Microsoft Software Development Engineer interview questions
based on 1.2K ratings - Updated Jul 22, 2025
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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 online. I interviewed at Microsoft in Nov 2015
Interview
Applied online via company website and received an email to schedule a 30 minute phone call. Interview was pretty straight forward HR-ish interview. After the interview was over, interviewer said that I was very impressive and the next round would be an on-site interview, if selected. But after 15-20 days, I received an email that other candidates were selected over me, which was unexpected after hearing that I was impressive.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Explain polymorphism as if you are speaking to your Grand mother.
I applied through college or university. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Dec 2014
Interview
Phone based technical screening followed by 5 in-person 1 on 1 interviews at Redmond. Technical screening is focused on coming up with a solution and how you arrive at the solution. The in-person interviews varied from problem solving to class design. It had a lot more interaction with the interviewer compared to technical screening. The interviewers also guide you a little bit if you start to go wrong or if you miss a point (look out for this).
I applied through college or university. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Fargo, ND) in Jan 2016
Interview
Onsite for 4 rounds. I arrived there the day before the interview. We had pizza in a local restaurant that night with other peers. I was interviewed in interviewers' office, they are all very nice. In every round, I was asked about previous projects and there are no hard questions. Very nice experience.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Basic algorithm questions, focusing on corner cases. Design problem of a shopping cart.