Process
I had four rounds of technical interviews, all of which required coding. One involved higher-level design, but I still had to pseudo-code.
The interviewers varied; it was a bit of a luck of the draw.
- The first interviewer appeared bored and lacked energy.
- The second was arrogant, and his offers of help felt more like he wanted to end the interview quickly. The question was also very difficult.
- The next two interviewers were more laid-back and friendly. I enjoyed the last two sessions the most.
All interviewers were male.
Questions
Design the game of Connect 4.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 77 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Engineer II role in United States.
Success Rate
31%
Pass Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software Engineer II roles in the United States is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive58%
Neutral23%
Negative18%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Microsoft's Software Engineer II interview process in United States.
Microsoft Work Experiences
3.0
Good benefits. Competition over acknowledgment was noticeable, in my opinion
Software Engineer II • Former Employee
Israel, Israel
October 28, 2025
Pros: Good benefits, health care, and work-life balance.
Cons: Cross-group communication could improve, and cross-team communication as well.
Sometimes, it felt like employees competed against each other for acknowledgment ("my features, my presentation, my impact..."), rather than as a group with a shared goal.
Considerable aspects of the product were not documented. In my opinion, documentation was generally lacking.
5.0
Great values, great work-life benefits, great job!
Software Engineer II • Current Employee
Redmond, Washington, United States
January 18, 2021
Pros: Good benefits (parental leave, health insurance).
Supportive management with a "growth mindset" rather than a fear of failure.
Lots of opportunities to move around.
Cons: Lots of old code to maintain, migrate, re-write.
Lots of old processes to upgrade (deployment, infrastructure, frameworks).
5.0
Touching The World, Sometimes Slow
Software Engineer II • Current Employee
Prague, Czech Republic
April 6, 2023
Pros: You are touching the world.
Cons: Sometimes things take time to process.
- 3.0Good benefits. Competition over acknowledgment was noticeable, in my opinionSoftware Engineer II • Former EmployeeIsrael, IsraelOctober 28, 2025Pros: Good benefits, health care, and work-life balance.Cons: Cross-group communication could improve, and cross-team communication as well. Sometimes, it felt like employees competed against each other for acknowledgment ("my features, my presentation, my impact..."), rather than as a group with a shared goal. Considerable aspects of the product were not documented. In my opinion, documentation was generally lacking.
- 5.0Great values, great work-life benefits, great job!Software Engineer II • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesJanuary 18, 2021Pros: Good benefits (parental leave, health insurance). Supportive management with a "growth mindset" rather than a fear of failure. Lots of opportunities to move around.Cons: Lots of old code to maintain, migrate, re-write. Lots of old processes to upgrade (deployment, infrastructure, frameworks).
- 5.0Touching The World, Sometimes SlowSoftware Engineer II • Current EmployeePrague, Czech RepublicApril 6, 2023Pros: You are touching the world.Cons: Sometimes things take time to process.
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