AMD Machine Learning Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, is a technology company deeply committed to transforming lives with innovative solutions. It is known for its innovative approach to processors and graphics. It aims to create products that accelerate next-generation computing experiences, impacting various sectors, including data centers, artificial intelligence, gaming, and PCs. The company’s mission is underpinned by a culture that values execution excellence, diversity, inclusivity, and collaboration.

The AMD Machine Learning Engineer role focuses on optimizing and enabling AI applications for cutting-edge data centers and supercomputers. This position involves working with the latest ML frameworks, optimizing performance, and ensuring efficient deployment of AI models. The role requires strong problem-solving skills, collaboration with global teams, and a deep understanding of machine/deep learning concepts.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how they conduct their interviews and commonly asked AMD machine learning engineer interview questions to help you prepare better.

The interview process usually depends on the role and seniority; however, you can expect the following on an AMD machine learning engineer interview:

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV is among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the AMD Talent Acquisition Team will contact you and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be part of the screening process.

Sometimes, the AMD hiring manager remains present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will invite you to the technical screening round. The technical screening for the AMD Machine Learning Engineer role is usually conducted virtually, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this one-hour interview stage may involve camera-based problem-solving, such as testing strategies and coding challenges. Specifically, you may expect questions on machine learning fundamentals, profiling ML workloads, and optimizing them for performance.

Depending on the team’s requirements, you might receive a take-home assignment focusing on machine learning models. In addition to the coding and architectural questions, you will be evaluated on your problem-solving abilities and how you communicate and document your solutions.

Onsite Interview Rounds

You will be invited to attend the onsite interview loop at AMD after a successful technical interview. Multiple interview rounds will be conducted during your day at the AMD office, varying with the role. During this phase, you could expect a blend of technical and behavioral interviews:

• Behavioral Interview: Here, the interviewers may explore your past experiences in depth, particularly focusing on how you resolve conflicts, your team collaboration skills, and your alignment with AMD’s core values.
• Technical Interviews: These often involve whiteboard coding sessions, including data structures, algorithms, and specific machine learning problems. Also, you may need to demonstrate your expertise in Python and C++.
• Practical Exercises: You might need to present a previously given take-home assignment or solve real-time problems in a case study format. You could also discuss profiling and optimizing ML workloads or how you could enhance frameworks like PyTorch and TensorFlow.

Typically, interviews at AMD vary by role and team, but commonly, Machine Learning Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

1. Is this a fair coin given 8 tails and 2 heads in 10 flips?

You flip a coin 10 times, resulting in 8 tails and 2 heads. Determine if the coin is fair based on this outcome.

2. How do you write a function to calculate sample variance for a list of integers?

Write a function that outputs the sample variance given a list of integers and round the result to 2 decimal places.

3. Is there anything suspicious about finding a significant variant in an A/B test with 20 variants?

Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Evaluate if there is anything suspicious about these findings.

4. How do you find the median of a list with more than 50% of the same repeating integer in O(1) time and space?

Given a list of sorted integers where more than 50% of the list is the same repeating integer, write a function to return the median value in O(1) computational time and space.

5. What drawbacks and formatting changes are needed for student test score data in the given layouts?

You have student test score data in two different layouts. Identify the drawbacks of these layouts, suggest formatting changes for better analysis, and describe common problems in “messy” datasets.

6. How would you set up an A/B test to optimize button color and position for higher click-through rates?

A team wants to A/B test changes in a sign-up funnel, such as changing a button from red to blue and/or moving it from the top to the bottom of the page. How would you design this test?

7. What steps would you take if friend requests on Facebook are down 10%?

A product manager at Facebook reports a 10% decrease in friend requests. What actions would you take to investigate and address this issue?

8. Why might job applicants decrease despite stable job postings?

You observe that job postings per day have remained constant, but the number of applicants has decreased. What could be causing this trend?

9. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department.

Write an SQL query to select the second-highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

10. Write a function to merge two sorted lists into one sorted list.

Write a function to merge two sorted lists into one sorted list. Bonus: What’s the time complexity?

11. Create a function missing_number to find the missing number in an array.

You have an array of integers, nums of length n spanning 0 to n with one missing. Write a function missing_number that returns the missing number in the array. Complexity of (O(n)) required.

12. Develop a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics from a 2-D matrix.

Given a 2-D matrix P of predicted and actual values, write a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics. Return the ordered pair (precision, recall).

13. Write a function to search for a target value in a rotated sorted array.

Suppose an array sorted in ascending order is rotated at some pivot unknown to you beforehand. You are given a target value to search. If the value is in the array, then return its index; otherwise, return -1.

Bonus: Your algorithm’s runtime complexity should be in the order of (O(\log n)).

14. How would you evaluate whether using a decision tree algorithm is the correct model for predicting loan repayment?

You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict whether a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the right choice, and how would you assess its performance before and after deployment?

15. How does random forest generate the forest and why use it over logistic regression?

Explain the process by which a random forest generates its forest. Additionally, discuss why one might choose random forest over logistic regression for certain problems.

16. When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm?

Compare two machine learning algorithms. Describe scenarios where you would prefer a bagging algorithm over a boosting algorithm, and discuss the tradeoffs between the two.

17. How would you justify using a neural network for a business problem and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

Your manager asks you to build a neural network model to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of this model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

18. What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of a spam classifier for emails?

You were tasked with building an email spam classifier and have completed V1 of the model. What metrics would you use to track its accuracy and validity?

A few tips for acing your AMD interview include:

1. Know Your AMD Products and Culture: AMD values innovation and solving the world’s most critical challenges through technology. Understand AMD’s products and services and how your role as a Machine Learning Engineer would contribute to their missions.

2. Be Solution-Oriented: AMD looks for candidates who can think creatively to solve complex problems. Brush up on your machine learning fundamentals and be prepared to showcase scenarios where you’ve developed or optimized performance in ML models.

3. Embody the Spirit of AMD: AMD champions inclusion, diversity, and collaboration. Reflect these values in your behavioral responses. Discuss times when you’ve worked with diverse teams and how you’ve leveraged different perspectives to drive success.

What is the average salary for a Machine Learning Engineer at AMD?

What is the main role of a Machine Learning Engineer at AMD?

The primary role involves performance optimization of state-of-the-art machine learning workloads on AMD’s CPU and GPU servers using open-source ML frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, and ONNX-Runtime. This includes developing and enhancing AMD’s CPU inferencing product, ZenDNN, and enabling AI models, libraries, and applications for Instinct GPUs in both on-prem and Cloud environments.

What qualifications and skills are required for a Machine Learning Engineer at AMD?

Candidates should have a strong background in machine learning fundamentals, including deep learning and large language models. Proficiency in programming languages like C++ and Python is essential. Additionally, experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow), performance optimization, and production software quality assurance practices is required. A bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field, along with several years of related experience, is crucial.

What is the company culture like at AMD?

AMD is dedicated to transforming lives and industries with its cutting-edge technology. The company culture is centered around pushing the limits of innovation to solve significant global challenges. AMD values excellence in execution, being direct, humble, and collaborative, and inclusivity of diverse perspectives. The company’s motto is “AMD together we advance.”

The role of a Machine Learning Engineer at AMD is an exciting opportunity to be part of revolutionary advancements in AI and machine learning. You’ll be immersed in a dynamic team that drives innovation and enhances global technology ecosystems.

If you want more insights about the company and prepare effectively for your interview, check out our main AMD Interview Guide. We cover many potential interview questions and provide interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst.

Don’t forget to explore all our company interview guides for better preparation. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Good luck with your interview!