interview prep

How to Prepare for Meta SWE Interview in 2026

Scout Editorial Team

31 December 2025 • 6 minute read

Meta interview prep — Photo by Annie Spratt / Unsplash

So you matched with a Meta SWE job on Scout, congrats! 🎉 The Meta loop still focuses on coding, system design, and Meta values —with a sharper eye on impact, ownership, and responsible AI. Use this playbook to prepare fast and show up confident.

We'll cover how the loop works, the best resources to drill (CTCI, NeetCode, Grind75, DDIA), and behavioral stories aligned to Meta's principles.

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Stay interview-ready with more Meta-like roles on Scout here so you have leverage and options.

Step 1: Know the Meta loop

Typical sequence (may vary by team):

Recruiter screen: Resume fit, comp expectations, timing, and location preferences.
Technical screens (2x): 45-minute coding with DSA. Expect 1–2 medium/hard problems.
Onsite (virtual/in-person): 1–2 coding, 1 system design (mid/senior), 1 behavioral (Meta/Facebook values), possibly a team match/chat.

PRO TIP

Ask your recruiter which team and level you're slotted for and what round types to expect; tailor prep accordingly.

Step 2: Coding, design, and behaviorals

Use a tight resource set and time-boxed practice.

Coding: Grind75 for scheduling; NeetCode patterns to reinforce; CTCI for depth. Target 1–2 problems/day across arrays, graphs/trees, and DP. Write clean, tested solutions—no AI in the interview.
System design (mid/senior): Read Designing Data-Intensive Applications; skim System Design Primer; practice 35–40 minute runs on news feed, messaging, rate limiter, and notifications. Use AI to critique notes, but present without it.
Behaviorals (Meta values): Ownership, move fast, be bold, focus on impact, build social value. Prepare 8–10 STAR stories (conflict, failure, leading without authority, shipped impact, velocity vs. quality, working with AI responsibly).
Mock weekly: One coding + one design + one behavioral. Record and review for clarity, pacing, and tradeoff narration.

PRO TIP

Keep a “patterns notebook”: two-pointers, sliding window, heaps, graphs/BFS-DFS, intervals, DP states, plus design template (goals → API/data → storage → caching/queues → scaling → failures/observability).

Final tips: Day-of execution

Show signal early and often.

🧭 Clarify quickly: restate problem, constraints, and examples before coding or designing.
🧪 Communicate: narrate edge cases, complexity, and tradeoffs; test with small cases aloud.
🤝 Show values: mention ownership, moving fast with guardrails, and how you collaborate with partners.

PRO TIP

If stuck, say your plan, try a simpler version, and show how you'd validate; partial credit beats silence.

With focused resources, practiced stories, and clear communication, you'll be ready to land that Meta SWE offer in 2026. You've got this. 🚀

Table of contents

Intro Step 1: Know the Meta loop Step 2: Coding, design, behaviorals Final tips: Day-of execution

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