I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Meta (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2018
Interview
Short phone call with the recruiter, then I talked with a Data Science Manager about the culture there (just a getting-to-know-you call). I interviewed with a Product Analyst there, who asked a SQL question (fairly simple, then a somewhat more complex follow-up requiring sub-queries, nothing difficult), basic stats (what would the mean vs median look like for such and such distribution, etc), and product questions (here is the output of a survey on a new feature, what is your take, what analysis would you suggest, etc)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is the revenue by advertiser for the month of March? (From one table)
What is the ROI for each advertiser for the same month? (Now there are two tables)
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.