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META · SDE 1

Meta SDE 1 interview

The SDE 1 (entry-level software engineer) level at Meta is E3 Software Engineer, for new grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

From public candidate reports and Meta's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Meta.

Track my Meta prep
Meta titleE3 Software Engineer
ExperienceNew grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 3
System design roundUsually not

The SDE 1 rounds, in order

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 45 min

    Two easy-to-medium coding problems in about 35 minutes of coding time, with code execution turned off.

    At SDE 1: Usually one medium problem. Explain your idea before coding and test by hand at the end.

  2. Coding (DSA) · 45 min

    One traditional coding round without AI, usually two problems; interviewers expect you to find your own bugs.

    At SDE 1: The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

  3. AI-assisted coding · 60 min

    Since October 2025 this round gives you a multi-file project with an AI chat assistant, in three phases: fix a bug, build the core feature, then optimize for larger inputs.

    At SDE 1: Focus on reading unfamiliar code quickly and fixing the bug correctly. Explain every line you accept from the AI.

  4. Behavioral · 45 min

    Conflict, mistakes, missed deadlines, ambiguity and impact; senior candidates need multi-quarter projects with measurable impact.

    At SDE 1: Stories from internships, projects or your first job are fine. Show learning, ownership and teamwork.

  5. Team match · 30 min

    After the loop you meet several hiring managers, and the offer depends on a match where both sides opt in.

    At SDE 1: Mostly about whether the packet clears the bar; team match can take a few weeks.

  6. Hiring committee

    A review meeting recommends hire or no-hire from the packet; a senior committee mainly confirms level and compensation.

    At SDE 1: Mostly about whether the packet clears the bar; team match can take a few weeks.

What Meta interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Company values (2022 set): Move Fast, Focus on Long-Term Impact, Build Awesome Things, Live in the Future, Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues, Meta, Metamates, Me. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Meta SDE 1

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

Difficulty
Topic
14 questions
  1. Valid Word Abbreviation Easy Arrays & Hashing also LinkedIn
  2. Valid Palindrome II Easy Arrays & Hashing also Apple
  3. Subarray Sum Equals K Medium Arrays & Hashing also PhonePe
  4. Product of Array Except Self Medium Arrays & Hashing also Oracle
  5. Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree Medium Trees & BST also Google, Netflix, Atlassian +1
  6. Diameter of Binary Tree Easy Trees & BST also Adobe
  7. Copy List with Random Pointer Medium Linked List also Amazon, Microsoft
  8. Minimum Window Substring Hard Arrays & Hashing also Google, LinkedIn, Oracle
  9. Group Anagrams Medium Arrays & Hashing also Amazon, Oracle
  10. Number of Islands Medium Graphs also Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs +1
  11. Meeting Rooms II Medium Intervals also Amazon
  12. Alien Dictionary Hard Graphs also Amazon, Airbnb
  13. Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree Hard Trees & BST also Amazon, LinkedIn, Oracle
  14. Basic Calculator Hard Stack

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

Design at SDE 1

E3/E4 design is basic or absent. From E5 there are usually two design rounds and they weigh heavily on level: system design (infrastructure, scale, storage) or product design (APIs, data flow, data models). Prompts are mostly Meta products: Feed, Messenger, Instagram, live comments, typeahead.

All Meta system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the Meta SDE 1 interview?

About 3 interviews after the screening: phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), ai-assisted coding, behavioral, team match, hiring committee.

Is there a system design round for Meta SDE 1?

Usually not as a separate round. E3/E4 design is basic or absent. From E5 there are usually two design rounds and they weigh heavily on level: system design (infrastructure, scale, storage) or product design (APIs, data flow, data models). Prompts are mostly Meta products: Feed, Messenger, Instagram, live comments, typeahead.

What coding questions does Meta ask at SDE 1?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Valid Word Abbreviation, Valid Palindrome II, Subarray Sum Equals K, Product of Array Except Self, Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree.

What does Meta expect in coding rounds at SDE 1?

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

SDE 1 interviews at other companies

SDE 1 interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions