Software Engineer · Full Journey · Multiple Types

Meta — Software Engineer ✅ Passed

Level: Mid-Level

Round: Full Journey · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 240 min · Interviewer: Unfriendly

Topics: Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design, Behavioral Questions

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Interview date: 2026-01-15

Summary

Interview Rounds Overview

• Round 1: Coding
• Round 2: Behavioral
• Round 3: AI Coding
• Round 4: System Design

Details

The interview process consisted of four rounds:

Round 1: Coding I encountered two coding questions. The first was from frequently asked interview questions. The second was a variation of a logistics-related problem, requiring me to transform one list into two lists based on certain criteria.

Round 2: Behavioral The behavioral questions focused on my past experiences, including:

• A project I was most proud of.
• A time when I had to deal with ambiguous requirements and limited guidance.
• A situation where I received pushback from others.
• A time I received severe feedback.

Round 3: AI Coding This round involved a maze problem with several follow-up questions. First, I had to fix a test case where the path symbol was overriding the starting symbol. Then, I addressed an infinite loop issue in my BFS implementation by adding a visited set. Further questions included:

• How to handle scenarios where the search could only proceed left or right in certain areas.
• How to handle doors and corresponding keys scattered throughout the maze, where a door could only be opened with its corresponding key.

Round 4: System Design The system design question involved designing an online auction system similar to Instagram.

LeetCode similar: LeetCode 1004