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Meta E3 (Junior) Software Engineer Interview Guide
A comprehensive guide to the Meta junior interview process.
The Meta E3 junior software engineer interview process starts with a recruiter screen, followed by an online coding assessment, then a technical phone screen, and finally a virtual onsite loop with 2 coding rounds and 1 behavioral interview. After passing these interviews, you'll go through team matching conversations with potential hiring managers before receiving your final offer. The entire process usually takes 4 to 12 weeks from start to finish, though scheduling delays and team matching can stretch it toward the longer end of that range.
For E3 candidates with 0 to 2 years of experience, the coding rounds carry the most weight in your evaluation since they're testing the core technical skills you'll need day to day. The behavioral interview is equally critical though, as it determines your cultural fit and whether you align with Meta's environment and values like "Move Fast" and teamwork. What sets E3 apart from higher levels is the focus on fundamental coding ability and learning potential rather than system design expertise or leadership experience.
The interview consists of 5 total rounds:
- Online Assessment (OA)
- Recruiter Phone Screen
- Technical Phone Screen (Coding)
- Onsite (Usually virtual)
- Coding (2 rounds)
- Behavioral
If you pass, you'll move onto team match and finally, offer negotiation.
Interview Rounds
Online Assessment (OA)
Meta's online assessment is the first screening step, administered through CodeSignal with full video and microphone monitoring throughout the 90 minute session. This is a new addition to Meta's process as of 2025. You'll need to pass this before moving to the phone screen stage.
The assessment consists of a single complex problem divided into 4 progressive stages that unlock sequentially. Recent examples include designing an in memory database with key value operations or implementing a cloud based file storage service. Each stage builds on the previous one:
- Stage 1: Basic core features (simple get/set operations) that test fundamental correctness and corner case handling
- Stage 2: Additional constraints (TTL expiration mechanism) that introduce new functionality
- Stage 3: Advanced capabilities (point in time queries or data versioning) with more complex features
- Stage 4: Performance intensive operations (deletion with concurrency handling) that are the most challenging
You can see high level overviews of all stages at the start, but detailed requirements and method signatures are only revealed when you unlock each stage by passing the previous stage's tests. The problems focus on practical system implementation rather than traditional algorithm puzzles — think designing working systems with multiple components.
You're allowed to open reference tabs for programming syntax but cannot search for solutions or use AI tools. The platform provides viewable unit tests (which you cannot modify) and includes a separate scratch area where you can write debug code or print statements to test your solution.
Minor inefficiencies are acceptable as long as your solution is correct for each stage's requirements. Environment constraints are provided mainly to prevent extremely slow solutions, but efficiency isn't the primary concern. Your OA performance will be considered alongside your phone screen, so doing poorly here means you'll need to excel in the phone screen to compensate.
Recruiter Phone Screen
The recruiter phone screen is your first real conversation with Meta, and it's straightforward compared to what comes next. You'll spend about 30 minutes on a video call or phone with a recruiter who wants to get to know your background and gauge your interest in the company. Think of it as a mutual screening where they're checking if you're worth moving forward, and you're figuring out if Meta feels like the right fit.
Most of the conversation revolves around your "tell me about yourself" story. The recruiter wants to understand your educational background, any internships or projects you've worked on, and what drew you to software engineering in the first place. Since you're applying for an E3 role with 0 to 2 years of experience, they're not expecting a polished career narrative. They're looking for genuine enthusiasm and some evidence that you can code and work with others.
What catches many candidates off guard is how much the recruiter focuses on your motivation for wanting to join Meta specifically. Generic answers about "wanting to work at a top tech company" don't cut it here. You need to articulate why Meta's products or mission resonate with you personally. Maybe you're excited about VR and the metaverse, or you have ideas about how Instagram could better serve creators. The recruiter can tell when you've done your homework versus when you're just going through the motions.
The recruiter will also cover logistics like work authorization, relocation preferences, and timeline expectations. This is when you'll learn about the online coding assessment that's coming next and get a sense of how long the entire process might take. Don't be surprised if they ask about your salary expectations, though at the E3 level there's usually less room for negotiation than at senior levels.
Come prepared with thoughtful questions about the team structure, the next steps in the process, or what new grads typically work on in their first year. This shows you're serious about the opportunity and thinking beyond just getting through the interview. The recruiter screen sets the tone for everything that follows, so approach it with the same preparation you'd bring to any other round.
Technical Phone Screen (Coding)
The technical phone screen is where Meta starts evaluating your actual coding ability live, and it's a significant step up from the automated online assessment. You'll spend 45 minutes on a video call with a Meta engineer, typically someone from the team you might eventually join. After a few minutes of introductions and small talk, you'll solve coding problems using a shared editor like CoderPad.
Expect to work through two medium difficulty problems that feel similar to what you'd find on LeetCode, though they might have a Meta specific twist or context. The questions usually focus on fundamental data structures and algorithms: tree traversals, array manipulation, string processing, or basic dynamic programming. What makes this different from the online assessment is the interactive nature. Your interviewer can provide hints when you're stuck, ask follow up questions about your approach, or suggest optimizations once you have a working solution.
The shared coding environment is pretty bare bones compared to what you're probably used to. No syntax highlighting, no autocomplete, no linting. You'll need to catch your own typos and logical errors by carefully reading through your code. This trips up a lot of candidates who've gotten comfortable relying on their IDE to catch mistakes.
