Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) Interview Questions

Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) interview questions are a central part of Meta’s hiring for data scientist, data engineer, and analytics roles and usually emphasize practical, product-focused problem solving over abstract algorithm puzzles. What’s distinctive is the scale and product context: interview problems mirror real-world analytics tasks with messy data, session/event tables, and metrics design. Interviewers evaluate accuracy, clarity, and maintainability of your SQL or pandas code, your handling of edge cases (NULLs, deduplication, sampling), and your ability to explain trade-offs between readability and performance using CTEs, window functions, joins, and vectorized Python operations. For interview preparation, expect a timed technical screen (often using a shared editor) with SQL and Python data-manipulation tasks, followed by deeper loop rounds combining coding, product-metrics reasoning, and behavioral questions. Practice end-to-end problems: translate a product question into concrete metrics, write and optimize queries or pandas pipelines, narrate assumptions, and validate results. Work timed problems in CoderPad-like environments, rehearse clarifying questions, and review common pitfalls such as filter vs HAVING, NULL behavior, and inefficient joins. Regular mock interviews and focused drills on window functions, groupings, merges, and missing-data strategies will give the confidence and fluency Meta typically looks for.

175 Questions 1 Company07.06.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Identify Users Interested in Group Video Calls

video_calls caller | recipient | ds | call_id | duration u1 | u2 | 2023-09-01| c100 | 320 u3 | u4 | 2023-09-01| c101 ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
113
0
363 people solved
Jul 12, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Compute ad impression conversion rates

You are given two tables for an ads product. Table: ad_impressions | Column | Type | Description | |---|---:|---| | impression_id | STRING | Unique id...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
1
0
12 people solved
Apr 30, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Count unconnected posts and reactions

You are analyzing a newly launched feed feature intended to improve engagement by showing more unconnected content. Assume the following tables: - pos...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
21
2
200 people solved
Apr 5, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Count heavy callers in 7 days

This question evaluates proficiency in SQL-based data manipulation and analytics, covering joins between user and call records, aggregation and distin...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
7
0
66 people solved
Mar 24, 2026
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Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Write SQL for reply-based recipient metrics

You work on a social product and are given two tables. Assumptions (use these unless you state otherwise): - All timestamps are in UTC. - A “reply” is...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
47
2
437 people solved
Mar 5, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Compute High-Call Usage Rates

You are given two tables for a voice-calling product: users - user_id BIGINT - country_code STRING calls - call_id BIGINT - caller_id BIGINT - recipie...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
3
0
29 people solved
Mar 4, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Write SQL for seller and vehicle metrics

This question evaluates proficiency in SQL data manipulation, including joins, distinct counts, grouping and aggregation, filtering by date and catego...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
7
0
81 people solved
Mar 2, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Analyze spend cohort and source shifts

You work on an ads platform. Assume all timestamps are in UTC. Interpret last year as calendar year 2023 and this year as calendar year 2024. Tables: ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
11
2
80 people solved
Feb 23, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Find least active countries

This question evaluates proficiency in SQL-based data manipulation and analytics, focusing on time-based filtering, distinct aggregation, grouping, th...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
4
1
42 people solved
Feb 22, 2026
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Meta
Easy
Analytics Engineer Locked

Compute daily active ads

This question evaluates proficiency in data manipulation and analytics engineering, focusing on time-based event aggregation, status-based filtering, ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
1
0
30 people solved
Feb 15, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Write SQL for seller and category metrics

This question evaluates proficiency in SQL data manipulation—principally joins, aggregations, grouping, filtering, date arithmetic, and safe handling ...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
5
1
34 people solved
Feb 15, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Easy
Data Scientist

Compute multi-account user distribution and unread pct

You are working on a product where a user can have multiple accounts, and each account can receive notifications. Tables Assume the following schemas:...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
4
0
36 people solved
Feb 3, 2026
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Meta
Easy
Product Analyst Locked

Write SQL for call pickup and usage metrics

This question evaluates proficiency in SQL data manipulation—specifically aggregation, joins, filtering, and safe handling of edge cases—to compute ca...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
2
0
51 people solved
Feb 2, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Easy
Data Scientist

