I applied through college or university. The process took 5 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Redmond, WA) in Dec 2014
Interview
4 Rounds of interviews onsite. I would categorize them into Design, Work Ethic, Technical and Motivation.
In my Design Interview, I was asked to design for an application while getting more and more constraints. It was to help see your though process and come up with new novel ways to solve problems.
In Work Ethic, we talked about deciding between two designs, at a point where parallel paths could not be taken. We should always ignore personal beliefs and look at the data to help us choose the correct path to follow.
The Technical interview was the most difficult. I was brought in front of a very stern engineer who tested my abilities on mechanics and thermodynamics.
The last was Motivation. Why did I want to work on Microsoft and why did I want to be a hardware engineer? What did I think was coming in the future and how would I help Microsoft through design and character.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How many ways would you improve on our current device? List them.
Everyone was laid back and it didn't seem like an interview once you opened up. The interview process was set for 30 minutes but only took 15 minutes. Don't feel bad if it ended short.
This is a first round screen interview. The HR scheduled a half hour interview. Then a Microsoft engineer called. Not a lot behavior or technical question is asked. The whole interview is about my previous experience.
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft in Oct 2019
Interview
Phone screen with the Hiring Manager that lasted about 20 minutes. Then 5 one-hour long interviews (1:1 via Microsoft Teams) with Hiring Manager, Regional Director, and three Mechanical Engineers. The Hiring Manager, Regional Director, and one of the Mechanical Engineer were more situational/motivational type questions, the remaining two Mechanical Engineer interviews were technical.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Non-technical: Explain a time you were under pressure and had to meet a deadline, a time when you weren't getting along with a cowoker, how do you accept or reject meeting invites, etc. Explain your understanding of the job description and how your skills and experience fit it.
