Microsoft Software Development Engineer interview questions
based on 1.2K ratings - Updated Jul 22, 2025
Averageinterview difficulty
Very positiveinterview experience
How others got an interview
57%
Campus Recruiting
Campus Recruiting
18%
Applied online
Applied online
12%
Recruiter
Recruiter
10%
Employee Referral
Employee Referral
1%
Staffing Agency
Staffing Agency
1%
In Person
In Person
1%
Other
Other
Interview search
1,152 interviews
Viewing 71 - 75 of 1,152 Interviews
Microsoft interviews FAQs
Software Development Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 4 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 71.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Development Engineer roles take an average of 1 day to get hired, when considering 1 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 46 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Software Development Engineer according to 1 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 100%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
I applied through college or university. I interviewed at Microsoft
Interview
Total rounds: 5
Round 1: Online round (competitive programming)
Round 2: Group Fly (quiz round in group). 1 coding question + general tech question
Round 3, 4, 5: Face-to-Face interview. The interviewers asked two question on algorithms in each round.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design an algorithm for efficient operation of an elevator
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in May 2019
Interview
The recuiter approached after I had applied for couple of different events. They found resume in the system and asked me for my availability. First step was an online assessment test, which was very easy. Then they flew me over to Washington for an on-site interview.
Onsite consisted of 4 interview round. 3 coding rounds and 1 OOP.
It was a recruitment drive, so the afternoon batch has 12-15 candidates and same for morning batch as well. The candidates were treated very nicely. The interview questions were easy to medium level from Leetcode. Focus on Data-structures and OOP.
I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Herzliya)
Interview
There were 5 technical interviews:
1. Phone screening with technical programming questions.
2. Technical interview with 2 members of the team.
3. Technical interview with a senior engineer with more complex design questions.
4. Technical interview with the engineering manager.
5. Background and professional questions interview with the group manager.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Describe the classes needed to implement a drawing application (like Paint).
Think about the object oriented concepts and the relationships between the classes.