Research Fellow applicants have rated the interview process at Microsoft with 2.5 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 100% positive. To compare, the company-average is 66.4% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Research Fellow roles take an average of 15 days to get hired, when considering 2 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Microsoft overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Microsoft as a Research Fellow according to 2 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 20%
Skills test: 20%
Background check: 10%
IQ intelligence test: 10%
Group panel interview: 10%
Phone interview: 10%
Personality test: 10%
Presentation: 10%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
Apply on website like other roles but additionally fill a MS form that asks about your areas of interest and skills. Additionally, also need to write a statement of purpose elaborating why you want to work with a particular team/research at MSR India.
If resume shortlisted then 3-5 interview rounds depending on team.
Expect medium-hard leetcode, questions on your research. If team is ML focused expect questions on ML fundamentals. For systems team they can ask questions on OS, GPU programming, etc.
Better to prepare a presentation on your best research project so that you can use it during interviews if asked about your research.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Question on ordering of nodes on graph based on dependency
I applied through other source. The process took 2 days. I interviewed at Microsoft (Bengaluru) in Sep 2024
Interview
Purely interviewer research experience based, on computer vision , maths in theoretical ml, approximate nearest neighbour methods and advances . Medium level coding questions.
Resume based project questions. Average 2 rounds with researchers and a coding round
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
About projects I worked on that are aligned with their research projects that they are working on
I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Microsoft (Bangalore Rural) in Jun 2021
Interview
They basically want to know about your research. Stay confident and do your best. Prepare basic concepts of Computer Science. Study research papers, as they will be very useful in answering questions.