I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Meta
Interview
DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE GETTING A MASTER'S DEGREE IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN SCHOOL
A recruiter reached out to me for a phone screen which I took. She asked me to explain my background and I told her I had 7 years of experience and currently getting my master's in DS, She then told me I can't be considered because I'm currently in school and she would refer my resume to a university recruiter who could see about an entry-level role. I then mentioned I'm not an entry-level person I've been doing this for years and it's not like I'm in undergrad or anything and she said "I know and to be honest it's confusing for me too but unfortunately I don't make the rules here I just have to abide by them" and that was the end of the interview.
Tough interview overall—definitely not what I expected. The technical rounds were intense, particularly when they had me design an A/B test for the News Feed ranking algorithm. I had to discuss metrics and sample sizes in detail. Lucky for me, the time I spent on PracHub right before the interview helped me nail that deep-dive question as it mirrored what I practiced. The behavioral questions felt standard but were still challenging. After a whirlwind process, they extended an offer, which I happily accepted.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Design an A/B test to evaluate a new ranking algorithm for the Facebook News Feed. Walk through metric selection (engagement, time-spent, MSI, well-being), unit of randomization given network effects between friends, sample size and power calculations, how you'd detect novelty effects vs. true lift, and how you'd handle a guardrail metric regressing while the primary metric is up.
Total 7 rounds: first round for resume screening, second for technical screening, then for on-site virtual with 4 interviews back to back, then hiring manager round after team matching and then salary negotiation with HR
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Meta’s evaluation rubrics focus heavily on "Product Thinking over Fancy Math". Interviewers want to see if you can operate like a product owner with an analytical mindset, navigating messy scenarios affecting billions of users
The Interview Process is very structured -
First Tech Screening round - 45 mins (usually can extend a bit depending on the interviewer)
- 2 SQL Questions ( Medium to Hard ) - based on Joins
Full Loop - 4 rounds 45 mins each.
- SQL
- Behavioral
- Analytical Execution - stats & prob, A/B testing, case study
- Analytical Reasoning - Case study
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions on Bayes Theorem, Probability distribution, etc.
