Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington
April 20, 2013
Positive ExperienceGot Offer
Process
The interview process began with a 30-minute college technical screen, which included a programming problem, test cases for it, and some basic behavioral questions. This was followed by five one-hour rounds in Redmond.
The first two rounds were with individual contributors, and the last three were with managers of increasing seniority.
Most rounds followed a format of solving one or two problems on the board and then writing test cases for them. The exception was the last round with a senior manager, who also engaged in a non-technical conversation to determine my fit with the company.
Occasionally, there was enough time left to discuss some of my projects or interests. This was particularly appropriate during the lunch interview.
Overall, it was a very pleasant interview experience, which I had expected from Microsoft based on reading other reviews.
Questions
I did not get any particularly challenging algorithms/data structures questions, but one problem had a constant-time solution that was not immediately obvious.
So, before jumping in, think whether there could be a trick that trivializes the problem.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 128 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) role in Redmond, Washington.
Success Rate
49%
Pass Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) roles in Redmond, Washington is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive66%
Neutral23%
Negative12%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) interview process in Redmond, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
3.0
Smart Team, Political Managers
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
May 3, 2015
Pros: Every org at Microsoft is different, so this is specifically for Lync (Skype for Business).
* A lot of smart, talented, and experienced engineers from whom I learned a lot.
* In general, managers had been promoted from within the org and were very knowledgeable and passionate about the product.
* Got to work on very interesting, deep challenges and learned a lot about how to make large, scalable services serving millions of users.
* For the most part, there weren't too many tight deadlines or pressure to work an exorbitant number of hours.
* A good amount of freedom. Teams were generally left to make a lot of their own technical decisions without much micromanaging from upper management. At least for my team, the leads were always up for a discussion on the best way to do things.
* Catered breakfast! Everyday!
Cons: - Difficult to ramp up in the beginning. Tons of different services, endless internal acronyms and code names, not much documentation (or no one remembered where the documentation was, or it hadn't been updated in 5 years). A lot of people had been there for years, so they didn't understand what it's like to be new.
- Some managers (unfortunately mine) clearly got to their positions because of their ability to play politics rather than technical skill or leadership ability (or intelligence), and the engineers under them suffer because of it.
- A lot of process and overhead that doesn't always make much sense and slows things down.
- Dependent on internal tools and infrastructure that can be unreliable and difficult to find documentation on.
2.0
Your experience and career growth depends on your lead
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
January 18, 2012
Pros: There are some very smart, passionate people working there.
When you're on a good team, it doesn't seem like work. Employees feel excited and empowered.
The pay and benefits are good, and many people have their own office.
Cons: Your career growth and rewards are highly dependent on how well you get along with your manager, how much they'll fight for you, and how effective they are at working the system. Depending on your organization, there can be a lot of reorgs, and your experience and time at Microsoft account for zero if leadership doesn't know you. Lately, Microsoft has been making sweeping changes, such as "a person must be at X number level to have Y position," despite whether or not individuals have been working in and doing well at Y positions for years. Rather than promote the individual to the new level requirement, they are told they can no longer have that position.
4.0
Software Development Engineer in Test
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
July 4, 2013
Pros: Great company, great people and technology to work with.
Awesome benefits.
Work/life balance.
Cons: - Slowing down on innovation path.
- Top leadership needs to change.
- 3.0Smart Team, Political ManagersSoftware Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesMay 3, 2015Pros: Every org at Microsoft is different, so this is specifically for Lync (Skype for Business). * A lot of smart, talented, and experienced engineers from whom I learned a lot. * In general, managers had been promoted from within the org and were very knowledgeable and passionate about the product. * Got to work on very interesting, deep challenges and learned a lot about how to make large, scalable services serving millions of users. * For the most part, there weren't too many tight deadlines or pressure to work an exorbitant number of hours. * A good amount of freedom. Teams were generally left to make a lot of their own technical decisions without much micromanaging from upper management. At least for my team, the leads were always up for a discussion on the best way to do things. * Catered breakfast! Everyday!Cons: - Difficult to ramp up in the beginning. Tons of different services, endless internal acronyms and code names, not much documentation (or no one remembered where the documentation was, or it hadn't been updated in 5 years). A lot of people had been there for years, so they didn't understand what it's like to be new. - Some managers (unfortunately mine) clearly got to their positions because of their ability to play politics rather than technical skill or leadership ability (or intelligence), and the engineers under them suffer because of it. - A lot of process and overhead that doesn't always make much sense and slows things down. - Dependent on internal tools and infrastructure that can be unreliable and difficult to find documentation on.
- 2.0Your experience and career growth depends on your leadSoftware Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJanuary 18, 2012Pros: There are some very smart, passionate people working there. When you're on a good team, it doesn't seem like work. Employees feel excited and empowered. The pay and benefits are good, and many people have their own office.Cons: Your career growth and rewards are highly dependent on how well you get along with your manager, how much they'll fight for you, and how effective they are at working the system. Depending on your organization, there can be a lot of reorgs, and your experience and time at Microsoft account for zero if leadership doesn't know you. Lately, Microsoft has been making sweeping changes, such as "a person must be at X number level to have Y position," despite whether or not individuals have been working in and doing well at Y positions for years. Rather than promote the individual to the new level requirement, they are told they can no longer have that position.
- 4.0Software Development Engineer in TestSoftware Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJuly 4, 2013Pros: Great company, great people and technology to work with. Awesome benefits. Work/life balance.Cons: - Slowing down on innovation path. - Top leadership needs to change.
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