Hiwot Woldeyohannes: My Journey to Landing an SDE II Role at Amazon

Welcome to Formation’s Fellow Spotlight, a blog series designed to introduce you to former Formation Fellows who have landed their dream jobs. Today we’ll meet Hiwot "Hiwi" Woldeyohannes, a software developer at Amazon. Hiwi grew up thinking engineering was only relevant to building construction, and she didn’t have access to a laptop until well into her Freshman year of college. Hiwi came to Formation with 4 years of software engineering experience. Here’s her journey to becoming a full-time Software Development Engineer II at Amazon.

Interested in our Fellowship? If you're a software engineer with some working experience or projects, we'd love to help you get to the next level of your career.

What was your educational/professional background prior to Formation?

I studied Software Engineering as an undergrad in Ethiopia and spent 4 years working post-graduation as a software developer. Then, I got accepted into Maharishi International University in Iowa where I earned my MS in Computer Science. The whole experience of coming to Iowa to go to a university in a small town in the middle of a farm was a bit of a culture shock. Fortunately, everyone was super friendly. After graduating, I worked as a Full Stack Developer for Ford Motor Company. Then, I became a contractor for Creospan, Inc., a consultancy firm based in Illinois, where I worked for clients like Blue Cross Blue Shield and Northern Trust Bank.

I remember spending a majority of my entire first year of undergrad going to computer labs or asking friends to borrow their laptops just so I could study.

What originally got you interested in engineering?

I was always interested in logic and math, but I didn’t know what software engineering was until my high school IT teacher suggested I study it. I actually thought engineering was only used in construction! In fact, I didn’t even own a laptop until the end of my Freshman year, so I had no background in anything computer-related. I remember spending a majority of my entire first year of undergrad going to computer labs or asking friends to borrow their laptops so I could study. Despite not having access to a computer, I was passionate about pursuing engineering.

While I was in college in Ethiopia, I started teaching high school girls how to code. I applied for a grant from the U.S. Embassy so I could expand my tutoring and start my own project, and I won! Through my project, Girls Can Code and Beyond, 300+ high school girls learned how to code. Once they completed their training, they went back to their respective high schools and created their own coding clubs to teach others how to code. The project was really successful, and it became a model for other education projects, drawing high-profile guests like Dr. Jill Biden to graduation ceremonies. It's one of the things I’m most proud to have done.

I really wanted to join a FAANG company, not only for myself, but I wanted to show the girls back in my country and community that this is something they could do, too.

What made you want to up-level your career?

When I came to the U.S., I realized there were so many opportunities that simply weren’t in Ethiopia. I really wanted to join a FAANG company, not only for myself, but I wanted to show the girls back in my country and community that this is something they could do, too. I knew one day I would make it to one, but I didn’t know when.

After working at Northern Trust for a while, I was ready for something new. I had been studying Leetcode problems on my own, but it wasn't getting me anywhere. I didn’t have the focus or dedication I needed to really make a career move.

What was your specific goal in becoming a Fellow?

At first, I was just looking for discipline. I was studying by myself and I thought that Formation would help me continue to do things on my own but in a more structured way. After I joined, I realized I had to work on my communication skills. I’m really shy; it’s just my personality and culture. I also found that I needed to work on different technical skills and patterns. Working together with other Fellows and sharing my ideas with them were two things I didn’t expect to be so helpful. I learned so much from working alongside other Fellows!

I remember doing a systems design session with Tony the day before an interview; the next day, I was asked literally the same systems design question in the interview!

Did any specific Mentors stand out to you?

Tony and Sophie. Whenever I’m working on a problem, to this day, I always think, “What would Sophie think?” She helped me be really detail-oriented, write clean code, and communicate in a concise way. With Tony, he made everything interesting. I remember doing a systems design session with Tony the day before an interview; the next day, I was asked literally the same systems design question in the interview!

Your senior buddy was Ashley Wong. How did she help you throughout your Formation journey?

Ashley is really funny! She should be a comedian. We always laughed in our sessions. She told me about her work experience and she really made an effort to get to know me. She would help me prepare for interviews on the weekends. She grilled me! She pushed me. She’s really wonderful and she’s become a great friend of mine.

Ashley was a few rounds ahead of me in interview loops, so when I had an interview, she would reach out to me and tell me what I’d need to work on. After her Google interview ended, she told me she didn’t get an offer but that she wanted to make sure I did. And sure enough, I did!

The platform's timeline allowed me to actually enjoy the journey because I knew all the challenges and tasks I was doing were going to help me get to my end goal.

What did you think of the tech platform?

It’s straight to the point. Before Formation, I was on my own and all over the place. With the platform, I knew exactly what I was going to do for the day, which really helped with my task management. The timeline was super cool, too! Sometimes when you try to control a process, you only focus on the end goal. The platform's timeline allowed me to actually enjoy the journey because I knew all the challenges and tasks I was doing were going to help me get to my end goal.

If I had tried to prepare by myself without these mock interviews, I wouldn’t have landed my role at Amazon.

How did your interview skills improve with your Formation training?

I learned a lot. So much so that I was incredibly confident in my Amazon interview. I wasn’t scared at all. Considering I didn’t even try to interview at FAANG companies before Formation, this was big for me.

My interview skills improved dramatically. Most people underestimate the behavioral questions, and I worked a lot on refining my communication skills and developing my narrative. I also benefited greatly from the mock interviews with both Mentors and Fellows. If I had tried to prepare by myself without these mock interviews, I wouldn’t have landed my role at Amazon.

What team are you on in your new role?

SWE II Last Miles—I’m working on shipping and route logistics.

“Quick-Fire”

First code you shipped?
A calculator for a school project during my undergrad education

Proudest moment?
Hearing from the girls in the Girls Can Code and Beyond Project I ran in Ethiopia. After I moved to the U.S., they’d reach out to me and tell me they had pursued a career in engineering or were studying it in college because of the project. These were such proud moments for me.

Biggest mistake?
I used to run a startup with my friends in Ethiopia. For some small reasons, I gave up on it. Then, they did, too. Now, someone else has taken our idea and run with it, creating a big company in Ethiopia that I know we could have made instead if we just stuck with it.

Favorite group session?
Systems design sessions with Tony. He always pushed us to think outside of the box, and the group of Fellows was always really fun to work with.

Biggest surprise about Formation?
The community of Fellows! Before Formation it was really hard to find people with the same mindset as you. Every engineer in the Fellowship is trying to better their careers and they have all been in the same place as you before—they’ve all struggled to do it on their own. There’s always a Fellow around to answer your questions and everyone is super nice!

Anything else you want to share?
For everyone who is struggling, just know that all your hard work is going to pay off; just be patient and enjoy the process. Once you enjoy it, it’s no longer work.

Join engineers like Hiwi and reach your career goals. Apply for our Fellowship and land the engineering role that excites you.