Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington
December 1, 2009
Neutral ExperienceGot Offer
Process
They usually conduct five one-hour interviews. Each interview consists of multiple coding and technical questions.
Questions
Find the common ancestor of two nodes in a binary tree.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 214 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer role in Redmond, Washington.
Success Rate
45%
Pass Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software Development Engineer roles in Redmond, Washington is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive75%
Neutral17%
Negative8%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer interview process in Redmond, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
4.0
Smart Colleagues, Boring Work
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
October 6, 2015
Pros: Good benefits, not too stressful, and lots of events.
There are lots of smart people working at Microsoft, and everyone is willing to help.
Cons: Boring work if you are far down the chain. Only Microsoft Research gets to work on the interesting projects; most other people work on maintaining what is already there.
4.0
Choose a group that is appropriate to your personality: small vs. big, deadline-oriented vs. design-oriented
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
June 4, 2013
Pros: I was very productive only after I understood the Microsoft culture: getting things done with initiative. My work was more visible in smaller groups. I was a little lost in bigger groups, and I had shied away when I did not get the recognition. Never do that.
Cons: I disagree with the interview process. Very often, the puzzles hardly test anything if the candidate has seen the solution earlier. You can only do so much during the limited time. Some of the best software designers I have seen work methodically, slowly, and iteratively.
3.0
An OK company that lacks innovation
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
January 12, 2013
Pros: The pay is good, and it has good benefits. It's in a nice location and campus.
There are interesting people, a great office, and facilities.
Cons: Not so interesting problems, some people are not that friendly and helpful, and upper management is short-sighted.
- 4.0Smart Colleagues, Boring WorkSoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesOctober 6, 2015Pros: Good benefits, not too stressful, and lots of events. There are lots of smart people working at Microsoft, and everyone is willing to help.Cons: Boring work if you are far down the chain. Only Microsoft Research gets to work on the interesting projects; most other people work on maintaining what is already there.
- 4.0Choose a group that is appropriate to your personality: small vs. big, deadline-oriented vs. design-orientedSoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJune 4, 2013Pros: I was very productive only after I understood the Microsoft culture: getting things done with initiative. My work was more visible in smaller groups. I was a little lost in bigger groups, and I had shied away when I did not get the recognition. Never do that.Cons: I disagree with the interview process. Very often, the puzzles hardly test anything if the candidate has seen the solution earlier. You can only do so much during the limited time. Some of the best software designers I have seen work methodically, slowly, and iteratively.
- 3.0An OK company that lacks innovationSoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJanuary 12, 2013Pros: The pay is good, and it has good benefits. It's in a nice location and campus. There are interesting people, a great office, and facilities.Cons: Not so interesting problems, some people are not that friendly and helpful, and upper management is short-sighted.
Microsoft Interview Questions
Explore Interview QuestionsTaro 75Google Interview QuestionsMeta Interview QuestionsAmazon Interview QuestionsApple Interview QuestionsNetflix Interview Questions
Explore Interview ExperiencesOpenAI Interview ExperiencesAnthropic Interview ExperiencesPerplexity Interview ExperiencesWindsurf Interview ExperiencesMistral AI Interview Experiences
