions and no feedback.

That’s why many candidates try to practice with friends or peers.

5.3 Practice with peers

If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's an option worth trying. It’s free, but be warned, you may come up against the following problems:

• It’s hard to know if the feedback you get is accurate
• They’re unlikely to have insider knowledge of interviews at your target company
• On peer platforms, people often waste your time by not showing up

For those reasons, many candidates skip peer mock interviews and go straight to mock interviews with an expert. 

5.4 Practice with experienced interviewers

In our experience, practicing real interviews with experts who can give you company-specific feedback makes a huge difference.

Find an Amazon interview coach so you can:

• Test yourself under real interview conditions
• Get accurate feedback from a real expert
• Build your confidence
• Get company-specific insights
• Learn how to tell the right stories, better.
• Save time by focusing your preparation

Landing a job at a big tech company often results in a $50,000 per year or more increase in total compensation. In our experience, three or four coaching sessions worth ~$500 make a significant difference in your ability to land the job. That’s an ROI of 100x!