Interview Experiences

Real candidates, real loops: every round, what was asked, and how it ended.

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138 stories

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MetaSoftware Engineer
Reported Sep 2026

Offer After 1.5 Years Out of Work and 600+ Hours of Prep

I had been out of work for a year and a half. Once I got properly serious about the search, I fired off about 100 applications and basically got silence. A few startups got in touch, but nothing picked up speed. Then someone referred me at Meta and a recruiter asked to set up a call. One choice early on, I believe, defined everything that followed. I turned the startup conversations down and comm…

OfferOnsite0
MetaSoftware Engineer
Sep 2026

Full Onsite Loop Plus My AI Coding Interview Playbook

Most of the questions were the classic, well-worn ones you'd already find on the forum. Phone Leetcode easy + mid Onsite 2 AI coding rounds + 2 AI system design rounds + 1 BQ AI coding 01: Friend system: Implement a friend recommendation algorithm Given data: a list of users, a list of friendships (user-user pairs) Design a strategy to recommend new friends to a user (e.g., search for friends of…

Onsite0
MetaData EngineerSenior+
Sep 2026

Leadership and Fullstack Phone Screen, Rejected Over 'Not Enough Impact'

From the recruiter to the interviewers, the whole thing gave off an absurd vibe. I was applying for a senior position, and the job description didn't even list a level at the time. After I applied, the recruiter had me submit my availability directly — no call at all. Once it was scheduled, I was told it would be one Leadership round and one Fullstack round. I thought that was a little strange at…

RejectedTechnical Screen0
MetaSoftware EngineerSenior+
Aug 2026

Six Weeks of E5 Preparation and an Equity Negotiation

Sharing my recent Meta E5 interview experience. Hope it helps people preparing. Background: Bay Area Backend / Distributed Systems About 7 years of experience Target level: E5 Senior Software Engineer Preparation time: About 6 weeks Overall impression: Meta E5 doesn't lean especially heavily on hard algorithms. It looks more at a senior engineer's overall ability: consistent coding, depth in syst…

OfferOnsite2
MetaSoftware Engineer
Aug 2026

Explaining an AI System and Solving a Maze with AI

This will most likely become a rejection story. At the beginning, I was asked to introduce an AI system I had designed and explain the problem it solved. I stumbled through the explanation, and the interviewer did not seem very satisfied. I probably did not make the project sound impressive enough. Next came AI coding. This really felt like a company going all in on AI, because everything involve…

Technical Screen0
MetaSoftware Engineer
Aug 2026

Phone Screen Plus a Four-Round Virtual Onsite

Meta phone screen + virtual onsite writeup, with the questions and my thought process included. Since I signed an NDA, I'm coding the problem names as homophones — sorry about that. Phone Screen 45 minutes, two questions. The first five minutes were self-intro, and pretty much the rest of the time was spent coding. Question 1, coded 1091: a 2D grid, get from the top-left corner to the bottom-righ…

Onsite0
MetaMachine Learning Engineer
Jul 2026

Four-Round Onsite, Rejected After Two AI Coding Rounds

I applied online to a search/ads/recommendation MLE role. The onsite was four rounds in total: behavioral, system design, and two rounds of AI coding. The behavioral round was just everyday questions, and the system design was a recommendation system. For coding, one question was a triple card game and the other was the maximum number of unique characters, both of them questions you can find onli…

RejectedOnsite0
MetaData Scientist
Jul 2026

Product Case on a Social Travel App, Then On to the Full Loop

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In progressTechnical ScreenPremium0
MetaProduct Designer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Product Designer interview: peer rounds followed by a bench wait

I went through three peer interview rounds with technical and behavioral parts. The format matched what I had seen for this type of role, and the technical questions lined up with the resources I had found beforehand. After those rounds, I expected a decision to move forward. Instead, I was told to wait while they decided which team or role might fit me. I understood it as something like being he…

Technical Screen0
MetaUX/UI Designer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta UX/UI Designer interview: peer rounds followed by a bench wait

I went through three peer interview rounds with technical and behavioral parts. The format matched what I had seen for this type of role, and the technical questions lined up with the resources I had found beforehand. After those rounds, I expected a decision to move forward. Instead, I was told to wait while they decided which team or role might fit me. I understood it as something like being he…

Technical Screen0
MetaMachine Learning Engineer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Machine Learning Engineer interview: paperwork after technical rounds

The technical rounds were not the main issue for me. A friendly, detailed recruiter screen covered the role and its expectations, then I moved into familiar LeetCode-style coding interviews with screen sharing. The coding itself did not feel unfair. I handled the problems and kept the normal pace while explaining my approach. Even so, I did not get an offer, and the reason I heard was paperwork r…

