Process
The interview process began with a 20-question quiz, followed by a coding phone interview, and finally a systems phone interview. Afterward, you would learn if an offer was extended or not.
The 20-question quiz consisted entirely of multiple-choice questions. You had 18 minutes to complete it, allowing approximately 54 seconds per question. My quiz questions were all based on Linux and networking, essentially testing your familiarity with the Linux shell and basic networking competence. A good way to prepare for this would be to install Linux on your computer (Ubuntu or Debian are recommended) and use it daily. Try forcing yourself to use the shell instead of the graphical interface. This will make you much more familiar with how it works and best prepare you for the quiz.
The phone interviews were the most challenging. In the coding interview, I was given two problems: a "warm-up" and a "difficult" one. They weren't particularly difficult problems, but if misread, you could easily make mistakes. If you take your time and think out loud, you'll do fine.
The second phone interview was the systems interview, which was very holistic. I wrote no code during this interview; instead, I received an open-ended question regarding real-life situations. A question similar to one I received is: "'httpd' is not serving files from '/var/www/html'. Why might this be happening? How might you go about diagnosing and fixing this?"
Be sure to know exactly where your knowledge ends. If you do not know something, do not waste their time pretending you do. They want to see the breadth of your knowledge. If you don't know something, tell them, and they will move on to a topic you might know. It's okay to speculate and apply other knowledge to your situation. For example, "I've used W before on X system, and it behaved in Y way. I'm unsure whether or not it would apply to our scenario with system Z, but I would first look into this because of that experience."
Questions
Our production database is running unusually slow. What might be causing this?
What does "$?" mean in Bash?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 155 interview experiences for the Meta Production Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
Meta's interview process for their Production Engineer roles in the United States is very selective, failing most engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Meta's Production Engineer interview process in United States.
Meta Work Experiences
- 4.0Good Culture, Management ConcernsProduction Engineer • Former EmployeeMenlo Park, California, United StatesMarch 16, 2023Pros: Culture, Benefits, PTO Policy, and Engineering ExcellenceCons: Performance, Management Quality and Job Risk
- 1.0Toxic culture with cutthroat performance processProduction Engineer • Former EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomFebruary 21, 2025Pros: Pros: * **Strong Resume Booster:** The "ex-Meta" tag looks good on a resume and can open doors at other companies. * **Competitive Pay & Benefits:** High salary, bonuses (once a year), and solid perks. * **Opportunities Depend on Team:** Some teams work on cutting-edge tech, but it’s hit-or-miss. * **Good US Office Perks:** Food is great in US offices, and some employees get travel opportunities (though heavily restricted now).Cons: Cons: ➤ Brutal Performance Reviews: Conducted every six months, and if you fall behind early, you can’t recover. Everything depends on your team lead’s opinion, not actual work. ➤ Toxic Work Culture: Bootlicking and politics matter more than skills. If your team lead dislikes you, your career is dead. ➤ Clueless Management: Most managers have zero technical knowledge, so your performance is judged arbitrarily. ➤ No Job Security: The company has no real policy for underperformance—if you fall sick or miss a target, you risk getting laid off. The latest wave saw 4,000 employees cut without warning. ➤ Stress & Burnout: Employees spend an entire week writing self-reviews, only for biased managers to decide their fate. Many quit within a year due to mental exhaustion. ➤ Big Boss Lack of Empathy: During the first layoff wave in 2021, he dodged employee concerns, turned off his camera, and rewarded executives while firing workers. He only cares about AI replacing engineers. ➤ Engineering Experience is Limited: Most of what you learn at Meta doesn’t apply elsewhere. Real engineers have either left or secured safe positions within the company. ➤ Advancement is Political. ➤ Terrible London Office Food: No matter the cuisine, it's bad. ➤ Fewer Travel Opportunities: Flights have been reduced, and managers rarely approve business travel anymore.
- 4.0Each team is differentProduction Engineer • Current EmployeeMenlo Park, California, United StatesNovember 19, 2019Pros: Perks are not on the table to negotiate. They provide any support you need to work better: health, hobbies, education, seminars, clubs, happy hours...Cons: You may be in a corrupt organization that tries to eliminate you. Do not blame yourself for not being enough. Do not complain; just change your team/organization, otherwise you will be on their blacklist! They try to provide a diverse work environment, but be ready to deal with emotionally less intelligent people anyways. They say "bring your authentic self to work," but it is not appreciated. Be careful.
Meta Interview Questions
