Amazon has a thriving world class technical centre in Cape Town and they’re hiring. We reveal the secrets to getting through their door.

The global “e-tailer” is currently looking for a number of talented techies just like you. If you’re an exceptional Software Engineer, System Engineer, Technical Manager, IT guru, or Team Lead, you’re already on their Must-Have list.

Amazon Development Centre interview tips:

You must know that that the Amazon’s Development Centre mainly deals with their Electronic Compute Cloud (EC2) product. Learn as much about this product as possible.

You will be interviewed more than once.

Do expect lots of technical questions, e.g. brush up on your network protocols, hash tables, and Cloud Computing knowledge.

Do prepare for a one on one interview at their offices in Cape Town.

Do prepare for a telephonic interview.

These questions were previously asked:

- What makes you a good candidate for this position?

- How would you implement a trace route?

- How would you implement a cloud resource distribution system? Provide detail about how jobs would be distributed.

- What is JavaScript?  

- What are the challenges facing cloud computing?  

- Regarding Linux, how well can you carry out virtualization?

- Why do you want to work for Amazon?

- Was there ever a situation in which your actions or decision had a negative impact on your co-workers?

So, what do you need to do to get ahead of all the other candidates?

We asked Duncan, who was recently hired as an Amazonian:

“I was honest and open. I was honest about my experience, my skills, and the reason for leaving my previous company. I mentioned that I was looking forward to the benefits and the environment that Amazon offered. And after 3 weeks and 2 interviews later, I start at the beginning of the new month.”

Another fresh Amazonian at the Cape Town Development Centre says that he studied and memorised the leadership principles on the official website. In addition to actually knowing the answers, he believes that this gave him extra confidence on the day of his interview.

Extra Brownie Points are up for grabs if you have the pluck to tackle one of their infamous brain-busting Amazon Challenges. If you figure any one of them out, you’ll be able to send them your details and code upon completion - and well-deserved special credit!

Remember to bring your A game; rumour has it that if you don’t receive a job offer after going through the interview process, you'll have to wait 6 months before you can apply again.

Start here:

You can apply for vacancies at Amazon’s Development Centre in Cape Town on Careers24. Do keep your eyes open because Amazon is opening a Johannesburg office too and they're looking for 250 new employees...

Good Luck!