What's the Engineering team like at Microsoft?

It depends on the specific engineering team. Most of the teams operate independently from the other teams so each individual will have a unique experience. I have worked on multiple hardware teams and have found that the surface team is very process driven. They focus on following the process and real innovation is difficult given cost, schedule and ID constraints. Innovation teams are different in that they typically do not have such constraints and will allow an individual to take on more responsibility for the project. This also requires more discipline on the part of the individual to make progress that is beneficial to Microsoft. Some engineering teams act more as project managers, rather than design engineers. They spend a large part of their time writing specifications rather than designing products. It will be up to you to find a team that fits your goals. Ask lots of questions when you speak to the members of the team.

Microsoft is more heterogeneous than places like Google. It's larger and has a wider range of revenue generating projects. Each of those can have very different characteristics in terms of work-life balance, culture, how rewards are distributed etc. That said, teams within MS generally have very intelligent, dedicated employees who are passionate about solving tough problems.

"Ten thousand little silos". It feels like working at a startup of 11 people, but in a Microsoft building.

It consists of tens of thousands of people, so... it's good?

Depends on the product / team milage varies widely

Open, honest, creative, hard-working, customer-focused, polite, engaged.

We have the best engineering team.