Software Engineer Interview Experience - Redmond, Washington
Process
This was for a fresh graduate role in the firmware space. I had four rounds of interviews.
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Technical phone screen: 30 minutes. I was asked questions about RTOS, synchronization primitives, and to explain a linked list and an array to a 5-year-old.
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Panel interview: 1 hour each, 3 rounds. Questions ranged from strings to linked lists, with an emphasis on many behavioral questions.
Questions
Asked me about compare/test and compare and swap.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 188 interview experiences for the Microsoft Software Engineer role in Redmond, Washington.
Success Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Software 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 Engineer interview process in Redmond, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
- 4.0Pretty good WLB, old techSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesNovember 16, 2025Pros: Work-life balance. Good people. RTO sucks, does not pay enough.Cons: RTO, old tech, slow moving.
- 3.0Good Benefits, Amazon CultureSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesNovember 15, 2025Pros: Good medical insurance, and the peers are nice.Cons: Amazon culture incoming: layoffs are getting more frequent.
- 4.0Good Work/Life Balance (under threat)Software Engineer • Current EmployeeRedmond, Washington, United StatesNovember 5, 2025Pros: Unlimited PTO Good career progression Lots of good managersCons: Work flexibility under threat recently. Positive experience dependent on joining a team with a good manager.
Microsoft Interview Questions
