Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington
Process
I had a technical phone screen via Skype, where I answered questions about my resume and did some coding via a shared Notepad.
About a week later, I received the invite to interview in Redmond, which was scheduled for another week later.
I flew out to Redmond and did a series of five back-to-back interviews, with a variety of technical and behavioral questions.
Less than a week later, I received my offer letter.
The entire process was extremely professional and positive. Microsoft really goes out of their way to welcome you and make you feel comfortable during the interview process.
Questions
The types of questions they asked were in "Cracking the Coding Interview" (which is an outstanding study guide).
No matter what technical questions they ask, be prepared to discuss the time and space complexity (Big O notation) for the algorithms you propose.
Always test your code and try to find the bugs before they do.
Discuss alternative implementations and the trade-offs involved.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 214 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer role in Redmond, Washington.
Success 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
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer interview process in Redmond, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
- 4.0Good place if you want securitySoftware Development Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJanuary 13, 2014Pros: Great place to work, but such a huge company your experience may vary. Great people to work with, most everyone respects work-life balance. Great place to develop a career.Cons: Depending on what project you're on can get a bit boring, not as glorious as you might think or what you experience as an intern. There aren't many options for changing projects like other tech companies might offer. Most people are there for a very short time or a very long time.
- 4.0Slow but niceSoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesSeptember 9, 2025Pros: Good work-life balance, supportive programs and structures for early career employees.Cons: Bureaucracy... slow moving for small changes.
- 5.0Innovative Projects, Low Referral BonusSoftware Development Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesMay 3, 2016Pros: Very dedicated, knowledgeable, energetic, and nice colleagues around every team I met here. We try to seek solutions from both our internal codebase as well as open-source projects out there. This is definitely different from what I've heard about MSFT before joining.Cons: The referral program has some constraints that may pull the company's leg. For example, we can't refer college graduates, while almost all those SV startups can (they even do internal referrals for interns). The referral bonus is lower than the competitors'.
Microsoft Interview Questions
