Software Development Engineer Interview Experience - Seattle, Washington
November 1, 2009
Neutral ExperienceNo Offer
Process
This is an on-campus interview for new graduates.
The interviewer is an SDE himself. He asked me three questions:
- Why do you want to be an SDE?
- Design a function to map between a string and a number in a specific order.
- How many people can you stuff in a school bus?
Questions
How many people can you stuff in a school bus?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 83 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Development Engineer role in Seattle, Washington.
Success Rate
23%
Pass Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software Development Engineer roles in Seattle, Washington is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive54%
Neutral31%
Negative14%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Development Engineer interview process in Seattle, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
4.0
A very good company
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Seattle, Washington, United States
May 5, 2014
Pros: Colleagues are smart; management is good.
Cons: Nothing bad to talk about it.
4.0
Group specific experience
Software Development Engineer • Current Employee
Seattle, Washington, United States
November 27, 2008
Pros: Great people to work with and interesting tasks. I was using a mix of software and hardware description languages to do my task, and I think that is very rewarding. Also, my manager was very easy to approach and gave me good feedback based on my performance. The benefits are decent, too.
Cons: The company's experience is very group-specific. If you don't pick your group carefully, you could easily end up in a group you don't like very much. Also, the company as a whole has very bad press coverage. A day does not go by that I notice some headline somewhere saying something negative about Microsoft.
5.0
Great Company, Good Pay
Software Development Engineer • Former Employee
Seattle, Washington, United States
September 29, 2025
Pros: Great company and good pay.
Cons: Not much to dislike. I enjoyed it.
- 4.0A very good companySoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeSeattle, Washington, United StatesMay 5, 2014Pros: Colleagues are smart; management is good.Cons: Nothing bad to talk about it.
- 4.0Group specific experienceSoftware Development Engineer • Current EmployeeSeattle, Washington, United StatesNovember 27, 2008Pros: Great people to work with and interesting tasks. I was using a mix of software and hardware description languages to do my task, and I think that is very rewarding. Also, my manager was very easy to approach and gave me good feedback based on my performance. The benefits are decent, too.Cons: The company's experience is very group-specific. If you don't pick your group carefully, you could easily end up in a group you don't like very much. Also, the company as a whole has very bad press coverage. A day does not go by that I notice some headline somewhere saying something negative about Microsoft.
- 5.0Great Company, Good PaySoftware Development Engineer • Former EmployeeSeattle, Washington, United StatesSeptember 29, 2025Pros: Great company and good pay.Cons: Not much to dislike. I enjoyed it.
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