Meta Interview Questions

Meta Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) Interview Questions

Practice 1,159 real Meta interview questions for 2026. Covers top categories — Coding & Algorithms, Analytics & Experimentation, Data Manipulation (SQL/Python), Behavioral & Leadership, and System Design — across Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Engineer, and Product Manager roles. Real questions from actual interviews with detailed solutions. Expect a software-engineering-heavy loop: timed algorithmic coding (trees, arrays, graph/maze problems, delimiter/CSV parsing), system-design prompts like leaderboards, flight search and online-judge architectures, and an increasingly common AI-assisted coding round that mirrors real workflows. Data Scientist rounds emphasize product analytics and experimentation—designing tests, diagnosing spend drops and bots, evaluating unconnected content, and writing SQL for multi-account, seller, and vehicle metrics. Machine Learning Engineer questions skew toward recommender and ranking work (place and friend recommendation, sparse-matrix ops, linear-regression derivations, newsfeed dislike models). Data Engineers focus on data modeling, ETL, capacity calculations, reservations/utilization queries, and production SQL/Python tasks. For interview preparation, prioritize timed coding practice, system-design templates, rigorous SQL drills (joins/CTEs/aggregation), clear A/B-testing frameworks, and concise STAR behavioral stories tied to measurable impact.

1.2k Questions 1 Company07.06.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
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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
Software Engineer

Design ticketing and coding practice platforms

You are asked two separate system design questions. --- 1. Design an online event ticketing platform (like Ticketmaster) Design a large-scale web serv...

System Design
2
0
29 people solved
Oct 18, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement tree column grouping and minimal parentheses fixes

Part A — Binary tree column grouping: Given the root of a binary tree, group node values by their vertical columns from leftmost to rightmost using x-...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
32 people solved
Aug 13, 2025
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Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

How would you evaluate upranking Shop ads?

Meta is considering upranking ads that send users to an in-app Shop experience (for example, Facebook/Instagram Shops) relative to ads that send users...

Analytics & Experimentation
3
0
42 people solved
Oct 16, 2025
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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
Hard
Data Scientist Locked

Evaluate and prioritize Facebook Groups

This question evaluates product analytics, experimentation design, causal inference, KPI hierarchy and metric-definition skills, and quantitative prio...

Analytics & Experimentation
3
0
33 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Design experiment for fake accounts impact

Experiment Design: Removing Detected Fake Accounts and Measuring Causal Impact Context: You are designing an end-to-end experiment on a large, interac...

Analytics & Experimentation
2
0
50 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Compare Instagram vs. Facebook using causal experiments

Compare Instagram and Facebook for consumer time and engagement: a) Define a single-objective OEC that captures healthy cross-app ecosystem value with...

Analytics & Experimentation
3
0
38 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Model comment count distribution and validate assumptions

You observe daily comment counts per post on a large social app are highly skewed with many zeros. a) Choose an appropriate discrete model among Poiss...

Statistics & Math
4
0
68 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Identify trees, lists, and array search costs

Answer all parts concisely and justify time complexities. a) A data model requires each node to have at most two children and a single parent. Name th...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
54 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Reduce variance with covariate adjustment

Experiment Design and CUPED/Regression Adjustment You are running a randomized A/B test with outcome Y. You also have a pre-period covariate X (measur...

Analytics & Experimentation
4
0
53 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Estimate variance for ratio metrics

KPI Variance via Delta Method and Inference Choices for ARPU Context You run experiments where each arm produces aggregate totals per analysis unit (e...

Statistics & Math
4
0
49 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Design experiments under network interference

A/B Test Design for Search-Ranking in a Two-Sided Marketplace with Interference Context You need to evaluate a change to the search-ranking algorithm ...

Analytics & Experimentation
4
0
30 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Estimate shuttle impact with robust causal design

You have individual-level data from 1,000+ sites, several hundred of which adopt a free employee shuttle at different times. Design a causal analysis ...

Analytics & Experimentation
2
0
36 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Characterize and compare transfer-count distributions over time

P2P Transfer Counts in First 30 Days: Distribution, Summaries, and Evolution Context: For a new user cohort, define X as each user’s number of peer-to...

