Solutions Architect Interview Experience - Bellevue, Washington
Process
I was first contacted by the hiring manager by phone and scheduled an informal in-person interview to discuss the position and salary expectations.
Then, I was scheduled for a full day of in-person interviews with seven people, ranging from software engineers to peers to a second-level manager. All interviews went well and consisted of discussions on what the position entails, as well as specific questions on performance optimization, data modeling, technical architecture design, and past projects. There were also some whiteboard questions to jot down code samples and data models.
All interviews went well, except with the hiring manager himself. He started with, "How do you feel about working hard?" and made it very clear considerable overtime was expected. He also asked a couple of very vague questions on data modeling and performance, to which I didn't give good answers. I'm pretty sure he was convinced at that time he wouldn't hire me.
Questions
Draw a data model for an inventory system.
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Microsoft Solutions Architect role in Bellevue, Washington.
Success Rate
Microsoft's interview process for their Solutions Architect roles in Bellevue, Washington is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Microsoft's Solutions Architect interview process in Bellevue, Washington.
Microsoft Work Experiences
- 5.0Invest In Visions, Despite BureaucracySolutions Architect • Current EmployeeBellevue, Washington, United StatesJune 10, 2018Pros: Great company with a lot of great people, and the luxury to invest in visions.Cons: Big and sometimes very bureaucratic. Very afraid it cannot shake the reputation it acquired in the 90's and early 2000's of being evil.
- 3.0Good Benefits, Confusing VisionSolutions Architect • Current EmployeeChicago, Illinois, United StatesOctober 28, 2025Pros: Benefits are comprehensive and quite good.Cons: There is very little alignment between the teams, and the overall vision on management is poorly defined. This leads to confusion in expectations. Return to office is coming down the pike.
- 4.0Good place for WLBSolutions Architect • Current EmployeeShanghai, Shanghai, ChinaOctober 10, 2025Pros: Massive and monthly layoffs affect morale, and people don't have the mood to do the right thing, but instead do meaningless work.Cons: Work-life balance, such as working from home 2-3 days a week.
Microsoft Interview Questions
