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How to Ace the AWS Solutions Architect Interview

PLUS: Meta’s New and Powerful AI Model

Author

Lucy Wang
July 27, 2024

In Today’s Cloudbites:

🤓 How to Ace the AWS Solutions Architect Interview

💼 Sample Technical Interview Questions

📌 AWS Interview Mastery Course Discount

☁️ Online Cloud Events to Look Forward to

🤫 PLUS: Meta’s New and Powerful AI Model

Read time: 8 minutes

Hi friends, welcome back to Cloudbites

Today, I’ll share some insights and preparation tips to excel in your AWS Solutions Architect technical interview. I’ll also share some resources to support your Cloud learning journey, as well as Meta’s recent update on the Llama 3 ecosystem.

CLOUD COMPUTING ☁️

🤓 How to Ace the AWS Solutions Architect Interview

Solutions Architects at AWS are expected to have a solid understanding of AWS services and best practices to build efficient Cloud solutions in meeting the requirements of their customers.

In the application process, the technical interview is one of the most key components because it assesses your ability to apply AWS services to build solutions that meet customer needs.

The technical interview itself will evaluate your technical knowledge, architectural design understanding, and role-related responsibilities. 

Here’s how you can prepare:

#1 Technical Knowledge

Refresh your understanding by reviewing fundamental cloud computing concepts and AWS services, such as AWS Lambda for serverless computing and Amazon S3 for scalable storage. 

This is because hiring managers would ask technical questions related to specific AWS services to assess your understanding and practical application. 

Familiarizing yourself with recent AWS advancements like Amazon SageMaker will also help you prepare as interviewers may inquire about leveraging AWS innovations to optimize business processes.

Sample Question: What can you tell me about the differences between AWS Lambda and Amazon S3?

#2 Architectural Design

You might be asked to solve a given real-world problem using AWS services. 

Whiteboarding sessions (collaborative brainstorming) might take place during the interview where you’d draw diagrams, workflows, or infrastructure setups.

This is the perfect time to demonstrate your decision-making process in approaching and solving the problem effectively.

I’d recommend you to practice illustrating your ideas clearly to make sure your audience understands your visual aids.

Sample Question: How would you direct traffic from Amazon CloudFront to S3?

#3 Role-Related Responsibilities

Hiring managers would also like to know how committed and enthusiastic you are about working with AWS, such as your interest in the company and its technologies, as well as your motivation to contribute to AWS' goals and culture.

You could be asked several scenario-based questions that assess your suitability to Amazon’s Leadership Principles and commitment to contribute to the company’s growth.

Sample Question: What would you say to customers who are worried about security in the Cloud?

💼 Sample Technical Interview Questions

Here are some more sample questions that hiring managers might ask you in an AWS Solutions Architect interview.

Architectural Design:

  1. How would you design a scalable and secure serverless application using AWS services?

  2. How can you ensure data consistency in a distributed system across multiple AWS regions?

Networking:

  1. How do you implement a hybrid Cloud architecture with AWS?

  2. What strategies would you use to optimize network performance for a global application on AWS?

Computing & Security:

  1. Explain the benefits of using containers on Amazon ECS in a microservices architecture.

  2. What measures would you take to protect an AWS environment against DDoS attacks?

Database & Storage:

  1. What considerations would you take into account for a high-performance database migration to AWS?

  2. Compare the use cases for Amazon S3, EBS, and EFS.

Note: The topics asked will depend on the Solutions Architect role you are applying for (e.g. Specialist vs. Generalist Solutions Architect).

📌 AWS Interview Mastery Course Discount

If you’re interested in knowing more tips to nail your technical interview, check out my course where I provided more sample questions (and model answers) as well as how to structure your response to help you prepare: AWS Interview Mastery: Get Hired in The Cloud.

The course is for beginners who want to land a job in the cloud computing industry and develop the skills and strategies necessary to succeed in AWS-related job interviews.

It's best suited for those targeting positions such as:

  • Solutions Architect (SA)

  • Cloud Support Engineer (CSE)

  • Technical Account Manager (TAM)

As special readers of the newsletter, I'm excited to offer you a special discount. Use the code "CLOUDBITES20" at checkout for 20% off. 

Don't miss your chance to start your AWS interview prep journey at a special rate!

☁️ Online Cloud Events to Look Forward to

#1 Azure – Generative AI Fundamentals (August 1)

Gain an understanding of the foundations of language models and generative AI applications.

Click here to register. 

#2 Google Cloud – Cloud Roadmap Series: AI Innovation (August 1)

Explore cutting-edge AI products and features from Google Cloud and how you can accelerate AI-driven results. 

Click here to register. 

#3 AWS – Cloud Practitioner Essentials (August 15)

Learn how to use AWS services to improve business processes and gain an understanding of how to benefit from them.

Click here to register.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 🤖

🤫 PLUS: Meta’s New and Powerful AI Model

Meta recently released its newest open-source AI model called Llama 3.1.

This means you get to enhance your hands-on experience, collaboration with the AI community, or building specialized applications by using the new model.

💡Here’s what you should know:

  • Meta is expanding the Llama ecosystem by integrating more components and tools, including security enhancements like Llama Guard 3 and Prompt Guard

  • 25+ partners are already onboard with services supporting Llama 3.1, including AWS and Google Cloud

  • This collaboration reflects the widespread accessibility and optimized performance for deploying and utilizing the model

Llama 3.1 is now ready for public use. You can start exploring the model by clicking here. 

THAT’S A WRAP

Thanks for reading! 😊

P.S. How was today's email? Reply directly with your feedback, or DM me on Twitter @techwithlucy