Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Interview Experience
February 1, 2013
Neutral ExperienceNo Offer
Process
Phone interview.
The interviewer was very friendly and began with an explanation of the interview process and some HR questions. It lasted 23 minutes, and I haven't yet heard back.
In the end, she asked if I had any questions, so I asked the ones I had prepared.
I was a little worried that we didn't take the whole time allotted and almost asked how I should interpret that, but she didn't seem willing to give any hints (I asked if she had any advice for me, and she said no), so I let it go.
Questions
What was your most difficult programming project and how were you able to work through it?
How many lines was your longest coding project and what did it do?
How would you test a wireless keyboard?
How would you design a calculator for second graders?
You have 9 marbles and one is slightly heavier than the rest. You also have a scale. How would you determine the heavier marble using the scale only twice?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 314 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) role in United States.
Success Rate
37%
Pass Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) roles in the United States is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive54%
Neutral39%
Negative7%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) interview process in United States.
Microsoft Work Experiences
5.0
Great Company, Lacking Perks
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Seattle, Washington, United States
September 18, 2020
Pros: A great company to work with.
Cons: No free food.
No free gym.
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
It's 2009. The golden days of M$ have passed. Looking at MSFT's stock price, you will know what I meant
Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
September 15, 2009
Pros: Excellent place if you are a star coder & game player. Microsoft loves super-smart coders. If you can code 12 hours without stopping, Microsoft is still willing to pay big bucks for you.
Cons: If you want promotion, work/life balance is very hard to maintain. Opaque and inhuman review process.
- 5.0Great Company, Lacking PerksSoftware Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current EmployeeSeattle, Washington, United StatesSeptember 18, 2020Pros: A great company to work with.Cons: No free food. No free gym.
- 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.
- 2.0It's 2009. The golden days of M$ have passed. Looking at MSFT's stock price, you will know what I meantSoftware Development Engineer In Test (SDET) • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesSeptember 15, 2009Pros: Excellent place if you are a star coder & game player. Microsoft loves super-smart coders. If you can code 12 hours without stopping, Microsoft is still willing to pay big bucks for you.Cons: If you want promotion, work/life balance is very hard to maintain. Opaque and inhuman review process.
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