Twitch Interview Guide

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Twitch Interview Guide

Company Overview: Twitch (Amazon-owned) is the world’s leading live streaming platform for gaming, entertainment, and creators. Handles massive scale with millions of concurrent viewers.

Interview Process

Timeline: 4-5 weeks

  1. Recruiter Screen (30 min)
  2. Technical Screen (60 min) – Coding problem
  3. Onsite (5 rounds, ~5 hours)
    • 2-3 coding rounds (60 min each)
    • 1 system design (60 min)
    • 1 behavioral (45 min) – Amazon Leadership Principles

Question Difficulty

  • Coding: Medium (65%), Medium-Hard (30%), Easy (5%)
  • Amazon influence: Similar to Amazon interviews + Leadership Principles
  • Focus: Scale, real-time systems, video streaming

Common Questions

Coding:

  • Design chat system for live streams
  • Implement follower notification system
  • Calculate concurrent viewer statistics
  • Design recommendation algorithm for streams
  • Implement raid/host feature
  • Process emote reactions in chat

System Design:

  • Design live streaming platform
  • Design chat system for millions of concurrent users
  • Design content recommendation engine
  • Design video transcoding pipeline
  • Handle peak load (major esports events)

Behavioral:

Amazon Leadership Principles heavily tested:

  • Customer Obsession (think: streamers and viewers)
  • Bias for Action
  • Deliver Results
  • Ownership

Preparation

  • Technical: 8-10 weeks
  • LeetCode: 80-120 problems (Amazon-style)
  • System Design: Video streaming, CDNs, real-time systems
  • Behavioral: Prepare 10-15 STAR stories for Leadership Principles
  • Product: Use Twitch, understand streaming ecosystem

Salary (San Francisco)

  • SDE I: $130-170K base, $170-240K total
  • SDE II: $170-220K base, $250-380K total
  • SDE III: $220-290K base, $400-600K total

Amazon RSU structure: vests over 4 years (5%, 15%, 40%, 40%)

Culture

  • Gaming-focused: Team passionate about gaming and streaming
  • Creator support: Empower content creators
  • Scale: Handling massive concurrent traffic
  • Amazon perks: Benefits of Amazon ownership
  • San Francisco: Main office in SOMA district

Interview Tips

  • ✓ Show genuine interest in gaming/streaming
  • ✓ Understand creator economy
  • ✓ Discuss real-time and video streaming challenges
  • ✓ Prepare strong Leadership Principles stories
  • ✓ Know Twitch features (raids, bits, subscriptions)
  • ✗ Don’t be unfamiliar with Amazon culture

Difficulty: 4/5 | Best for: Engineers interested in gaming, live streaming, real-time systems at massive scale.

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