Microsoft Data Scientist Interview Questions India 2026

Microsoft technical interview FAQ

01What is the recruitment process at Microsoft?

The typical Microsoft recruitment process has 4 stages: Recruiter screen and role alignment → Technical screen on ML, statistics, and SQL → Onsite loop: problem framing, ML fundamentals, SQL, and behavioural → Team match and offer.

02What are the interview rounds at Microsoft?

Microsoft typically conducts 4 interview rounds: Round 1 (45-60 min): ML, statistics, and SQL screen.; Round 2 (45-60 min): end-to-end problem-framing case round.; Round 3 (45-60 min): ML and statistics fundamentals round.; Round 4 (45 min): behavioural round..

03What framework should I use for Microsoft technical interviews?

HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action framework for this type of interview: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention

04Reverse a linked list in groups of K. Then explain how you'd test it, including the edge cases you'd worry about.

To answer this question well, HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action approach: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention Ground your answer in a specific real example from your own experience.

05Given a binary tree, return its right-side view. Reason aloud about your traversal choice before you write code.

To answer this question well, HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action approach: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention Ground your answer in a specific real example from your own experience.

06Find the minimum window in a string that contains all characters of another string. Optimise it, then walk me through your complexity.

To answer this question well, HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action approach: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention Ground your answer in a specific real example from your own experience.

07You must build a churn-prediction model for an enterprise SaaS product. Walk through problem framing, features, model, and how you'd make predictions actionable for the business.

To answer this question well, HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action approach: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention Ground your answer in a specific real example from your own experience.

08Explain how you'd handle a heavily imbalanced classification problem, and why accuracy is misleading here. What metrics and techniques apply?

To answer this question well, HireStepX recommends the Frame-and-Action approach: Frame the business problem first, apply solid ML and statistics fundamentals, and tie every prediction to a concrete, actionable intervention Ground your answer in a specific real example from your own experience.