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
Meta logo
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
Meta logo
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
Meta logo
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
Meta logo
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
Meta logo
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
Meta logo
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
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
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Measure network effects and spillovers via experiments

Experiment design under network interference: direct and indirect effects Context You are evaluating a new social feature that can produce network spi...

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

Select and prioritize metrics with guardrails

Design a Metrics Framework for a New Groups Stories Feature Context You are evaluating a new Groups Stories feature whose goal is to increase meaningf...

Analytics & Experimentation
1
0
29 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Easy
Data Scientist

Quantify base-rate dilution in CTR

Weighted-Average CTR and Volume Requirements You are assessing the impact of introducing a new high-CTR event notification into an existing stream of ...

Statistics & Math
3
0
31 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Define metrics and design experiments for notifications

Analytics/Experimentation Case: "Your friend is attending a local event—join them?" You are evaluating a proposed notification: "Your friend is attend...

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

Deliver an elevator pitch and impact example

Elevator Pitch + End-to-End Experimentation Case + “Why Meta?” Context You are interviewing for a Data Scientist role during a technical screen. Use c...

Behavioral & Leadership
3
0
33 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist Locked

Diagnose drop and assess metric change impact

This question evaluates a data scientist's competency in diagnostic analytics, instrumentation validation, causal attribution, experimentation design,...

Analytics & Experimentation
1
0
23 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Design and validate ad model launch

You are on the Ads team and just trained a new ad recommendation model meant to replace the current model in production. Design a rigorous plan to dec...

Analytics & Experimentation
2
0
33 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Data Scientist

Estimate revenue of organic shopping tab

Estimate Monthly Revenue for a New Shopping Tab (Organic Only) Context You are evaluating the potential monthly revenue impact of launching a new Shop...

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

Design experiment for Group Calls with interference

Design an Experiment for Group Calls in a 1:1 Calling App (with Network Interference) You are adding a Group Calls feature to an existing 1:1 calling ...

Analytics & Experimentation
1
0
25 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Compute posterior for accurate-but-rare classifier

Bayes' Theorem: Interpreting Screening Model Predictions Context You are evaluating a binary screening model that flags "bad" users in a population. T...

Statistics & Math
4
0
38 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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