Technical Screen0
MetaData Scientist
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Data Scientist interview: timed SQL cases and A/B experiment design

After a recruiter and screening step, I faced a fast, high-pressure set of SQL and case tasks. The Python and SQL round covered SQL mechanics and quick reasoning, including common data structures, CASE statements, and window functions. The pace stood out because the window closed as soon as it was time for the case study, so accuracy and efficiency both mattered. The case work was more demanding…

Technical Screen0
MetaUX/UI Designer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta UX/UI Designer interview: full loop canceled before schedule

I began with a recruiter phone screen and then met the hiring manager. The hiring manager told me to prepare for the full loop, so I organized around completing the rest of the process. The full-loop interview was canceled one day before it was scheduled because the role no longer existed. I never reached the later rounds. Having completed the early steps and prepared for more, I felt disappointe…

Other0
MetaProduct Manager
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Product Manager interview

After the recruiter stage, I had two timed, structured parts: product sense and product analytics. Product sense required a clear framework, while analytics tested how I interpreted and used data. The interviews resembled common mock formats, where I had to walk through an approach rather than have a free-form discussion. I used the framework I had prepared, but the analytics bar did not match wh…

Technical Screen0
MetaSoftware Engineer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Software Engineer Interview Experience: A fast coding loop with system design and values checks

The process began with a recruiter call, then continued through several rounds that mixed fast coding, system design, and behavioral checks. The coding loop was intense. I had two data-structure and algorithm problems in a tight window and had to keep moving even when the clock made every step feel consequential. I remember needing to solve problems quickly while also justifying my approach. Syst…

Technical Screen0
MetaSoftware Engineer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Software Engineer Interview Experience: Easy and medium LeetCode with time-space trade-offs

After a recruiter reached out, I started with an online assessment. Then I moved into the technical loop. The first coding sequence had two LeetCode problems, one easy and one medium. I had to explain my approach thoroughly, including why I chose certain data structures and what the time and space trade-offs were. The next rounds continued in the same coding-focused style through virtual meetings…

OfferOnline Assessment0
MetaData Engineer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Data Engineer interview with timed SQL, Python, modeling, and product scenarios

After recruiter outreach, I went through a structured set of rounds built around speed and clear problem solving. The recruiter call covered role fit and process details. Then came a technical screen with several SQL and Python tasks under tight time limits. I had to keep working until each task was fully resolved with the expected results, while the interviewers kept returning to my thought proc…

Technical Screen0
MetaMachine Learning Engineer
Reported Jul 2026

Meta Machine Learning Engineer interview with a conversational-assistant design and declined offer

The process dragged on longer than I expected. It felt drawn out from the early weeks onward. I went through screenings on core ML knowledge, including attention and its variants, before later stages shifted into more high-pressure technical work. Onsite day was intense and tightly structured. In the system-design round, I had to build a conversational assistant and include safety measures. That…

OfferOnsite0
MetaSoftware Engineer
Reported Jun 2026

Meta Software Engineer interview: 45-minute coding and leaderboard design

After I was scheduled, I had a coding round built around speed and follow-through. I worked through two LeetCode-style problems in 45 minutes and focused on optimization. At least one had a follow-up that required improving the solution instead of stopping once it worked. The onsite loop added coding, behavioral discussion, and system design. The design question involved a leaderboard-style compo…

Technical Screen0
MetaData Scientist
Reported Jun 2026

Meta Data Scientist interview: SQL, product sense, and the full loop

A recruiter contacted me first, and I then went through what felt like a standard path from screening to the loop. The initial technical screen covered SQL and product sense. The questions were very much about connecting data work to business decisions. A couple of weeks later, I moved into the full loop. That loop had four rounds: analytical execution, analytical reasoning, technical skills, and…

RejectedTechnical Screen0

What are interview experiences?

An interview experience is a candidate's own account of a hiring loop — not a question bank entry. It tells you the shape of the process: how many rounds there were, what each round actually tested, how long the gaps between them ran, and what the recruiter said at the end. That context is the part a question list cannot give you.

How to read them

Weight recent write-ups more heavily — interview loops change, often within a year. Read several for the same company and role rather than one: a single account tells you what one interviewer asked, while five tell you what the bar is. Note the outcome badge too, since a rejection write-up usually explains the gap far more precisely than an offer one.

Share your own

Every published experience earns 50 XP, and each of the first 3 likes it receives in a day earns you 10 XP more. Likes must come from established accounts; like-for-like swaps and likes from your own second account are not paid. Write it while the details are fresh — the round order, the exact prompts, and how much time you were given are what the next reader needs.

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