Statistics & Math
9
0
69 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Compare first-score vs all-scores estimators

This question evaluates statistical estimation and inference competencies—specifically understanding estimator definitions, weighting and sampling eff...

Statistics & Math
5
0
42 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
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Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Characterize metric distribution and quantiles

KPI Analysis: Per-Video Watch Time (seconds) You are evaluating a pilot dataset for the KPI "per‑video watch time" (in seconds). The dataset (n = 20) ...

Statistics & Math
1
0
36 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Set the Group Call participant cap

We must set a maximum participants cap K for Group Calls. You have telemetry at the call level: calls(call_id, start_ts, participants_count, video_on_...

Statistics & Math
2
0
37 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Reflect on feedback and metric trade-offs

Describe a time you chose a simpler metric under tight time constraints and later received critical feedback that it was oversimplified (e.g., from a ...

Behavioral & Leadership
4
0
35 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Diagnose rising account switching and falling actives

Diagnostic Plan: Account Switching Up, Active Users Down Context You observed a sudden pattern: the number of users switching accounts increased, whil...

Analytics & Experimentation
3
0
33 people solved
Oct 13, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Meta interview questions?
Meta interview questions span a wide difficulty range because they must screen candidates from entry to senior levels across many functions. Expect coding rounds to map to medium-to-hard algorithmic problems that appear in top 100 problem lists for software engineers, and expect data roles to face challenging SQL, experiment diagnosis, and product-analytics problems that require clean metric definitions. Machine learning roles emphasize recommendation and ranking tradeoffs and model complexity, while data engineers encounter large-scale ETL and modeling puzzles. Difficulty scales with level: entry hires see clearer, bounded problems; senior hires face ambiguous tradeoffs and system-wide thinking.
What is Meta's interview process and where do these questions appear?
Meta typically runs a multi-stage process: recruiter screen, one or two technical screens or an online assessment, a full loop of onsite-style interviews, then debrief, committee review, and offer. The full loop mixes coding, system or product design, role-specific technical rounds, and behavioral interviews. Software-engineer candidates spend most time on coding and design; data scientists focus on SQL, experimentation, and product analytics; machine-learning engineers see modeling and recommendation design; data engineers handle SQL, data modeling, and pipeline questions; PMs get product-design and analytics probes. In 2025–2026 some teams pilot AI-enabled coding rounds.
How should I structure a preparation timeline for a Meta interview?
A focused six-week plan works well: weeks one and two cover fundamentals—data structures, algorithms, SQL basics, and experiment design; weeks three and four emphasize timed problem practice, mock phone screens, and role-specific cases (A/B diagnosis for data scientists, model design for MLEs, ETL modeling for data engineers); week five concentrates on system or product design and behavioral storytelling; week six is for full mock loops, timing, and refining communication. Practice with realistic tools, simulate loop pacing, and schedule a debrief after each mock to iterate on clarity, edge-case handling, and time management.
Which technical subtopics are most commonly tested for each role at Meta?
For Data Scientist interviews the recurring technical themes are product-metric definition, diagnosing experiment and spend drops, counting multi-account interactions, SQL for multi-entity metrics, and ranking or recommendation evaluation such as shop ad ranking. Software-engineer questions frequently focus on timestamped state and versioned systems, leaderboards and ranking, maze/graph traversal and tree/array transforms, delimiter and CSV parsing, and scalable search or flight-search style designs. Machine-learning engineers see place and friend recommendation design, sparse-matrix operations, ranking/loss choices, and feed dislike or personalization models. Data engineers repeatedly face entity modeling for feed and booking data, SQL analytics for utilization and reservations, and capacity-aware aggregation challenges.
What standout tips and common pitfalls should I watch for in Meta interviews?
Start interviews by clarifying requirements and expected outputs, then propose measurable success metrics; this prevents misaligned solutions. For coding, think aloud, handle edge cases, state complexity up front, and write a couple of quick tests. In design rounds quantify load, storage, and tradeoffs rather than vague features. Data roles must define metrics, guardrails, and experiment assumptions before jumping to analysis; common pitfalls are ambiguous metric definitions, peeking at tests, and ignoring instrumentation limits. For AI-assisted coding rounds, use the assistant to accelerate boilerplate but validate logic and corner cases yourself. Finish each answer with a concise summary of impact and tradeoffs.

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