The process took 4 months. I interviewed at Microsoft (Seattle, WA) in Feb 2012
Interview
I had a 1:1 interview for a first round, and talked to hardware engineers about interest in power electronics and control systems and the interview went well and I was informed 3 weeks after that I made it to final rounds in Seattle. It took about 3 months for them to set up the final rounds and mentioned that they told more people than they should have about final rounds, nevertheless I was selected. I arrived at Seattle thinking I will continue my interview process for the same position in electronics hardware engineering, but I was surprised to see that my 5 interviews were all about mechanical engineering, structural mechanics, and product design which was not made clear to me before starting. Needless to say I was unprepared for that kind of interview and didn't do as well as I hoped.
Not too technical, only a few simple oral questions about coding skills. Other questions are behavioral, such as asking what's your biggest challenge so far or what is your strength/weakness.
I was directly invited to the final round. Three sessions followed, each lasting 45 minutes, with a 15-minute break between them. It was a rigorous process but an exciting experience overall.
Took about month to hear from them. Email described that your papers have been read and your interview is being scheduled. Next week the recruiter invites to a meeting the next day. 1st meeting with the recruiting manager. Sadly not invited to proceed. I was asked during the interviewing about skills that I did not have.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Have you been been in charge of installation/investment processes when getting new equipment?