Microsoft

Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington

February 1, 2016

Positive ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I had an onsite interview with MS in February 2016. The interview started at 1:00 PM and lasted several hours.

I met with four interviewers and had a 10-minute break with free snacks and drinks between each session.

Every interviewer followed a similar process:

Talking about the project/research I had done.
Whiteboard programming.

The overall experience was positive.

Questions

What have been your failures in the past?

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

Great company to work for

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

January 12, 2016

Pros: You get what you put in. If you want a good work-life balance, you can do that and be successful. Or, if you want to put in a lot of extra hours, you'll be recognized. Great pay and benefits. Inclusive culture. Easy to move around to other teams if you want to. My friends who were hired with me and didn't click with their first teams have mostly found new teams that they enjoy better.

Cons: Some people are frustrated with the small scope of what they work on or the slow pace, but I think that's just a symptom of the size and complexity of the projects you work on at Microsoft.

Great company to work for

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

January 12, 2016

Pros: You get what you put in. If you want a good work-life balance, you can do that and be successful. Or, if you want to put in a lot of extra hours, you'll be recognized. Great pay and benefits. Inclusive culture. Easy to move around to other teams if you want to. My friends who were hired with me and didn't click with their first teams have mostly found new teams that they enjoy better.

Cons: Some people are frustrated with the small scope of what they work on or the slow pace, but I think that's just a symptom of the size and complexity of the projects you work on at Microsoft.

Microsoft is a great place to work

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Solid compensation and benefits, many career paths, and opportunities to learn, improve your skills, and grow. Microsoft's products have a massive impact on the computing world and are used by millions every day.

Cons: The only thing that I can think of is the flat stock.

Microsoft is a great place to work

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Solid compensation and benefits, many career paths, and opportunities to learn, improve your skills, and grow. Microsoft's products have a massive impact on the computing world and are used by millions every day.

Cons: The only thing that I can think of is the flat stock.

Lumbering, 90% politics, little innovation, poor review process

Software Development Engineer • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

October 24, 2013

Pros: I worked there for 4 years, and not once did the paycheck bounce or come late. Also, if you want the chance to write code that will be used by millions of people, this is one place you can do it. There are others, though.

Cons: I found it impossible to have much of an impact on anything as an IC at MS. Also, if you have unique skills that not every programmer has, like I do (PhD in theoretical physics), such skills are wasted at a place like MS. If you want to have an impact on things, I found much more success at a small company. It's the whole big fish/small pond thing, I suppose.

Lumbering, 90% politics, little innovation, poor review process

Software Development Engineer • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

October 24, 2013

Pros: I worked there for 4 years, and not once did the paycheck bounce or come late. Also, if you want the chance to write code that will be used by millions of people, this is one place you can do it. There are others, though.

Cons: I found it impossible to have much of an impact on anything as an IC at MS. Also, if you have unique skills that not every programmer has, like I do (PhD in theoretical physics), such skills are wasted at a place like MS. If you want to have an impact on things, I found much more success at a small company. It's the whole big fish/small pond thing, I suppose.

Great company to work for

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

January 12, 2016

Pros: You get what you put in. If you want a good work-life balance, you can do that and be successful. Or, if you want to put in a lot of extra hours, you'll be recognized. Great pay and benefits. Inclusive culture. Easy to move around to other teams if you want to. My friends who were hired with me and didn't click with their first teams have mostly found new teams that they enjoy better.

Cons: Some people are frustrated with the small scope of what they work on or the slow pace, but I think that's just a symptom of the size and complexity of the projects you work on at Microsoft.

5.0
Great company to work for
Software Development Engineer • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
January 12, 2016
Pros: You get what you put in. If you want a good work-life balance, you can do that and be successful. Or, if you want to put in a lot of extra hours, you'll be recognized. Great pay and benefits. Inclusive culture. Easy to move around to other teams if you want to. My friends who were hired with me and didn't click with their first teams have mostly found new teams that they enjoy better.
Cons: Some people are frustrated with the small scope of what they work on or the slow pace, but I think that's just a symptom of the size and complexity of the projects you work on at Microsoft.

Microsoft is a great place to work

Software Development Engineer • Current Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

Pros: Solid compensation and benefits, many career paths, and opportunities to learn, improve your skills, and grow. Microsoft's products have a massive impact on the computing world and are used by millions every day.

Cons: The only thing that I can think of is the flat stock.

5.0
Microsoft is a great place to work
Software Development Engineer • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
June 11, 2008
Pros: Solid compensation and benefits, many career paths, and opportunities to learn, improve your skills, and grow. Microsoft's products have a massive impact on the computing world and are used by millions every day.
Cons: The only thing that I can think of is the flat stock.

Lumbering, 90% politics, little innovation, poor review process

Software Development Engineer • Former Employee

Redmond, Washington, United States

October 24, 2013

Pros: I worked there for 4 years, and not once did the paycheck bounce or come late. Also, if you want the chance to write code that will be used by millions of people, this is one place you can do it. There are others, though.

Cons: I found it impossible to have much of an impact on anything as an IC at MS. Also, if you have unique skills that not every programmer has, like I do (PhD in theoretical physics), such skills are wasted at a place like MS. If you want to have an impact on things, I found much more success at a small company. It's the whole big fish/small pond thing, I suppose.

2.0
Lumbering, 90% politics, little innovation, poor review process
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
October 24, 2013
Pros: I worked there for 4 years, and not once did the paycheck bounce or come late. Also, if you want the chance to write code that will be used by millions of people, this is one place you can do it. There are others, though.
Cons: I found it impossible to have much of an impact on anything as an IC at MS. Also, if you have unique skills that not every programmer has, like I do (PhD in theoretical physics), such skills are wasted at a place like MS. If you want to have an impact on things, I found much more success at a small company. It's the whole big fish/small pond thing, I suppose.

Microsoft Interview Questions

Minimum Edge Reversals So Every Node Is Reachable

You're given a directed graph. Determine the minimum number of edges you need to reverse so that every node becomes reachable from node 0.

GraphsDynamic Programming

Two Sum

Find two numbers in a given array that add up to a specific target value, and return their indices. Essentially, you need to efficiently locate the pair that satisfies the sum requirement.

Valid Word

Determine if a given word is considered valid based on a specific set of rules or constraints. The goal is to check if the input string adheres to the specified validation criteria.

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