AWS Developer

Job Description
As an AWS Developer, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and managing
cloud-based applications using Amazon Web Services (AWS). Your main focus will be
building scalable, secure, and cost-effective solutions, ensuring optimal performance for
the business applications and services you develop. You will also work closely with other
teams, such as DevOps, security, and product teams, to ensure seamless integration and
deployment of cloud services.

Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Cloud Architecture and Design:

• Design and implement cloud-based applications using AWS services like EC2,
S3, Lambda, RDS, DynamoDB, etc.
• Architect scalable, highly available, and fault-tolerant systems based on business
needs.
• Optimize application performance using AWS resources and ensuring efficient
cloud computing architecture.
• Ensure the cloud solutions follow best practices, including security, performance,
and cost efficiency.
2. Application Development and Deployment:

• Develop, test, and deploy applications in the AWS cloud environment, ensuring
they meet the necessary performance and security requirements.
• Implement Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like AWS CloudFormation,
Terraform, or AWS CDK.
• Create and maintain CI/CD pipelines using AWS tools like CodePipeline,
CodeDeploy, and CodeBuild, or other automation frameworks.
• Use containerization (e.g., Docker) and orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, ECS, EKS)
where necessary for efficient deployments.
3. Automation and Monitoring:

• Automate resource management, scaling, and provisioning through AWS tools like
Auto Scaling and Elastic Load Balancing.
• Set up and manage monitoring systems using CloudWatch, alarms, and logging
solutions (e.g., AWS CloudTrail, X-Ray) to ensure application health and
performance.
• Manage backups, disaster recovery, and data recovery solutions.
4. Security and Compliance:

• Implement AWS security best practices, including using IAM roles, policies, and
MFA to ensure access control.
• Manage encryption of data at rest and in transit using AWS services (S3, KMS,
etc.).
• Ensure applications are compliant with industry standards like HIPAA, GDPR, or
SOC2, depending on the business.
5. Troubleshooting and Optimization:
 • Troubleshoot issues related to performance, cost, and resource utilization in the
AWS environment.
• Conduct regular cost-optimization exercises to ensure cloud resource usage is
efficient.
• Use AWS Trusted Advisor to review configurations and provide recommendations
for performance improvements.

Key Skills Required:

• Strong knowledge of AWS services: EC2, S3, Lambda, RDS, IAM,

CloudFormation, etc.
• Programming skills: Proficiency in languages such as Python, Java, or Node.js,
commonly used in AWS development.
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and automation tools (AWS CodePipeline,
Jenkins).
• Understanding of networking concepts: VPC, security groups, subnets, and load
balancing.
• Cloud monitoring and logging: Experience with CloudWatch, CloudTrail, X-Ray.
• Security best practices: IAM policies, role-based access, encryption, etc.
• Experience with databases like RDS (MySQL, PostgreSQL), DynamoDB, etc.
• Knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools like Docker, ECS, or EKS.
 Technical Questions

What is an Elastic Load Balancer in AWS and how does it work?

Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) is a service in AWS that distributes incoming application traffic
across multiple EC2 instances to improve availability and fault tolerance. There are three
types of ELB: Classic Load Balancer, Application Load Balancer, and Network Load
Balancer. ELBs automatically scale in response to incoming traffic and distribute the load
to healthy instances. They also perform health checks to ensure that only healthy
instances receive traffic.

How can you secure data at rest in Amazon S3?

Data at rest in Amazon S3 can be secured using server-side encryption. There are three
options for server-side encryption: SSE-S3 (using Amazon S3 managed keys), SSE-KMS
(using AWS Key Management Service), and SSE-C (using customer-provided keys).
These encryption methods help protect data stored in S3 from unauthorized access.

What is the difference between Amazon RDS and Amazon DynamoDB?

Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) is a managed database service that provides
a relational database, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, or Oracle, in the cloud. It handles
routine database management tasks, such as backups, patching, and replication.

What are the benefits of using Amazon CloudFront?

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) service that accelerates the
delivery of web content to users worldwide. The benefits of using CloudFront include
reduced latency and improved performance, enhanced security through integration with
AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF), easy integration with other AWS services, and cost
optimization by reducing the load on origin servers.

How does AWS Lambda work?

