Company: Microsoft
Date: 2014-10-24
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Senior

I'd go back, but with my eyes open.
Pros: Working on the main campus is like being in your own little world. Walking paths, athletic fields, cafeterias, even places to shop since the Commons was opened. Office culture varies with the group you're in, so your experience may be better or worse than mine. Work life balance was generally very good in my group, but changes in upper management had degraded that in the last year. Overall, I was still happy to be at work every day, liked my co-workers, and felt lucky to have the job I did.
Cons: When I started, management in my group was all about finding the people who best fit a given job, even adjusting the job to take advantage of particular skills. Starting a couple of years before my departure, and continuing, the upper levels seem to be trying to componentize everything, forgetting that creative people don't work well as interchangeable components.

Stack ranking may be gone, but I have doubts about its replacement. The new review system may not look like less cutthroat, but if anything it's harsher than the old one.