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MICROSOFT · SDE 1

Microsoft SDE 1 interview

The SDE 1 (entry-level software engineer) level at Microsoft is Software Engineer (59–60), for new grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

From public candidate reports and Microsoft's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Microsoft.

Track my Microsoft prep
Microsoft titleSoftware Engineer (59–60)
ExperienceNew grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 4
System design roundUsually not

The SDE 1 rounds, in order

  1. Online assessment · 90 min

    Mostly for new grads and campus hiring: two or three easy-to-medium coding problems in 60 to 90 minutes.

    At SDE 1: The main filter for new grads and campus drives. Expect two medium problems, sometimes one hard. Passing all test cases on both usually gets you to the next round.

  2. Phone / recruiter screen · 60 min

    One or two live coding problems, sometimes with resume questions, occasionally run by the hiring manager.

    At SDE 1: Usually one medium problem. Explain your idea before coding and test by hand at the end.

  3. Coding (DSA) × 3 · 45 min

    Code runs in a tool that compiles and executes it, pseudocode is not accepted, and you are expected to test your own solution; new-grad loops are often three coding rounds.

    At SDE 1: The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

  4. Hiring manager · 60 min

    The final conversation, historically called the 'As Appropriate' (AA) interview, covers background and behavioral questions and often one open design question.

    At SDE 1: Motivation, learning, a project walk-through and sometimes CS fundamentals.

What Microsoft interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Growth mindset plus stated values: Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Growth mindset. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Microsoft SDE 1

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

Difficulty
Topic
21 questions
  1. Reverse Words in a String Medium Arrays & Hashing
  2. Two Sum Easy Arrays & Hashing also Amazon, Atlassian, Swiggy
  3. Word Search Medium Recursion & Backtracking also PhonePe
  4. First Missing Positive Hard Arrays & Hashing also Flipkart, Walmart Global Tech
  5. Spiral Matrix Medium Arrays & Hashing also Adobe
  6. Longest Substring with At Most K Distinct Characters Medium Arrays & Hashing also Razorpay
  7. Reverse Nodes in k-Group Hard Linked List also Amazon
  8. Copy List with Random Pointer Medium Linked List also Amazon, Meta
  9. Merge k Sorted Lists Hard Heaps also Amazon
  10. Swap Nodes in Pairs Medium Linked List
  11. Sort List Medium Linked List
  12. Construct Binary Tree from Preorder and Inorder Traversal Medium Trees & BST
  13. Validate Binary Search Tree Medium Trees & BST
  14. Number of Islands Medium Graphs also Amazon, Meta, Goldman Sachs +1
  15. Median of Two Sorted Arrays Hard Binary Search also Adobe
  16. Trapping Rain Water Hard Arrays & Hashing also Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce +1
  17. LRU Cache Medium Design Data Structures also Amazon, Apple, Netflix +4
  18. Container With Most Water Medium Arrays & Hashing also Goldman Sachs
  19. Sort Colors Medium Arrays & Hashing
  20. Decode String Medium Stack also Google
  21. Gas Station Medium Arrays & Hashing also Amazon

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

Design at SDE 1

Formal design rounds start at Senior (63+) and are optional or light at SDE II. The prep page names distributed systems, service-oriented architecture, replication, partitioning, CAP and auto-scaling. Prompts often resemble Microsoft or Azure products.

All Microsoft system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the Microsoft SDE 1 interview?

About 4 interviews after the screening: online assessment, phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), hiring manager.

Is there a system design round for Microsoft SDE 1?

Usually not as a separate round. Formal design rounds start at Senior (63+) and are optional or light at SDE II. The prep page names distributed systems, service-oriented architecture, replication, partitioning, CAP and auto-scaling. Prompts often resemble Microsoft or Azure products.

What coding questions does Microsoft ask at SDE 1?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Reverse Words in a String, Two Sum, Word Search, First Missing Positive, Spiral Matrix.

What does Microsoft expect in coding rounds at SDE 1?

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

SDE 1 interviews at other companies

SDE 1 interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions