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Home / Compensation / Microsoft / Software Engineer
Total compensation for a Microsoft Software Engineer ranges from about $145K at the entry level to $1.2M+ at the most senior bands, with a typical mid-level package around $340K. Below is the full breakdown by level - base salary, annual equity, and bonus - from public-source data.
Public-source estimates (Beta). Last updated 2026-05. Figures are annualized USD.
Comparing Microsoft with another offer? Google software engineer salary · Amazon software engineer salary · Microsoft product manager salary
| Level | Years | Base (p50) | Equity/yr (p50) | Bonus (p50) | Total (p25-p90) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59 (SDE)Software Engineer (New Grad) | 0-2 YOE | $130K | $18K | $15K | $145K - $205K |
| 60-61 (SDE II)Software Engineer II | 2-5 YOE | $170K | $40K | $22K | $195K - $320K |
| 62-63 (Senior)Senior Software Engineer | 5-9 YOE | $215K | $90K | $38K | $280K - $500K |
| 64-65 (Principal)Principal Software Engineer | 9-14 YOE | $260K | $200K | $55K | $410K - $800K |
| 66+ (Partner)Partner Software Engineer | 13+ YOE | $315K | $320K | $95K | $580K - $1.2M |
Entry-level. New grad SDE. Microsoft's new-grad offers tend to be slightly below Google/Meta.
Mid-level. Most-common SDE level. Comparable to Amazon SDE II.
Senior IC. Equity component grows. Comparable to Google L5 but tends to be 10-20% lower on total comp.
Principal IC. Roughly comparable to Google L6.
Partner. Company-wide visibility. External hires at this level are rare.
The entry level for a Microsoft Software Engineer in this dataset is 59 (SDE) - Software Engineer (New Grad) (0-2 YOE). Median total compensation is $165K, with the 25th-90th percentile at $145K-$205K; the median package is $130K base, $15K bonus, $18K equity a year.
Microsoft's new-grad offers tend to sit slightly below Google and Meta. This dataset has no separate signing-bonus figure for Microsoft.
The median annual bonus for a Microsoft Software Engineer runs from $15K at 59 (SDE) to $95K at 66+ (Partner), which is 9% of the median package at 59 (SDE) and 13% at 66+ (Partner). Cash (base plus bonus) is 88% of the median package at 59 (SDE) and 56% at 66+ (Partner).
Microsoft pays base salary, an annual cash bonus and RSUs that vest a quarter each year with no cliff. Manager bonus targets run higher than individual-contributor targets, and higher again at Partner. Stock grants have historically been less generous than at Google or Meta, offset by share-price gains.
| Level | Bonus (p50) | Bonus share of package | Cash share (base + bonus) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59 (SDE)Software Engineer (New Grad) | $15K | 9% | 88% |
| 60-61 (SDE II)Software Engineer II | $22K | 10% | 83% |
| 62-63 (Senior)Senior Software Engineer | $38K | 11% | 74% |
| 64-65 (Principal)Principal Software Engineer | $55K | 11% | 62% |
| 66+ (Partner)Partner Software Engineer | $95K | 13% | 56% |
| Promotion | Median before | Median after | Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59 (SDE) → 60-61 (SDE II) | $165K | $230K | +39% |
| 60-61 (SDE II) → 62-63 (Senior) | $230K | $340K | +48% |
| 62-63 (Senior) → 64-65 (Principal) | $340K | $510K | +50% |
| 64-65 (Principal) → 66+ (Partner) | $510K | $730K | +43% |
Microsoft Software Engineer total compensation runs $145K-$1.2M across 5 levels, from 59 (SDE) to 66+ (Partner). The middle level, 62-63 (Senior) - Senior Software Engineer, has a median of $340K.
The entry level for a Microsoft Software Engineer in this dataset is 59 (SDE) - Software Engineer (New Grad) (0-2 YOE). Median total compensation is $165K, with the 25th-90th percentile at $145K-$205K; the median package is $130K base, $15K bonus, $18K equity a year. Microsoft's new-grad offers tend to sit slightly below Google and Meta.
Microsoft Software Engineer levels and median total compensation - 59 (SDE) - Software Engineer (New Grad): $165K; 60-61 (SDE II) - Software Engineer II: $230K; 62-63 (Senior) - Senior Software Engineer: $340K; 64-65 (Principal) - Principal Software Engineer: $510K; 66+ (Partner) - Partner Software Engineer: $730K. Microsoft numbers its levels: 59 is SDE, 60-61 SDE II, 62-63 Senior, 64-65 Principal, 66 and up Partner. Managers share the same numbers.
The median annual bonus for a Microsoft Software Engineer runs from $15K at 59 (SDE) to $95K at 66+ (Partner), which is 9% of the median package at 59 (SDE) and 13% at 66+ (Partner). Cash (base plus bonus) is 88% of the median package at 59 (SDE) and 56% at 66+ (Partner). RSUs vest a quarter each year with no cliff.
At Microsoft, 62-63 (Senior) - Senior Software Engineer (5-9 YOE) has a median total compensation of $340K, with the 25th-90th percentile at $280K-$500K.
The Microsoft loop is two coding rounds, system design from SDE II up, and a hiring-manager round framed around Growth Mindset. There is a prep pack for each level.
Microsoft SDE / SDE I (New Grad) prep pack7 rounds. 6 of them can be practised here - each one below links the rep that trains it.
Other levels: SDE / SDE I · SDE II · Principal SDE / Lvl 65-66 loops →
Recruiter screen
30-45 minutes. Background, level calibration (SDE II vs Senior is contested), team interest, scope of past work. Recruiter often probes cross-team impact stories early.
Phone screen (technical)
60 minutes. One coding problem at Medium-to-Hard difficulty plus 2-3 behavioral questions with senior framing. Pass to advance to onsite.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: Coding round 1
60 minutes. Algorithmic problem at Medium-to-Hard. Edge cases and clean code expected as table stakes; the differentiator is depth on follow-ups.
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: Coding round 2 (sometimes)
60 minutes. Some Senior loops include a second coding round; others replace it with a design or applied round. Often more open-ended (system design lite, OOD problem, or extending an existing system).
Free rep: Coding challenges with a real sandbox →Onsite: System design 1 (product/applied)
60 minutes. Senior-scope service design: notification system at scale, distributed key-value store, basic search, recommendation system. Drive the conversation, defend tradeoffs explicitly.
Free rep: Design walkthrough: Design a URL Shortener (bit.ly) →Onsite: System design 2 (infra/architecture)
60 minutes. Lower-level design: distributed cache, rate limiter, log aggregation, message queue. Azure depth (Service Fabric, Cosmos DB, Service Bus) helps for cloud-adjacent teams.
Free rep: Design walkthrough: Design a Distributed Cache (Memcached / Redis Cluster) →Onsite: As-app (hiring manager)
60-75 minutes. Senior IC behavioral signal. Stories about technical leadership, mentoring SDE IIs, navigating cross-team disagreement, recovering technical decisions. Growth Mindset at senior scope.
Free rep: STAR answers: Learning from Failure →The full Microsoft prep pack → what they value, topic emphasis, and the questions candidates ask.
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