My Microsoft Interview Experience - SDE2 (Total Experience ~3 years)
Summary
I successfully interviewed for an SDE2 position at Microsoft, clearing all 6 rounds including an Online Assessment, two DSA rounds, two LLD rounds, and a Hiring Manager round, ultimately receiving an offer.
Full Experience
Hey everyone,
I recently went through the Microsoft interview process for an SDE2 role, with a total of 6 rounds including an Online Assessment. My goal in sharing this is to help others who are preparing for similar interviews, just as other posts helped me.
1. Online Assessment:
My online assessment consisted of two medium-level questions, primarily based on arrays and strings. I don't recall the exact problems, but they were standard fare.
2. DSA Round:
The first Data Structures and Algorithms round featured the Gas Station problem. I explained all possible approaches, starting with a brute-force solution and progressively moving towards the optimal one. The interviewer seemed satisfied with my explanation and followed up with a few questions about my resume.
3. LLD Round:
My first Low-Level Design round required me to design a Multi-level charging station. I began by clarifying the problem statement and discussing all the essential requirements. Following this, I moved into designing the classes and finally implemented a few strategies as requested by the interviewer.
4. LLD Round:
The second Low-Level Design round was about designing a Chess Game. I approached this similar to the previous LLD round, focusing heavily on creating a modular and extensible class design. The interviewer posed a few follow-up questions, such as how to handle AI versus Human player interactions.
5. DSA Round:
In my second DSA round, I was given the Substring with Concatenation of All Words problem. I started by outlining a brute-force approach and then tried to build an intuition for a more optimal solution. I struggled to reach the optimal solution initially, but after receiving a hint from the interviewer, I successfully arrived at it.
6. HM round:
The Hiring Manager round involved a variety of behavioral questions and a detailed discussion about my current projects. The round concluded with another DSA question, which was the "Trapping rainwater problem".
FINAL VERDICT:
One day later, I received a call confirming my selection at Microsoft.
Interview Questions (5)
I was asked to solve the Gas Station problem.
The task was to design a Multi-level charging station. I needed to clarify requirements and design the system.
I had to design a Chess Game, focusing on modularity and extensibility. Follow-up questions included handling AI vs Human scenarios.
I was presented with the Substring with Concatenation of All Words problem.
The "Trapping rainwater problem" was asked during the hiring manager round.
Preparation Tips
I prepared for my interviews by thoroughly reviewing similar LeetCode interview experience posts. My hope is that my shared journey will be beneficial for others preparing for similar roles. I wish all future candidates the very best in their journey!