just finished my microsoft data engineer loop last month, Redmond team (Azure Data). wanted to put something useful here since i couldn't find many specific write-ups when i was prepping.
the loop was 5 rounds total: 1 screening with recruiter, 1 phone screen with the hiring manager, then a 3-round virtual onsite (they call it a 'virtual onsite' but it's all video, obviously).
what they actually asked:
SQL was real and non-trivial. not just basic joins. i got a multi-step problem: start with a raw events table, write something to deduplicate, then aggregate, then they added a wrinkle halfway through about handling late-arriving data. felt like they wanted to see how you think when the requirements shift.
pipeline design: they described a scenario where you have 50TB of logs coming in daily, mixed latency requirements (some dashboards need near-real-time, some can be batch). asked me to walk through my architecture. i talked through Azure Data Factory vs Databricks jobs for the batch side, Event Hubs + Stream Analytics for the streaming path. they weren't dogmatic about the tech, they cared that i reasoned about tradeoffs.
there was also a behavioral component in every round. not just one dedicated round. the HM asked the classic 'tell me about a time you had competing priorities' and a conflict-with-a-stakeholder one. both STAR-format answers, expect follow-ups like 'what would you do differently.'
things i wish i'd known:
they use a 'growth mindset' framework internally (very Microsoft, very Satya Nadella era). the interviewers are specifically listening for: did you learn something, did you admit a mistake, did you improve. threads that end with 'i crushed it and everything was perfect' land worse than threads that end with 'i messed up and here's what changed after.'
leveling came up briefly. i applied for SDE II equivalent, which in the data eng world at Microsoft is roughly L62. that felt right for 7 YOE. don't assume you'll land where you apply.
whole process took about 5 weeks start to finish. headcount was real, recruiter was communicative.