Microsoft | SDE2 (L62) | Interview Loop | Offer accepted

My interview journey with Microsoft began after a recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn. The process involved four distinct rounds.

The first round, lasting an hour, focused on both High-Level Design (HLD) and Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA). For HLD, I was tasked with designing a URL shortener. The discussion went deep as the interviewer pushed beyond traditional solutions, exploring various components and scenarios. The DSA part involved a medium-hard variation of a sliding window problem. I received positive feedback for this round.

The second round, also an hour long, covered DSA and Low-Level Design (LLD). The DSA question was a medium-difficulty variation involving sorting and priority queues. For LLD, I was asked to design an agentic workflow. Again, the feedback was positive.

The third round was shorter, wrapping up in about 35 minutes. It began with a discussion about what excites me in technology and the kind of problems I enjoy solving. Based on my responses, we dove into a deep design discussion, exploring different scenarios related to a problem statement derived from our initial conversation. I received positive feedback for this round as well.

The final round was an 'AA' (As Appropriate) round. Here, the interviewer inquired about my work experience journey and followed up with detailed questions about the points I brought up. I also answered a few behavioral questions. Overall, the interview experience was comprehensive, and I was happy to receive and accept an offer for the SDE2 (L62) position.