AWS Lambda is a serverless compute service that allows you to run code without
provisioning or managing servers. It follows an event-driven architecture, where you define
a Lambda function and associate it with an event source, such as an API Gateway
request, an S3 bucket upload, or a CloudWatch event. When the event occurs, Lambda
automatically executes the function and charges you only for the compute time consumed.
 Operational Questions

How would you troubleshoot high CPU utilization on an EC2 instance?

To troubleshoot high CPU utilization on an EC2 instance, I would start by checking the
CloudWatch metrics for the instance to identify the specific time periods and patterns of
high CPU usage. Then, I would analyze the system and application logs to identify any
processes or services consuming excessive CPU resources. Additionally, I would consider
resizing or scaling the instance to handle the increased load and optimize the application
code or configuration to reduce CPU usage.

Imagine a scenario where an EC2 instance fails to start after a reboot.

How would you approach this issue?

If an EC2 instance fails to start after a reboot, I would first check the system and instance
status checks in the EC2 console to identify any reported issues. If there are any failed
status checks, I would investigate the underlying causes, such as insufficient disk space,
security group misconfiguration, or issues with the instance's operating system. I would
also review the instance's logs and console output to gather more information about the
failure. Based on the findings, I would take appropriate actions, such as modifying the
instance's configuration, performing instance recovery, or launching a new instance.

How would you ensure data durability and availability in Amazon S3?

To ensure data durability and availability in Amazon S3, I would enable versioning on the
S3 bucket to protect against accidental deletion or overwrites. I would also enable cross-
region replication (CRR) to replicate the data to a different AWS region for disaster
recovery purposes. Additionally, I would set up lifecycle policies to automatically transition
objects to lower-cost storage classes as they age, ensuring cost optimization while
maintaining accessibility.

What steps would you take to secure an AWS account?

To secure an AWS account, I would implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all IAM
users and enforce strong password policies. I would regularly review and audit IAM roles,
policies, and permissions to ensure least privilege access. Enabling AWS CloudTrail for
logging and monitoring changes to the account is crucial. I would also apply security best
practices such as encrypting sensitive data, regularly patching and updating AWS
resources, and using AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) roles instead of using
access keys.

Describe the process of deploying a scalable and fault-tolerant

application on AWS.

Deploying a scalable and fault-tolerant application on AWS involves several steps. First, I
would design the architecture using services like EC2, Auto Scaling, and Elastic Load
Balancing to distribute traffic across multiple instances and scale based on demand. I
would use Amazon RDS or DynamoDB for reliable and scalable data storage. Next, I
would leverage AWS CloudFormation or AWS Elastic Beanstalk to automate the
deployment process. I would also incorporate monitoring and alerting using CloudWatch to
ensure system health and performance. Finally, I would regularly test the application's
resilience by simulating failures and performing load testing to ensure it can handle
increased traffic and maintain availability.

AWS Services & Architecture

1. How would you design a system in AWS that doesn't go down if one part
fails?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use EC2 to run your application, and Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)
to distribute traffic across multiple EC2 instances.
▪ Set up Auto Scaling to automatically add or remove instances based
on demand.
▪ Deploy your resources across multiple Availability Zones so that if
one zone fails, others can take over.

2. If you want your application to always be available to users, which AWS

services would you use?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) to distribute traffic.
▪ Set up Auto Scaling to handle traffic spikes.
▪ Use Route 53 for DNS failover to reroute traffic if there’s an issue with
a server.
3. How would you make sure an application deployed on AWS is secure?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use IAM roles and policies to control who can access your
resources.
▪ Set up Security Groups and VPC to control network traffic.
▪ Enable encryption on S3 and EBS to secure data.
▪ Use CloudTrail for logging and tracking activity.
4. What would you do if an EC2 instance becomes unresponsive?

◦ Answer:
▪ Check the instance's CloudWatch logs to identify the issue.
▪ Look at CloudWatch metrics to see CPU or memory usage.
▪ Use Auto Scaling to replace the failed instance if necessary, or
restart the instance from the console.
5. Your database is slowing down your application. How would you fix it using
AWS?
 ◦ Answer:
▪ Use RDS Read Replicas to distribute read traffic.
▪ Use ElastiCache to cache frequently accessed data.
▪ Consider moving to a faster database service like DynamoDB or
Amazon Aurora.
6. How would you move an old application to AWS?

