Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington
Process
The interview process I went through was a bit abnormal, as the project I worked on was being acquired by Microsoft.
I did not need a phone interview. Instead, I went straight to Redmond with my other team members for an on-site interview.
It started from 9 to 5, a full day including lunch. Each interviewer had me for an hour and asked me coding questions, design questions, about my past experience (especially how well I knew the project being acquired by Microsoft), and the usual.
At the end of the interview, I was taken to a person who said that if I wasn't hired, I wouldn't have met him, so I was very happy.
A few days later, I received a pretty decent offer, and so I took the job.
Questions
Cannot mention too many specific things due to an NDA, but it involves writing a binary tree and printing it in a tree-viewable format on the console.
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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
- 4.0Interesting Tech, Slow DecisionsSoftware Development Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesFebruary 1, 2012Pros: - Interesting technologies and lots of software development everywhere. - Run by engineers. - Vast opportunities to work on different kinds of products and technologies. - Great, intelligent, and happy people.Cons: - Too much politics or management gets in the way of shipping great products. - Too hesitant to ship interesting ideas unless it's a $10B business. - Benefits are steadily declining. - New review model sucks.
- 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.
- 4.0Great company to start your careerSoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJanuary 12, 2017Pros: - Super smart co-workers. - Good understanding of how a big company operates. - Great learning of technology and useful things, like email etiquette (yeah, that's a thing). - Amazing benefits and stock options.Cons: - Can be hard to navigate the org chart to know what everyone is working on. - Teams often work on things that step on each other's toes. - You work for the big and evil Microsoft.
Microsoft Interview Questions
