Microsoft TPM (Technical Program Manager)

Microsoft is an OG of the tech industry. From Office to Azure to Xbox, chances are you’ve interacted with Microsoft products throughout your life. Technical product managers everywhere bridge the gap between end users and engineering, but with the resources of a giant like Microsoft at your disposal, you’ll have a unique opportunity to solve big problems and change lives.

All product managers cooperate with a variety of different teams, but technical product managers have their hands in the guts of the product more often than their PM counterparts. Especially at Microsoft, where Product Managers tend to be less technical and business-focused, TPMs bring a deep technical expertise to the role while carrying out their core responsibilities. You can count on developing roadmaps, analyzing customer data, and managing projects, but your focus will likely be on the technical execution of your strategy.

In this article, we examine some of the most frequently asked questions and dispel any preconceived notions that candidates might have about interviewing for a technical product management role at Microsoft.

Typically, there are 3 rounds of interviews for Microsoft PM roles: recruiter, phone, and on-site.

Recruiter

After submitting your application, a recruiter will reach out to understand your reasons for applying. If you are a college new grad, you will be hired into a general organization (such as Cloud and AI or Office). As an experienced hire, you will be interviewing for a specific position.

Questions you can expect to field with the recruiter include:

• Why Microsoft?
• What appeals to you about a technical product management role?
• (For experienced hires) Why do you want to work in this particular space?

Be prepared to go through your past experiences at a high level - don’t expect too much technical detail. This call will be used to ensure you're a good communicator, and a decent, collaborative person who will fit into Microsoft’s culture.

Hiring Manager

Next, you’ll have a ~1 hour call with your potential hiring manager. He or she will take you through more specifics about the role and your group (if you’re interviewing with a specific team), and ask more behavioral questions. He/she is trying to get to know you, but you can expect to discuss your experience more deeply as well.

A recent Microsoft TPM hire who had formerly worked at Google was asked about Google “language” and how it compares to Microsoft, so you may want to brush up on Microsoft’s corporate culture, values, and how they’re a fit with your past experience.

You’re likely to get questions like:

• Tell me about yourself
• Where do you see yourself in five year?
• What’s your favorite Microsoft product? How would you improve it?

On-site

Following the phone interview is the final on-site (due to COVID-19, the onsite will likely be replaced with a video conference but the structure will remain the same.) A typical on-site interview consists of 5 back-to-back rounds of a mix of technical and product questions. This might seem like a lot, but you’ll have at least a week or two to prepare, and your recruiter will be in touch with you to walk you through the process so there are no surprises.

Each onsite interview will take roughly one hour: 45-50 minutes of interview time with 5-10 minutes at the end to answer any questions you may have. Our TPM source faced 3 technical rounds including questions on:

• General systems design
• Data structures (techniques used for different applications, database questions, etc.)
• Data sourcing

You will have the opportunity to use a whiteboard in every interview.

The other two rounds were more behavioral: the first was with her hiring manager, and the second was with the head of the group she was interviewing for.

If you visit a physical location, you’ll have a one and a half hour lunchtime opportunity to have a casual conversation with one of your Microsoft interviewers where you will get food from the Microsoft cafeteria. You will also have an opportunity to take a 30 minute break near the end of your onsite.