Meta Software Engineer Interview Questions

Meta Software Engineer interview questions focus heavily on algorithmic problem solving, clean coding, and systems thinking, with senior roles adding larger-scale system design and product-sense prompts. What’s distinctive about interviewing at Meta is the emphasis on writing correct, readable code under time pressure while narrating trade-offs, plus a structured hiring committee and team-matching stage that evaluates consistency of feedback across interviewers. Candidates should expect a recruiter screen, one or two timed coding screens in a shared editor, and an onsite loop with coding, behavioral, and — for higher levels — system or product design. Meta has also piloted AI-enabled coding environments for some interviews, reflecting real-world tooling trends. Effective interview preparation combines sustained practice on medium-to-hard algorithm problems, timed mock interviews in the same editor format, and a clear system-design framework for scoping and scaling solutions. Equally important is preparing concise STAR stories that show impact, ownership, and collaboration. During interviews, communicate assumptions, ask clarifying questions, handle edge cases, and iteratively optimize code while explaining complexity and trade-offs.

352 Questions 1 Company07.06.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement string dedup and mirror tree traversal

- String cleanup with group deletions (LeetCode-inspired): Given a string s consisting of lowercase letters, repeatedly delete any maximal contiguous ...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
27 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Compute longest rising path in a grid

Given an m×n grid of integers, find the length of the longest path where each step moves up, down, left, or right to a strictly larger value. Return t...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
43 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Optimize flight costs and find grid path

1) Given two integer arrays D and R of equal length n, where D[i] is the cost to depart on day i and R[j] is the cost to return on day j, choose indic...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
31 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Navigate unknown maze to find target

You are given an exploration interface for an unknown 2D maze that exposes only local actions (e.g., move(up/down/left/right) -> bool indicating succe...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
34 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Software Engineer

Design input validation and error handling

Design Task: API, Validation, and Error Handling for a Top-K Frequency Service Context Design a production-grade service that, given an array of eleme...

System Design
4
0
49 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve parsing, counting, ranges, and window problems

Solve the following four algorithm problems: 1) Expression evaluator with + and : Given a string s containing non-negative integers, '+' and '' operat...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
27 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Reverse sublist between equal-value nodes

Given the head of a singly linked list and a target value v that appears at least twice, reverse the sublist starting at the first node with value v a...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
39 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Hard
Software Engineer

Handle invalid input at system level

Design: Validation and Error Handling for a Top-K Frequency API Context You are designing a REST endpoint that computes the top-K most frequent values...

System Design
1
0
33 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Count subarrays summing to target

Given an integer array nums and an integer target T, return the number of contiguous subarrays whose sum equals T. Provide an algorithm that runs in l...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
33 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve sliding window and tree BFS problems

1) Sliding window: Given an array of positive integers nums and an integer target, return the minimal length of a contiguous subarray whose sum is at ...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
30 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve grid path and robot navigation

Part A — Shortest path in a grid with obstacles: Given an m×n grid of 0/1 cells (0 = open, 1 = obstacle), start at (0, 0) and end at (m−1,n− 1). You m...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
34 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve tree traversal and interval merging tasks

Part A — Column-wise Binary Tree Grouping: You are given the root of a binary tree. Group nodes by vertical column index, where the root has column 0,...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
37 people solved
Aug 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve permutation successor and evaluate expressions

Part A: Given a sequence of integers that forms a permutation, rearrange it in-place to produce the immediate next sequence in lexicographic order. If...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
27 people solved
Aug 12, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement in-place duplicate removal

Given a non-decreasing array of integers, overwrite it in-place so that each distinct value appears exactly once while preserving the order of the uni...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
35 people solved
Aug 12, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Remove runs of length at least k

Given a string s and an integer k (k >= 2), repeatedly remove every maximal contiguous group of the same character whose length is at least k, deletin...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
24 people solved
Aug 12, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve array merge and tree flattening problems

