
Amgen software engineer interviews typically open with a recruiter or hiring-manager phone screen, then move into panel or onsite rounds whose technical depth varies sharply by team, from coding and system design to MES or embedded systems topics.
$141K
Avg. Base Comp
$193K
Avg. Total Comp
Not reported
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Amgen's software engineer interviews usually begin with a phone screen, sometimes with a recruiter or talent acquisition partner and sometimes with the hiring manager, covering your background, motivation, and basic fit. From there, candidates describe a mix of panel interviews with senior engineers or leadership, one-on-one hiring-manager conversations, and in some cases an onsite with multiple interviewers. The number and order of rounds vary by team, so ask your recruiter early what the full sequence looks like.
Technical depth differs sharply by team. One candidate solved a HackerRank problem on merging anagrams plus a short multiple-choice quiz on the job description, then had a purely behavioral hiring-manager round. Another worked through a coding problem, discussing the trade-offs between optimal solutions, and a system-design prompt (designing a book-borrowing app) before being probed on cloud-native, LLM, and AI/ML experience. A manufacturing-systems applicant faced detailed MES (Manufacturing Execution System) questions on record lifecycles and plant-scaling scenarios. An embedded-systems candidate was pressed on interrupt handling, concurrency, hardware-software debugging, and protocols like UART, SPI, I2C, and CAN. Behavioral questions also come up, such as a time you disagreed with management or how you have worked across hardware, QA, and other teams.
Reported timelines ranged from about three weeks to just over a month, though one candidate waited months between applying and first contact. Another candidate only learned partway through that the team wanted full-stack rather than frontend skills. Because the focus can shift that much, clarify the technical scope for your specific group before you prepare.
Synthesized from 13 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Amgen process.
The whole process felt very polished and professional. Amgen's HR team was responsive and used AI-powered scheduling, which made coordinating interview times painless. They communicated timelines clearly from the start, so I always knew what was coming next. The process itself moved smoothly from a phone screening through to the onsite, spanning roughly four to six weeks total from initial conversation to final decision.
The first round was a virtual behavioral interview, about an hour long. It covered pretty standard ground — they asked me to walk through my background and what drew me to the role, then dove into questions about motivation and how I think about problem-solving. The interviewer was knowledgeable and made it feel like a genuine conversation rather than a box-checking exercise. They also wanted me to explain tools and technologies I'd worked with, so having concrete examples ready helped. The emphasis wasn't heavily on deep technical or domain-specific knowledge; it seemed to vary depending on the team interviewing me.
The onsite was where things got more serious. I met with the hiring manager and broader leadership team, and the tone shifted toward assessing cultural fit, collaboration style, and how I'd approach challenges in a team setting. We discussed conflict resolution and long-term career vision — less about coding problems, more about how I think and operate. That said, they did ask about system integration complexity, particularly around platforms like SAP, so having familiarity with enterprise systems was valuable. The bar felt notably higher than the phone screen, and the hiring manager came prepared with pointed questions.
The whole experience was straightforward and professional, though competitive. Results took about four to six weeks after the final round, which aligns with their stated timeline.
Prep tip from this candidate
Focus on enterprise system knowledge, particularly SAP S/4HANA integration patterns and integration complexity. Be ready to discuss real tools and platforms you've used with specific examples, and prepare thoughtful answers about motivation and team collaboration — those came up consistently and seemed to matter as much as technical depth.
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Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at Amgen
What do you tell an interviewer when they ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are?
| Question | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Weighted Keys | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Cumulative Distribution | |
| Retailer Data Warehouse | |
| Total Spent on Products | |
| P-value to a Layman | |
| Detecting ECG Tachycardia Runs | |
| Last Transaction | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Brain Cancer Treatment Outcomes | |
| Always Excited Users | |
| Sum to Zero | |
| Flatten JSON | |
| Valid Anagram | |
| 85% vs 82% | |
| Cumulative Reset | |
| Rider Discount | |
| Digit Accumulator | |
| Multi-Reaction | |
| Search Linked List | |
| Time Difference | |
| Common Prefix | |
| Greatest Common Denominator | |
| Count Transactions | |
| Subscription Retention | |
| Possible Triangles | |
| Concurrent LLM Serving |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report an initial phone call with a recruiter, talent acquisition partner, or hiring manager covering background, motivation for the role, and basic fit. Several describe this stage as conversational and low-pressure, sometimes including STAR-style questions such as where you see yourself in five years.
Depending on the team, this stage may include one of three formats. One is a HackerRank coding assessment plus a short multiple-choice quiz on the job description. Another is a coding problem with a trade-off discussion followed by a system-design prompt. The third is a behavioral one-on-one with the hiring manager focused on past work and motivation. Candidates note the technical bar and format varied noticeably by role.
Several candidates describe a panel or onsite stage with multiple senior engineers, hiring managers, or leadership, ranging from a single panel to three separate onsite rounds. This is where team specificity shows up most. Reports include detailed MES systems questions, embedded systems and protocol discussions (UART, SPI, I2C, CAN), and behavioral questions about cross-team collaboration and disagreements.
Reported timelines ranged from about three weeks to just over a month, though one candidate waited months for initial contact after applying. Several candidates were rejected or never heard back after the final round, so following up for a clear decision is worthwhile.