◦ Answer:
▪ First, use the lift-and-shift method: copy the application to EC2
instances.
▪ Gradually re-architect it to use AWS services like RDS, S3, or
Lambda.
▪ Use Database Migration Service (DMS) to migrate the database.
7. How can you reduce costs for a service that is used a lot in AWS?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use Reserved Instances or Spot Instances for EC2 to save on
costs.
▪ Set up Auto Scaling to ensure you are not running unnecessary
instances.
▪ Use S3 Lifecycle policies to move old data to cheaper storage.
▪ Use AWS Cost Explorer to monitor and analyze usage and costs.

Troubleshooting & Problem Solving

8. Your S3 bucket is slow, and users are seeing delays. How would you fix this?
◦ Answer:
▪ Enable S3 Transfer Acceleration for faster uploads/downloads.
▪ Use CloudFront (CDN) to deliver content faster globally.
▪ Check if the bucket policies or region are causing the delays.
9. Your EC2 application is timing out sometimes. How do you troubleshoot?

◦ Answer:
▪ Check the CloudWatch logs to see if there are any errors.
▪ Check Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) settings to ensure proper
distribution of traffic.
▪ Adjust Auto Scaling policies to handle traffic peaks.
10. What would you do if a Lambda function is timing out?

◦ Answer:
▪ Increase the timeout for the Lambda function.
▪ Optimize the code to run faster (e.g., reduce API calls).
▪ If the task is complex, break it into smaller steps using Step
Functions.

Security & Compliance

11. How would you manage access for several developers working on the same
AWS account?
 ◦ Answer:
▪ Use IAM roles and policies to give specific permissions to each
developer.
▪ Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for extra security.
▪ Apply the principle of least privilege (give only necessary
permissions).

12. How would you protect sensitive data in S3?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use S3 bucket policies to restrict access.
▪ Enable encryption (SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS) to protect data at rest.
▪ Use versioning to recover from accidental changes or deletions.
▪ Control access with IAM permissions.

Automation & DevOps

13. How would you automatically deploy infrastructure in AWS?
◦ Answer:
▪ Use CloudFormation to define and deploy your resources as code.
▪ Alternatively, use Terraform or AWS CDK for similar functionality.
14. How would you create an automated process to build and deploy your code in
AWS?

◦ Answer:
▪ Set up CodePipeline to automate the build and deployment process.
▪ Use CodeBuild to compile and test the code, and CodeDeploy to
deploy it.
▪ You can also integrate third-party tools like Jenkins.
15. How would you monitor an application in AWS?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use CloudWatch to monitor performance and set up custom metrics.
▪ Set CloudWatch Alarms to notify you if there are issues.
▪ Use X-Ray for tracing requests in your application.

Other Scenario-based Questions

16. What would you do if your application is under a DDoS attack?
◦ Answer:
▪ Use AWS Shield and WAF to protect against the attack.
▪ Use Route 53 to redirect traffic if necessary.
▪ Make sure your security groups are properly configured to block
malicious traffic.
17. How would you handle a big traffic spike during a promotional event?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use Auto Scaling to automatically add more instances when traffic
increases.
▪ Use Elastic Load Balancer to distribute the traffic evenly.
 ▪ Monitor traffic using CloudWatch and adjust scaling policies as
needed.
18. How would you deploy an application globally with low latency for users?

◦ Answer:
▪ Use CloudFront (CDN) to distribute content close to users.
▪ Use Route 53 to route users to the nearest region.
▪ Deploy the application in multiple AWS regions for global coverage.

Behavioral/Team-based Scenarios
19. What would you do if you disagree with a teammate about AWS architecture?
◦ Answer:
▪ Discuss the differences calmly and review the technical evidence.
▪ Consider AWS best practices and involve the team for a collaborative
decision.
20. If you had a tight deadline to migrate a system to AWS, how would you
manage it?

◦ Answer:
▪ Break the project into smaller phases: discovery, migration, and
testing.
▪ Use automated tools like CloudFormation or Database Migration
Service.
▪ Prioritize tasks that reduce downtime and ensure functionality.