Microsoft Staff DevOps Engineer Interview Preparation Guide
DevOps Engineer
Microsoft
Staff
9 rounds
Updated 2/22/2026
Microsoft's Staff-level DevOps Engineer interview process typically consists of a recruiter screening phase, followed by two technical phone screens, and concludes with 6 onsite interview rounds. The process evaluates expertise in large-scale infrastructure design, cloud platform mastery (with emphasis on Azure), CI/CD architecture, system reliability, and the ability to influence and mentor across teams. Staff-level candidates are expected to demonstrate strategic thinking, ownership of complex systems, and cross-functional leadership.
Interview Rounds
1
Recruiter Screening
30 min3 focus topicsculture fit
2
Technical Phone Screen 1: Infrastructure Architecture & Cloud Platform Strategy
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
3
Technical Phone Screen 2: CI/CD Automation & Deployment Pipelines
60 min5 focus topicstechnical
4
Onsite Round 1: System Design – Distributed Infrastructure at Enterprise Scale
60 min6 focus topicssystem design
5
Onsite Round 2: Kubernetes & Container Orchestration at Scale
60 min6 focus topicstechnical
6
Onsite Round 3: CI/CD Pipeline Design & Deployment Automation
60 min6 focus topicstechnical
7
Onsite Round 4: Infrastructure Troubleshooting & Incident Response
60 min6 focus topicstechnical
8
Onsite Round 5: Infrastructure as Code & Cloud Architecture Deep Dive
60 min6 focus topicstechnical
9
Onsite Round 6: Behavioral Interview & Technical Leadership
50 min6 focus topicsbehavioral