Meta | Software Engineer(Product) | E4 | USA | Reject

Years of experience: 3 years of relevant experience.

I received a recruiter outreach in September after requesting several engineering managers to refer me for roles at Meta on LinkedIn. Two to three managers assisted me, and I received a call from the recruiter.

The recruiter round was straightforward. The recruiter explained the interview process and my availability for screening. I also participated in a mock interview, which helped me understand the time required to complete the questions and the interviewer's expectations.

Screening: I was asked to solve "Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree" and "Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree." The interview went well, and I solved both questions efficiently. The interviewer proceeded directly to the problems without wasting any time.

After clearing the screening, I was invited to a final onsite interview with four rounds, which were divided into two separate days in October.

Round 1- Coding: I was asked to solve "K Closest Points to Origin" and "Basic Calculator II." I used a priority queue to solve "K Closest Points to Origin" and was able to solve both problems. Although I solved both problems, I was slightly nervous due to an additional criterion in "K Closest Points to Origin." Feedback: Strong Hire

Round 2 - System Design: I was asked to design a file management system for Meta to store and retrieve images posted by users. The requirements included no duplicate images and 1000 uploads per second. This round did not go as well as the others. I initially proposed using a codec feature to store multiple copies of the images, but the interviewer was unfamiliar with codecs and seemed uncollaborative. While the interviewer raised valid points about increased memory costs, I addressed them by emphasizing faster image retrieval for a better user experience. However, the interviewer did not seem receptive to my solutions after this point.

Round 3 Coding: I was asked to solve "Find Largest Value in Each Tree Row" and "Exclusive Time of Functions." I performed well, explaining the solutions and answering follow-up questions effectively. The interviewer was pleased with my performance. Feedback: Strong Hire

Round 4 : Behavioural: This round consisted of basic behavioral questions, which I answered using the STAR method. The manager seemed content with my responses and there was good collaboration. Feedback: Hire/Strong Hire

I received an email from the recruiter a week later stating that my application was not approved. When I followed up for feedback, the recruiter stated that they could not provide any. Every round went well except for the system design round. I need to improve my system design skills.