Solve array merge and tree flattening problems 1) Given two sorted arrays, merge them into a single sorted array. Provide both an in-place approach (w...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
33 people solved
Aug 9, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Maintain top N payers

Maintain top N payers Implement topNPayers(n) that returns the n accounts with the highest cumulative outgoing payment amounts as strings formatted "{...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
25 people solved
Aug 9, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Check near-palindrome with one deletion

Check near-palindrome with one deletion Given a string s, determine whether it can become a palindrome after deleting at most one character. Return bo...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
28 people solved
Aug 7, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Compute binary tree diameter

Compute binary tree diameter Given the root of a binary tree, compute the tree's diameter defined as the maximum number of edges on any path between t...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
44 people solved
Aug 7, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Compute weighted sum of nested lists

Compute weighted sum of nested lists Given a nested collection that can contain integers or other nested collections, compute the depth-weighted sum w...

Coding & Algorithms
7
0
52 people solved
Aug 7, 2025
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Meta Software Engineer Interview Prep
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Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Meta Software Engineer interview questions?
Meta Software Engineer interview questions are typically challenging and calibrated to the role level. Entry-level candidates face medium-to-hard algorithm and data-structure problems under time pressure, while mid and senior interviews add depth with larger-scale system design and architectural reasoning. Interviewers assess not only correct solutions but clarity of thought, trade-off analysis, coding quality, and communication. Expect to be evaluated on problem decomposition, complexity analysis, and edge-case handling. Difficulty varies by team and level, so prepare for both algorithmic rigor and practical engineering judgment when demonstrating solutions and trade-offs.
What does the Meta Software Engineer interview process look like and where does this role appear in the loop?
The typical process begins with a recruiter screen, followed by one or more technical phone or virtual screens that test coding and problem-solving. Successful candidates advance to a multi-round onsite or virtual “loop” consisting of two to three coding interviews, at least one behavioral interview, and for mid-to-senior roles one or more system or product design sessions. Software Engineer candidates therefore appear across coding rounds and design rounds, with behavioral rounds assessing impact and collaboration. Recently, some interviews may include an AI-assisted coding session as part of the loop, replacing a traditional coding round for select candidates.
What timeline should I follow to prepare for a Meta Software Engineer interview?
A structured timeline helps: for entry-level roles plan six to eight weeks of focused practice, for mid-level roles eight to twelve weeks, and for senior roles twelve weeks or more. Early weeks should emphasize algorithmic problem practice and mastering common patterns, followed by dedicated system design study and mock design interviews. In the final two weeks, increase timed mocks, rehearse behavioral stories with clear impact metrics, and simulate CoderPad-style sessions to build speed and clarity. Adjust intensity by your baseline skill level and aim for consistent practice rather than last-minute cramming.
What key subtopics should I focus on for a Meta Software Engineer interview?
Focus on core algorithms and data structures—arrays, strings, trees, graphs, heaps, hash tables, and dynamic programming—plus complexity analysis and memory trade-offs. For mid and senior candidates, prioritize system design: APIs, data modeling, storage choices, caching, load balancing, consistency, and monitoring. Also practice writing readable, testable code and debugging under time constraints. Prepare behavioral stories that show ownership and measurable impact. Depending on the team, expect domain-specific topics like concurrency, networking, or ML basics, so align study with the role description and past interview patterns.
What standout tips and common pitfalls should I be aware of when interviewing for Meta Software Engineer roles?
Standout tips include asking clarifying questions upfront, thinking aloud as you explore solutions, structuring your approach before coding, writing clean code with simple tests, and explicitly discussing complexity and trade-offs. Use mock timed interviews and practice on the same coding environment you’ll face. Common pitfalls are diving into premature optimization, remaining silent when stuck, failing to handle edge cases, and neglecting to align design choices with stated constraints. If you encounter an AI-assisted coding round, demonstrate how you validate AI suggestions and keep ownership of the solution and reasoning throughout the session.

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