Compute ads revenue by geography in SQL

You have ad delivery logs for a shop-ads system. Tables ad_impressions - impression_id STRING (PK) - ts TIMESTAMP (UTC) - user_id STRING - shop_id STR...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
29
5
208 people solved
Jan 17, 2026
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Write SQL for CTR and revenue

Write SQL for the following two tasks. Problem 1: CTR during peak vs. non-peak hours You are given three tables: - ads(ad_id BIGINT, advertiser_id BIG...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
6
1
42 people solved
Jan 3, 2026
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Meta
Easy
Data Scientist

Compute percent of active users with 50+ calls

Problem You work on a Messenger-like app. You want to measure how many active users in Great Britain (GB) today have been heavy callers recently. Tabl...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
8
1
109 people solved
Dec 8, 2025
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Meta
Easy
Data Scientist

Compute active ad revenue by creation source

You work on an ads platform and need to report active ad revenue broken down by the ad’s creation source. Tables ads - ad_id BIGINT PK - advertiser_id...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
3
0
27 people solved
Dec 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Write SQL to analyze shop visibility

You are given two tables. Use standard SQL (window functions allowed). Assume "today" is 2025-09-01 and that “currently visible” means a shop’s last s...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
1
0
2 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Write SQL for video-call recipients and FR activity

Given the schema and samples below, write ANSI‑SQL to answer both questions. Assume dates are stored in UTC. Today is 2025-09-01, so “yesterday” is 20...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
61
1
569 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Write SQL/pandas for KPI anomaly

Write SQL (and outline equivalent pandas) for a KPI anomaly investigation. Assume today = '2025-09-01'. Schema: Users(user_id INT, country TEXT, signu...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
9
0
78 people solved
Oct 13, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) interview questions?
Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) questions are typically medium-to-hard in difficulty and reward clarity under time pressure. Interviewers expect correct, efficient solutions that handle real-world data quirks such as NULLs, duplicates, and timezone or type issues. SQL problems often require joins, window functions, aggregations, and readable CTE structure rather than clever one-liners. Python tasks evaluate clean data transformations, appropriate use of lists/dictionaries or pandas, and algorithmic thinking for performance-sensitive steps. Strong candidates write defensible, testable code, explain tradeoffs, and can optimize a correct solution when prompted.
Where in the Meta interview process does Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) appear and what is the format?
Data manipulation shows up across screening and on-site (or virtual loop) stages, often during the technical screen and again in role-specific interviews for analytics, data engineering, or data scientist positions. Early screens commonly include a short set of timed problems split between SQL and Python executed in a shared editor. Later loop interviews expand scope with longer, end-to-end tasks that mix data modeling, metric definition, and manipulation tasks, and interviewers may probe for performance, edge cases, and how the candidate would productionize the transformation pipeline.
What is a realistic prep timeline for Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) interviews?
A realistic prep timeline is four to eight weeks for focused preparation, although experienced practitioners may need less. Begin by refreshing SQL fundamentals and Python data structures, then practice common transformation problems and windowing scenarios. Midway through, introduce timed practice sessions mirroring the screening format to build speed and articulation. In the final weeks, do full mock interviews that combine SQL and Python work, review feedback, and polish explanations and test cases. Consistent, deliberate practice with real schema examples and post-solution optimizations produces the best results.
What key subtopics should I study for Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) at Meta?
Key SQL subtopics include joins (inner, left, semi/anti), aggregations, GROUP BY versus HAVING semantics, window functions, CTEs and subqueries, NULL handling, and basic performance considerations such as limiting data scanned and understanding indexes or partitioning. For Python, focus on core data structures, complexity reasoning, defensive coding for edge cases, idiomatic data transformations, and familiarity with pandas or equivalent libraries if appropriate. Also practice writing concise tests, handling date/time and string parsing, and explaining tradeoffs between readability and micro-optimizations.
What standout tips and common pitfalls should I keep in mind when preparing?
Standout tips include always clarifying assumptions up front, sketching the approach before coding, and using readable CTEs or helper functions to break complex logic into verifiable steps. Demonstrate awareness of edge cases, write simple test examples, and explain time/space complexity and production implications. Common pitfalls are ignoring NULL semantics, failing to deduplicate when required, overcomplicating queries instead of prioritizing clarity, and not defending performance tradeoffs. Finally, don’t forget to communicate continuously during the interview; interviewers evaluate reasoning and decision-making as much as the final result.

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