Recently in preparation for Amazon 2026 Summer SDE I systematically brushed up the OA question bank of Linen for my internship application. The overall pace of this formal Online Assessment was very smooth, and I passed both questions in 70 minutes (AC).
These two questions are very typical of the Amazon HackerRank style: no complex story background, directly examining pure logical reasoning and engineering implementation. These questions don't rely on complex algorithms like LeetCode, but require you to break down business rules into clear, executable code logic, which requires a lot of code speed, organization and engineering thinking.
Below is a detailed review of the OA process and an in-depth breakdown of the two questions according to the real exam experience.
Overall process and individual rhythm
Once you enter HackerRank, the interface is as simple as ever, with two questions directly displayed and a 70-minute countdown starting.
I started with a quick read-through of the two questions to make sure that the difficulty was within the expected range and that there were no particularly stiff algorithms. The order of solving the questions was then decided:
Do the first question that requires mathematical logic to disassemble, then do the second question that is more intuitive to realize.
Since I have done a lot of linen OA before, I was very familiar with what I saw that day. They are not the kind of questions that "I know what algorithm template to use when I see it", but are more oriented to system logic splitting and data processing. As long as you understand the rules and implement the constraints into the code in an engineering way, there is basically no suspense in AC.
Problem 1: Compute Minimum Groups Based on Server Security Levels
The first question is about server security level grouping. You are given a bunch of servers, each with a security level. The requirement is that servers in the same group must have the same level, and the sizes of all groups are either the same or differ at most by 1, and then ask how many groups are needed at least. My approach is to first count the number of servers at each level, such as 10 level A servers, 7 level B level servers, and 3 level C level servers, to get a frequency array. The core idea is to find a group size g so that the number of servers at each level can be split into multiple groups, and the size of each group is g or g+1. Then traverse all possible g, from 1 to the maximum frequency, and verify whether each g is feasible one by one. If it is feasible, calculate the total number of groups, and finally take the smallest one. This method does not require complex algorithms, but mainly enumerates and verifies feasibility, with clear logic and engineering.
Problem 2: Maximum Bandwidth Contribution with Primary–Secondary Pairing
This question is about the maximum bandwidth contribution. You are given a bunch of node bandwidths and a streamCount that means that the first streamCount nodes should be selected as primary, and each primary should be allocated a secondary with the largest remaining bandwidth. First sort the bandwidth array in descending order, and then take the largest ones as the primary. The matching strategy is quite simple. Each primary uses the current maximum remaining value as the secondary. If necessary, you can match it yourself, because the question allows reuse. Finally, the values of each primary and corresponding secondary are accumulated to obtain the maximum total contribution. The idea is quite intuitive, that is, descending order + greedy matching, and there will be no surprises.
Overall Summary and Preparation Recommendations
This set of 26 Summer SDE OA is very linen specific:
1. Focus on logical disassembly, not algorithmic techniques
At its core, it's not whether you know a particular cold algorithm, but whether you can read the rules quickly enough to implement it correctly.
2. Data are of reasonable size and do not need to be over-optimized
The title encourages clear engineering implementations without unnecessary micro-optimizations.
3. Time management is key
70 minutes for two questions that require you to minimize debug time in your implementation, and the clearer your understanding, the better you can AC in one sitting.
Advice for students preparing for the exam
- Do not just look at the LeetCode Hard, it is recommended to brush more linen previous years OA real questions.
- Practice "reading comprehension" and "rule breaking".
- Draw the constraints before writing the code and organize them into several logical branches
- Familiarize yourself with HackerRank's pacing and input/output formats
Just do it:
Clear understanding + stable implementation
Amazon OA basically passes with flying colors.
Good luck to all of you with your Linen Offer!
Understanding the logic is only the first step, perfect execution in the examination room is the key to take the interview
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