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Prep/Companies/Microsoft

Big tech · Redmond, Washington

Microsoft.

Azure cloud, Microsoft 365 (Office, Outlook, Teams), Windows, Xbox and LinkedIn.

its questions lean on

object-oriented design
concurrency
scheduling and queues
caching
classic HLD problems

The rounds, as candidates describe them

DSAA coding round, usually two medium problems.source ↗
Low-level designImplement a component with classes, design patterns and multithreading in focus.source ↗
High-level designA system design round.source ↗
Hiring managerPast experience, behavioural questions and often a design discussion about a Microsoft system.source ↗

Reported by candidates

From public interview write-ups; each links its source.

Design a URL ShortenerSystem design
IP-01 · Design a URL Shortener →W01 · BOSS · Design a URL Shortener at Scale →IP-04 · Design a Unique ID Generator →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft interview experience, offer (2024) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L64 India, TinyURL with monetisation (2022) ↗
Design a Rate LimiterSystem design
IP-02 · Design a Rate Limiter →W01 · DAY 03 · Rate Limiting at Scale →LLD-03 · Design a Rate Limiter →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L63 interview, rejected (2022) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L64 Hyderabad, offer (2021) ↗
Design a Web CrawlerSystem design
IP-05 · Design a Web Crawler →W07 · DAY 02 · Indexing Pipeline →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L63 India, offer (2023) ↗
Design Typeahead Search (Autocomplete)System design
IP-09 · Design Typeahead Search (Autocomplete) →W07 · DAY 04 · Typeahead at Scale: Autocomplete, Spelling and Facets →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L63 India, HLD of text auto-complete (2023) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L64 India, autocomplete for a mobile keyboard (2022) ↗
Design a Distributed Job SchedulerSystem design
IP-17 · Design a Distributed Job Scheduler →W02 · DAY 05 · Distributed Cron & Job Scheduling →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft Senior SWE L63 Hyderabad (2024) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L63 India drive, LLD of a task scheduler (2025) ↗
Design a Payment SystemSystem design
IP-20 · Design a Payment System →SQ-01 · India's UPI →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L60, HLD of a UPI payments app (2023) ↗
Design a News FeedSystem design
IP-07 · Design a News Feed →SQ-21 · Instagram Feed and Stories →W04 · DAY 04 · Feed Caching →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L61 Hyderabad, Instagram feed and reels (2023) ↗
Design a File Sync ServiceSystem design
IP-10 · Design a File Sync Service (Dropbox / Google Drive) →SQ-08 · AWS S3 →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft SDE 2, file sharing app HLD (2024) ↗
Design an LRU CacheLow-level design
LLD-02 · Design an LRU Cache →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft L64 Hyderabad, offer (2024) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft Senior SWE Bangalore, offer (2023) ↗
Design a Parking LotLow-level design
LLD-01 · Design a Parking Lot →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Google (accepted) and Microsoft (declined) experiences (2021) ↗LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft Senior SWE Bangalore, offer (2023) ↗
Design an Elevator SystemLow-level design
LLD-04 · Design an Elevator System →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft interview experience, offer (2024) ↗
Design an In-Memory Message QueueLow-level design
LLD-08 · Design a Logging Framework (Pub-Sub) →IP-18 · Design a Distributed Message Queue →reported in:LeetCode Discuss · Microsoft Senior SWE L63 Hyderabad (2024) ↗

Likely, from what they build

Our pick, not a report: questions that fit Microsoft's products.

Design a Chat SystemSystem design
IP-08 · Design a Chat System →SQ-02 · WhatsApp Messaging →
Design a Collaborative EditorSystem design
SQ-20 · Google Docs Collaboration →W05 · DAY 04 · Conflict Resolution →

Study path

Every lesson the questions above point to, once, in order.

01IP-01Design a URL Shortener
02W01 · BOSSDesign a URL Shortener at Scale
03IP-04Design a Unique ID Generator
04IP-02Design a Rate Limiter
05W01 · DAY 03Rate Limiting at Scale
06LLD-03Design a Rate Limiter
07IP-05Design a Web Crawler
08W07 · DAY 02Indexing Pipeline
09IP-09Design Typeahead Search (Autocomplete)
10W07 · DAY 04Typeahead at Scale: Autocomplete, Spelling and Facets
11IP-17Design a Distributed Job Scheduler
12W02 · DAY 05Distributed Cron & Job Scheduling
13IP-20Design a Payment System
14SQ-01India's UPI
15IP-07Design a News Feed
16SQ-21Instagram Feed and Stories
17W04 · DAY 04Feed Caching
18IP-10Design a File Sync Service (Dropbox / Google Drive)
19SQ-08AWS S3
20LLD-02Design an LRU Cache
21LLD-01Design a Parking Lot
22LLD-04Design an Elevator System
23LLD-08Design a Logging Framework (Pub-Sub)
24IP-18Design a Distributed Message Queue
25IP-08Design a Chat System
26SQ-02WhatsApp Messaging
27SQ-20Google Docs Collaboration
28W05 · DAY 04Conflict Resolution

Company names and logos are trademarks of their owners, shown only to identify each company. This course isn't affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.

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