Microsoft Software Engineer Interview Guide

The short answer: Microsoft's software engineer interview usually starts with a short screening conversation and an online coding assessment or technical screen, then a final loop. Microsoft says most loops have two to four conversations of up to an hour, with 45-minute technical rounds in a tool that compiles and runs your code. Each team runs its own process, so the mix varies. Last reviewed October 2026.

Microsoft software engineer interview: quick answers

The Microsoft software engineer role

What Microsoft engineers work on, the skills its job postings ask for, and what a normal week looks like.

Microsoft software engineer levels and pay

Your level sets the bar you are interviewed against and the pay band of the offer.

Level names and experience come from Microsoft's postings where they state them, and otherwise from compensation data and candidate reports.

Pay in Microsoft's US job postings

Microsoft's US postings name the pay band (IC2 to IC6) and give a US typical base range plus a higher range for the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. Microsoft says certain roles are also eligible for other compensation. The level numbers in brackets (59 to 64) come from compensation data, not from Microsoft.

Principal Software Engineer postings use either the IC5 or the IC6 band, and some list both, so the title alone does not fix the pay. Ranges seen October 27, 2026.

Microsoft software engineer interview process

Microsoft's hiring tips pages describe the general shape and the technical round format. Round mix and timing come from candidate guides, and Microsoft stresses that steps vary by role and team.

Based on Microsoft's hiring pages and candidate reports.

Microsoft publishes no timeline. Candidate guides say three to eight weeks, and new grads report three to five weeks from phone screen to offer. Last reviewed October 2026.

What is different at Microsoft

• Team by team. Microsoft says next steps vary by role, and candidate guides say each team runs its own process. Some candidates meet several hiring managers in one loop.
• Code that runs. Microsoft's technical interviewing page says you code in a third-party tool where you can compile and run your code, in the language you are strongest in, and without pseudocode.
• STAR plus Reflection. Microsoft recommends the STAR(R) model for behavioral answers: Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection.
• The "As Appropriate" interviewer. You may hear about the AA interview. Raymond Chen, a longtime Microsoft engineer, wrote in 2023 that it was a final interviewer who read earlier feedback and decided whether the last interview should happen, and that the term is no longer used officially.

Microsoft software engineer interview questions

Coding problems from our bank, then design and behavioral practice prompts we wrote for this guide.

1class LRUCache:
2    def __init__(self, capacity: int):
3        pass
4
5    def get(self, key: int) -> int:
6        pass
7
8    def put(self, key: int, value: int) -> None:
9        pass

1class Node:
2    __slots__ = ("key", "value", "prev", "next")
3
4    def __init__(self, key=0, value=0):
5        self.key, self.value = key, value
6        self.prev = self.next = None
7
8
9class LRUCache:
10    def __init__(self, capacity: int):
11        self.capacity = capacity
12        self.nodes = {}
13        # Sentinels: head.next is the most recent node, tail.prev the least recent.
14        self.head, self.tail = Node(), Node()
15        self.head.next, self.tail.prev = self.tail, self.head
16
17    def _unlink(self, node):
18        node.prev.next, node.next.prev = node.next, node.prev
19
20    def _push_front(self, node):
21        node.prev, node.next = self.head, self.head.next
22        self.head.next.prev = node
23        self.head.next = node
24
25    def get(self, key: int) -> int:
26        node = self.nodes.get(key)
27        if node is None:
28            return -1
29        self._unlink(node)
30        self._push_front(node)
31        return node.value
32
33    def put(self, key: int, value: int) -> None:
34        node = self.nodes.get(key)
35        if node is not None:
36            node.value = value
37            self._unlink(node)
38        else:
39            if len(self.nodes) == self.capacity:
40                lru = self.tail.prev
41                self._unlink(lru)
42                del self.nodes[lru.key]
43            node = Node(key, value)
44            self.nodes[key] = node
45        self._push_front(node)
46
47# A hash map finds the node and a doubly linked list keeps the order, so both calls are O(1).

How to prepare

A plan for the Microsoft loop, most important first:

1. Find out which team you are interviewing with and read about its product.
2. Practice coding in an editor where you run your code and tests.
3. For senior roles, practice system design. It is a level-setting round.
4. Write behavioral stories in STAR(R) form.

Practice path

Courses that cover the rounds above:

• Data Structures and Algorithms
• System Design
• C#