AMD is a pioneering company in the semiconductor industry, renowned for its high-performance computing and visualization products. With a mission to build innovative products that push the limits of technology, AMD plays a crucial role in developing data centers, artificial intelligence, gaming, and embedded systems.
In this guide from Interview Query, we will walk you through the AMD interview process, commonly asked AMD software engineer interview questions, and essential preparation tips to help you land the role. Let’s get started!
The AMD interview process usually depends on the role and seniority; however, you can expect the following on an AMD software engineer interview:
If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the AMD Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions such as, “Why are you interested in AMD?” and “Why are you leaving your current job?” may also be a part of the screening process.
In some cases, the AMD software engineering team manager stays 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.
Successfully navigating the recruiter round will invite you to the initial technical interview. This stage usually consists of either a phone call or a Zoom meeting with engineers on the team. The interview is a mix of behavioral and technical questions.
Behavioral questions could include discussing your background, skills, and past experiences. Prepare to explain your previous projects and contributions and what strengths and weaknesses you bring to the table. Technical questions might revolve around computer science fundamentals, data structures, and algorithms. Questions may also focus on specific programming languages like C++ and Python and, upon request, demonstrate an understanding of software engineering methodologies.
Following the initial technical interview, candidates may be given a take-home coding assignment to be completed within a set timeframe. This could involve solving complex medium to hard-level Leetcode-style problems or dynamic programming challenges. In some cases, additional technical interviews might be conducted where you must code in real-time with online tools, solve system design problems, or discuss database design.
These engagements test your coding abilities and assess your problem-solving approach and ability to optimize solutions.
After the virtual coding interviews, a second recruiter call might outline the next stage, culminating in an invitation for the onsite interview loop. During this stage, you will go through multiple technical rounds, each focusing on different aspects: data structures, algorithms, system design, and specific programming languages (Python, C++, etc.). You might also discuss real-life scenarios and work on real-time coding problems.
Follow-up technical interviews often assess your software engineering knowledge further. Expect questions on performance analysis, system architecture, memory management, kernel programming, and cloud environments like Docker or Kubernetes.
The onsite interview rounds might also include a presentation round where you present your take-home assignment. This stage is critical in evaluating your communication skills and your ability to articulate technical details clearly.
Typically, interviews at AMD vary by role and team, but commonly Software Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.
You flip a coin 10 times, resulting in 8 tails and 2 heads. Determine if the coin is fair based on this outcome.
Write a function that outputs the sample variance given a list of integers and round the result to 2 decimal places.
Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you consider this result suspicious?
Given a sorted list of integers where more than 50% of the list is the same integer, write a function to return the median value in O(1) computational time and space.
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.
Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you consider this result suspicious?
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?
A product manager at Facebook reports a 10% decrease in friend requests. What actions would you take to investigate and address this issue?
You observe that job postings per day have remained constant, but the number of applicants has decreased. What could be causing this trend?
You have data on student test scores in two different layouts. What are the drawbacks of these formats, and what changes would you make to improve their usefulness for analysis? Additionally, describe common issues in “messy” datasets.
Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.
Write a function to merge two sorted lists into one sorted list. Also, the complexity of the function over time should be mentioned.
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. The complexity should be (O(n)).
precision_recall
to calculate precision and recall metrics from a 2-D matrix.Given a 2-D matrix P of predicted values and actual values, write a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics. Return the ordered pair (precision, recall).
Suppose an array sorted in ascending order is rotated at some pivot unknown to you beforehand. Write a function to search for a target value in the rotated array and return its index, or -1 if the value is not found. The algorithm’s runtime complexity should be (O(\log n)).
You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict whether a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate whether a decision tree is right for this problem?
If you decide to use a decision tree model, how would you assess its performance before deploying it and after it is in use?
Explain how a random forest algorithm generates its forest of trees. Additionally, why might you choose random forest over logistic regression for certain problems?
Compare two machine learning algorithms. In which scenarios would you prefer a bagging algorithm over a boosting algorithm? Provide examples of the tradeoffs between the two.
Suppose your manager asks you to build a neural network model to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of the model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?
Assume you have built a V1 of a spam classifier for emails. What metrics would you use to monitor the model’s accuracy and validity?
You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your AMD software engineer interview include:
Average Base Salary
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AMD values a culture of innovation, collaboration, and diversity. They strive for execution excellence, encourage direct and humble communication, and are inclusive of diverse perspectives. AMD aims to push the limits of technology to address the world’s most significant challenges.
Minimum qualifications include: - Strong programming skills in C++ and Python. - Experience with software engineering methodologies like Agile, Scrum, and Kanban. - Good understanding of Linux, system architecture, and performance analysis. Preferred qualifications include: - Experience with GPU programming (CUDA, HIP, OpenCL). - Familiarity with AI/ML frameworks such as PyTorch and TensorFlow. - Performance analysis skills for both CPU and GPU environments.
The AMD interview process for the Software Engineer position is both comprehensive and rigorous, combining behavioral and technical assessments to evaluate a candidate’s fit for the role.
If you want more insights about the company, check out our main AMD Interview Guide, which covers many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, where you can learn more about AMD’s interview process for different positions.
Good luck with your interview!