Communication is crucial here in a way it wasn't during the online assessment. Your interviewer wants to see how you think through problems, not just whether you can produce correct code. Walk through your approach before you start coding, explain your choice of data structures, and think out loud as you work. If you realize there's a bug or a more efficient approach, say so. The interviewer is evaluating your problem-solving process as much as your final answer.
Time management becomes trickier with two problems in 45 minutes. You'll have roughly 20 minutes per problem after accounting for introductions and questions at the end. Don't panic if you don't finish both problems perfectly — a working solution to one problem plus a solid approach to the second often beats two incomplete attempts.
You are evaluated on four main aspects:
- Problem Solving: Demonstrates the ability to understand, analyze, and break down complex problems into manageable parts. Uses logical reasoning and critical thinking to arrive at effective solutions.
- Code Quality: Writes clean, maintainable, and efficient code. Follows best practices and coding standards. Demonstrates a deep understanding of algorithms, data structures, and design patterns.
- Verification: Ensures the functionality and reliability of code by writing comprehensive tests. Understands the importance of different testing methodologies (unit, integration, system) and applies them appropriately.
- Communication: Clearly articulates thought processes, design decisions, and code implementation. Collaborates effectively with peers, seeking and providing feedback when necessary.
Live, up-to-date
Most commonly asked Coding questions
Meta
Junior
Onsite
Coding Interviews (2 rounds)
The two onsite coding rounds are where Meta really puts your programming skills under the microscope. You'll face two separate 45 minute sessions with different Meta engineers, and these interviews carry the most weight in your final evaluation as an E3 candidate. Think of them as the technical phone screen's more demanding older siblings — similar format, but with harder problems and higher expectations for how you handle the pressure.
Each round typically features one complex problem, though occasionally you might get two shorter questions if you breeze through the first one. The difficulty ramps up significantly from what you saw in the phone screen. Where that earlier round tested your grasp of medium level algorithms, these sessions often venture into hard territory with problems involving dynamic programming, graph algorithms, or tricky tree manipulations.
Throughout the interview, your interviewer is actively engaging with follow up questions, suggesting optimizations, or throwing in new constraints midway through your solution. Maybe you solve the initial problem, then they ask "What if we had to handle a million times more data?" or "How would this change if we couldn't use extra memory?" This tests your adaptability and depth of understanding beyond just memorized patterns.
The coding environment remains similar to your phone screen. You'll use CoderPad or a comparable shared editor without the luxury of IDE features. But now you're expected to write cleaner, more robust code with minimal guidance. Your interviewer wants to see that you can catch your own bugs, think through edge cases proactively, and structure your solution in a way that's easy to follow and modify.
You're evaluated on the same four competencies: Problem Solving, Code Quality, Verification, and Communication. The bar is higher than previous rounds because Meta needs confidence that you can handle the complex algorithmic challenges you'll face as a junior engineer on their teams.
Live, up-to-date
Most commonly asked Coding questions
Meta
Junior
Behavioral Interview
The behavioral interview is where Meta really gets to know you as a person, and it carries just as much weight as your coding performance in the final decision. You'll spend 45 minutes with a Meta engineer or hiring manager who wants to understand how you work with others, handle challenges, and whether you'd thrive in Meta's environment. This isn't a casual chat about your hobbies — it's a structured evaluation of your soft skills and cultural alignment.
The conversation revolves around your past experiences, but the interviewer is looking for specific evidence of how you behave in different situations. They'll ask questions like "Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult teammate" or "Describe a project where you had to learn something completely new under a tight deadline." What trips up many candidates is thinking they can wing this round because it's "just talking." Your interviewer has heard hundreds of these stories and can quickly tell the difference between genuine examples and generic responses.
Meta's core values heavily influence what they're listening for in your answers. When you describe taking initiative on a project, they're evaluating whether you embody "Move Fast." When you talk about resolving team conflicts, they want to see collaboration and direct communication. The key is weaving these themes naturally into your stories rather than awkwardly name-dropping company values. Your interviewer can tell when you've memorized Meta's website versus when you genuinely operate in ways that align with their culture.
The follow up questions are where this round gets challenging. Your interviewer won't just accept your initial story — they'll dig deeper with questions like "What would you do differently?" or "How did your teammate react to your approach?" They're testing whether you can reflect honestly on your experiences and learn from them. Candidates who get defensive or can't articulate what they learned from difficult situations rarely make it through.
You are evaluated on five main aspects:
- Resolving Conflicts: Handles conflicts and challenging relationships appropriately. Addresses conflicts rather than trying to avoid it. Approaches difficult conversations or situations with empathy for others perspectives, needs, and goals.
- Driving Results: Drives progress towards results by balancing analytics and decisive action. Pushes self and others to deliver against objectives. Is self directive and proactive in making progress with the most critical work despite obstacles or roadblocks.
- Embracing Ambiguity: Maintains effectiveness operating in unambiguous and quickly changing situations. Comfortable making decisions and sustains high levels of productivity, despite missing information or lack of clarity.
- Growing Continuously: Seeks out and values opportunities to grow and learn, even when it comes from failure or mistakes.
- Communicating Effectively: Provides timely, clear, concise information with others and adjusts communications to be appropriate for the audience.
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