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
Software Engineer Locked

Design a live video comments system

This question evaluates skills in designing scalable, low-latency real-time systems, covering fan-out delivery, ordering and consistency semantics, du...

System Design
8
0
63 people solved
Feb 11, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer

Design a bank system with scheduled transfers

Bank System (OOD): Accounts, Transfers, Scheduling, Top Spending, Merge Design an in-memory banking system that supports: - account creation - deposit...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
41 people solved
Feb 11, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Extend a BFS maze solver stepwise

This question evaluates proficiency in grid-based graph traversal and pathfinding, covering BFS mechanics, stateful reachability with keys and doors, ...

Coding & Algorithms
7
0
51 people solved
Feb 11, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Evaluate Notification-Based Account Ranking

This question evaluates a data scientist's competency in causal inference, A/B test and experiment design, metric definition and selection, statistica...

Analytics & Experimentation
3
0
22 people solved
Feb 9, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Machine Learning Engineer AI Locked

Extend a Maze Solver

This question evaluates proficiency in implementing and debugging graph search algorithms and state-space modeling, including correct visited-state ha...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
32 people solved
Feb 8, 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
Meta logo
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
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve tree view and parentheses cleanup

Solve the following two algorithm problems. 1. Right-side view of a binary tree Given the root of a binary tree, return the values of the nodes that w...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
43 people solved
Feb 1, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Posts and Replies Engagement

Posts and Replies Engagement A content platform stores user-generated posts and the replies that those posts receive. You need to answer two questions...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
0
0
7 people solved
Feb 1, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Machine Learning Engineer

Solve Three Algorithmic Problems

Three coding questions were mentioned: 1. Second-largest distinct permutation Given an array of integers that may contain duplicates, consider all ...

Coding & Algorithms
5
0
40 people solved
Jan 30, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Product Analyst Locked

Write Call Analytics SQL Queries

This question evaluates SQL data manipulation and analytical competencies, including aggregation, joins between user and event tables, time-window fil...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
3
0
25 people solved
Jan 28, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Machine Learning EngineerSenior+ Locked

Find two numbers summing to target without hashmap

This question evaluates array manipulation, index-tracking, and algorithmic problem-solving skills, with emphasis on time and space complexity trade-o...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
73 people solved
Jan 22, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Data Scientist

Write SQL for Pixel Signal Metrics

You are working on Meta Ads Pixel analytics. Assume all timestamps are stored in UTC, and analyze the last 30 complete calendar days. Tables 1. advert...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
4
0
55 people solved
Jan 20, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Maximize score in 15-sum card game

This question evaluates algorithmic problem-solving in combinatorial search, state-space optimization, and memoization by asking for the maximum achie...

Coding & Algorithms
9
0
109 people solved
Jan 18, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Compute unmatched parentheses length

This question evaluates string-processing skills and understanding of parentheses matching and cancellation, focusing on linear-time sequence analysis...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
42 people solved
Jan 18, 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
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Implement cd and merge intervals

This question evaluates proficiency in filesystem path normalization (string parsing, tokenization, and edge-case handling) and interval-merging algor...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
57 people solved
Jan 16, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Product Analyst

Write SQL for call analytics

You are given two tables. Table: calls - call_id BIGINT - sender_id BIGINT - receiver_id BIGINT - call_ts TIMESTAMP — stored in UTC - pickup CHAR(1) —...

Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
4
0
46 people solved
Jan 16, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Count three-digit numbers with distinct digits

This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of digit manipulation, basic combinatorics, and implementation of value-range constraints in codin...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
42 people solved
Jan 6, 2026
Meta logo
Meta
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Add two binary strings

This question evaluates proficiency with binary arithmetic and string manipulation, focusing on carry propagation and handling of very long inputs wit...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
32 people solved
Jan 5, 2026

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.

Explore more Meta interview questions

Jump straight to Meta questions for a specific role or category.

By role
By category
In-depth guides
Across all companies

Featured Meta interview prep guides

Concept walkthroughs, worked examples, and the real questions from candidate reports.

Editorial prep
Software Engineer
Meta interview
Read the guide
Editorial prep
Data Scientist
Meta interview
Read the guide