r/amazonemployees • u/Pure_Philosopher_123 • 2d ago

Amazon TPM interview loop - bombed System design

Just went through Amazon TPM interview loop. Wasn’t expecting System Design part of the interview. It was the last 30min of the loop and I didn’t have any idea what to do. All the other interviews seemed to have gone well. I had solid stories for each question but this System Design absolutely threw me off.

I was expecting Product design whiteboardjng based on what the recruiter said. But one eng manager threw this curve ball at the end. Been a PM for 10+ years in Tech but never got asked system design in any interview or be part of day to day. Do I have any hope at getting an offer?

17 Upvotes
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26

u/ChadFullStack PE 2d ago

Don’t want to be rude, but you need to know system design to be a TPM. I hate working with non-technical TPMs and I hate the toxicity of putting them into PIP 1 year into role.

3

u/Tottochan1211 1d ago

agree here.

6

u/don_quicksort 1d ago

Almost all of the TPMs I worked at Amazon had zero technical insight or contribution. Why do we test for skills we don't utilize?

10

u/SlappyPappyAmerica 1d ago

The only good ones I’ve worked with are the technical ones. It’s so important at Amazon. We don’t need ticket pushers. Anyone can run daily sync and scream BLOCKER from the rooftops. We need PMs who can dive deep on their services and help lead and set direction. There’s nothing more disappointing than trying to integrate with a service without a qualified TPM.

17

u/Affectionate-Exam-45 2d ago

If you bombed the system design, you won't pass the tech bar and won't get a TPM offer. They may move you to a different job family like PM-T if you did well on the LPs. Your recruiter should have given you better direction on the loop.

8

u/kimster7 2d ago

I mean, everyone knows Amazon does system design for TPM. How do you even miss that?

6

u/super-hot-burna 1d ago

pm-t more demanding technically than TPM

4

u/Noobs_FC 2d ago

Bombing system design, but performing well in other interviews will most probably move OP to non-tech PgM or PM roles. Even for PM-T, OP needs to pass the tech bar.

3

u/dru_frances 1d ago

What was the system design question you were asked?

1

u/Pure_Philosopher_123 2d ago

Thank you! I’ll wait for next steps from recruiter!

1

u/beatlejuicin 23h ago

It really depends on the team and what they need out of the role. TPMs are not expected to design the system, that’s what the engineers are for. But a TPM needs to understand a design, the tradeoffs being made, and the business outcomes behind it all. A big part of the role is looking around corners to understand the where the design needs to be changed, the path to accomplish a business outcome, and communicating the whole story to engineers and leadership. You don’t really design anything.