Microsoft
Enterprise software, cloud (Azure), and AI powerhouse.
4 Rounds
~21 Days
Hard
The Interview Loop
Recruiter Screen (30 min)
Standard fit check, behavioral questions, and resume overview.
Technical Loop (3-4 Rounds)
Deep dive into domain knowledge, coding, and system design.
Interview Question Bank
Data Engineer
•
Coding
•
medium
Write a SQL query to find the second highest salary per department.
#Window Functions
#SQL
Data Engineer
•
Coding
•
medium
Write a SQL query to compute a 7-day rolling average of daily sales.
#Window Functions
#Analytics
Data Engineer
•
Coding
•
hard
Write a SQL query to find the maximum number of consecutive days a user logged into Office 365. You are given a table `user_logins` with columns `user_id` and `login_date`.
#Window Functions
#Gaps and Islands
#CTEs
Data Engineer
•
Coding
•
medium
Write a SQL query to find the top 3 highest-grossing products in each product category from the `microsoft_store_sales` table.
#Window Functions
#Ranking
#Aggregations
Data Engineer
•
Technical
•
medium
Explain the difference between OLAP and OLTP systems. When would you use each?
#OLAP
#OLTP
#Databases
Data Engineer
•
Technical
•
hard
How would you optimize a SQL query that is running slowly on a 1 billion row table?
#Query Optimization
#Indexing
Data Engineer
•
Technical
•
medium
Explain the difference between RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), and ROW_NUMBER().
#Window Functions
#SQL
Data Engineer
•
Technical
•
medium
What is a materialized view? How does it differ from a regular view?
#Materialized Views
#Performance
Data Engineer
•
Technical
•
medium
What are CTEs (Common Table Expressions) and how do they differ from subqueries?
#CTEs
#SQL
Difficulty Radar
Based on recent AI-sourced data.
Meet Your Interviewers
The "Standard" Interviewer
Senior EngineerFocuses on core competencies, system constraints, and clear communication.
SimulateUnwritten Rules
Think Out Loud
Always explain your thought process before writing code or drawing architecture.