# Microsoft Software Engineer (SC2) Interview Experience (2025) Aced (formerly Exponent) publishes a public search API over its indexed pages; the guide is at https://www.aced.io/agents/agent-access. Source: https://www.aced.io/experiences/microsoft-software-engineer-interview-89b7e7 Source observed: 2026-11-04T23:46:00.143Z Last checked: 2026-11-04T23:46:00.143+00:00 Indexed: 2026-11-06T17:01:41.444+00:00 --- # Microsoft Software Engineer (SC2) Interview Experience We publish interview preparation resources through Aced (formerly Exponent), including Microsoft’s interview guide, interview experiences, questions, and resumes. - [Microsoft Software Engineer Interview Guide](https://www.aced.io/guides/microsoft-software-engineer-interview) - [25 Microsoft interview experiences](https://www.aced.io/guides/microsoft-software-engineer-interview/experiences) - [102 interview questions](https://www.aced.io/guides/microsoft-software-engineer-interview/questions) - [138 resumes](https://www.aced.io/guides/microsoft-software-engineer-interview/resumes) ## Experience overview - **Role:** Software Engineer (SC2) - **Company:** Microsoft - **Level:** Mid Level / L4 - **Location:** United States - **Verification:** Verified - **Submitted:** 7 months ago - **Interview date:** A year ago - **Timespan:** 1 month - **Difficulty:** Moderate - **Result:** Waiting - **Interview rounds:** Recruiter screen, phone interview, and final round - **Questions:** 10 questions across 3 rounds > “The so-called system design round totally threw me off. He was like, ‘let's code it out,’ and wanted me to build a file system with four use cases in 45 minutes, and then the recruiter just ghosted me for a month.” ## Interview process The candidate interviewed for an SC2 software engineer position on Microsoft’s Experience + Devices team, working on Copilot integration into the Microsoft 365 suite. After applying, the candidate completed a standard engineer screen that was described as pretty easy. Microsoft then moved quickly to a four-round final loop over two days. Every final-round interviewer was principal-level. Nearly every round—including the system design and hiring manager rounds—was primarily coding. The most difficult round used a file-system prompt. Instead of a conventional system-design discussion, the interviewer requested a low-level design implemented with classes and multiple use cases in 45 minutes. At the time of the submission, the candidate had no official outcome because the recruiter had not responded for a month after the loop. The candidate described the experience as their worst interview experience with any company. ## Interview rounds ### Recruiter screen The candidate applied, and a recruiter and team member contacted them to schedule the screen. The recruiter conversation was largely logistical. After the interview loop, the recruiter stopped responding. ### Phone interview - **Duration:** 45 minutes - **Interviewer:** Senior interviewer - **Format:** Mostly open-ended questions, with a short follow-up near the end - **Style:** Frequent pushback on trade-offs **Question:** How would you improve a product you use every day for a new market? **Candidate’s approach:** The candidate selected a segment first, sized it, compared three options, and then chose one option and its success metric. ### Final round The accessible interview content describes a final-round format with the same 45-minute, senior-interviewer structure: mostly open-ended questions, a short follow-up near the end, and substantial discussion of trade-offs. The page also records the distinctive file-system exercise: the interviewer expected the candidate to code a low-level design using classes and multiple use cases within 45 minutes, rather than only discussing a high-level system design. ## Interview tips from the experience - Practice answers out loud with a timer. - Keep a framework ready for each round. - Ask the recruiter what each interviewer focuses on so you can tailor your examples. ## Company culture observations The candidate described the interviewers as collaborative and said they repeatedly directed the discussion toward the user. The team appeared to value structured thinking over polish, and interviewers left time for questions at the end. ## Access and contribution The rest of this interview experience is available to members, along with new experiences added weekly. Membership includes a 24-hour trial that starts once a submitted experience is approved. - [Become a member](https://www.aced.io/upgrade?src=experience) - [Share your experience](https://www.aced.io/questions/contribute?src=experience) ## More Microsoft interview experiences - [Software Development Engineer II](https://www.aced.io/experiences/microsoft-software-engineer-interview-ca84de?returnPath=%2Fguides%2Fmicrosoft-software-engineer-interview%2Fexperiences) — Microsoft, Apr 2026. **Verified; 5 rounds; 5 questions.** The candidate said that reasoning through a binary-tree solution mattered even without using BFS or DFS terminology. - [Software Engineer](https://www.aced.io/experiences/microsoft-software-engineer-intern-interview-d80437?returnPath=%2Fguides%2Fmicrosoft-software-engineer-interview%2Fexperiences) — Microsoft, Aug 2026; 1 round; 1 question. The candidate described the experience as still in progress and mentioned LeetCode preparation, data structures and algorithms, system design, and dynamic programming. - [Software Engineer](https://www.aced.io/experiences/microsoft-software-engineer-interview-c0113a?returnPath=%2Fguides%2Fmicrosoft-software-engineer-interview%2Fexperiences) — Microsoft, Jun 2026; 1 round; 1 question. The candidate discussed current responsibilities and work, completed a coding question, and recommended preparing data structures and algorithms. [See all 25 Microsoft Software Engineer interview experiences →](https://www.aced.io/guides/microsoft-software-engineer-interview/experiences) --- [Read this page’s summary](https://www.aced.io/agents/api/public/v1/page-tldr?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aced.io%2Fexperiences%2Fmicrosoft-software-engineer-interview-89b7e7&trace=t_679ff9ab98f3) ## Ask a follow-up about this page Need a more specific answer? Ask the exact question you have. It returns a fresh, cited answer from Aced (formerly Exponent)’s knowledge base. No account or API key required. Open this URL with your own question, URL-encoded. Include your question in q. All research inputs are optional; no account or setup. `GET https://www.aced.io/agents/agent/faq?q={question}&trace=t_679ff9ab98f3` [Tool guide and examples](https://www.aced.io/agents/agent-access) · [OpenAPI](https://www.aced.io/agents/api/public/v1/openapi.json) · [Page TLDR form](https://www.aced.io/agents/agent-tools/page-tldr?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aced.io%2Fexperiences%2Fmicrosoft-software-engineer-interview-89b7e7). Opening a form does not execute a tool.