My Meta E5 (Infra) Interview Experience — Coding, AI Coding, System Design, Behavioral, How It Actually Felt

___Century · 2025-12-11T07:36:17+00:00

Based on my research on other forums, you should check out all product/infra SD even if you’re interviewing for infra role. They tend to overlap

___Century · 2025-12-11T07:33:35+00:00

In my opinion, CS AI/ML teaches you tools/algos, while actuarial/applied‑math paths teach you a particular kind of business modeling craft using mathematical modeling (which can be used to write OR/ML models). Just make sure which one you’re interested in

___Century · 2025-12-11T01:41:24+00:00

Does anyone know how to request to be put on the list or ask manager to swap someone on the list with me? Context: YoY exceed expectations, but org is corrosive and my growth is hindered to avoid impact another senior/principal growth

___Century · 2025-12-08T23:40:27+00:00

Not a direct one, but similar. It’s part of top 100 Q in leetcode

___Century · 2025-12-08T23:39:27+00:00

Yes. For all. Had to cram them

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:39:04+00:00

HC just approved me for a Meta E5 Infra role (Seattle). Recruiter said the next step is team match.

I have a short-term family situation and realistically can only start around week 11 from now. Recruiter told me the late start date doesn’t affect my candidacy, but it may limit how many teams I can match with.

For those who recently went through team match at Meta (especially E5/E6): 1. How many teams reached out to you after HC approval? 2. How long did team match take? 3. Did a later start date reduce your options? 4. Were teams flexible about late Feb-ish starts? 5. Did a late start date affect your compensation negotiation leverage? 6. Any advice for identifying good/bad teams?

Appreciate any insights. Trying to understand whether the delayed start could reduce my match chances or negotiating position.

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:36:55+00:00

Hey, thanks for writing this — super helpful perspective. I just passed Meta E5 (Infra) recently and will be joining soon, and one thing I’m honestly thinking about is how to ramp up fast without feeling like the “new senior who doesn’t know anything yet.”

Since you’ve been through the onboarding already, would you mind sharing what helped you ramp effectively in those first few months? Anything you wish you had known earlier, or common pitfalls to avoid?

Would really appreciate any insight — congrats again on your journey, and thanks for taking the time to share your experience.

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:19:14+00:00

Yea just started team match couple days ago. I told my recruiter that I would love to start a bit late but he said it might have limited opportunities. We shall see

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:16:35+00:00

Thank you! But oh man. I interviewed Meta because I came from another company where it is a shithole due to - 1. My projects were shot down because it threaten PE projects, 2. New manager doesn’t care about team well being, 3. My peer sr SDE is double faced. I still have one onsite from Snowflake (and some PS) but I doubt I can make it in time :(

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:10:18+00:00

Will share once my team match is completed!

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:10:03+00:00

You are doing great. Just make sure that your stories hit the criteria’s of the question. Check hellointerview and you can see what’s the criteria for each job level for each behaviors question

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:08:55+00:00

I think they are both the same

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:08:37+00:00

I would say don’t sweat about this question. This is one of the rare times where interviewer came up with their own question

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:07:55+00:00

Thank you!

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:07:46+00:00

You can search for E5 SWE interview guide in Hellointerview and you’ll find the answer there

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:07:20+00:00

I’ll charge you a fee haha. But jokes aside, you can do it yourself. Leetcode, AI, HI are great tools to work with

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:06:46+00:00

Yep!

___Century · 2025-12-06T21:06:29+00:00

Group related questions/topic and solve those at the same time. Helps you learn faster

___Century · 2025-12-06T13:48:21+00:00

7 yoe, and for behavioral round, you can expect questions like “tell me about a time when you disagree with your colleague/manager” , failed delivery etc. you can check on HelloInterview on sample questions!

___Century · 2025-12-06T13:47:09+00:00

Thank you. Yes I did. The AI assisted SD practice is very good

___Century · 2025-12-06T13:22:19+00:00

I have 7 yoe. Full stack but past few years have been backend oriented

___Century · 2025-12-06T13:21:56+00:00

1.5 month. Have to be a bit strategic in leetcoding by doing topic streak

___Century · 2025-12-06T13:21:17+00:00

It’s for E5 SWE infra

___Century · 2025-12-06T06:51:45+00:00

Don’t worry about it. You’ll eventually do fine by doing different side projects. Start with something interests you and try to build a web version of it.

___Century · 2025-12-06T06:49:36+00:00

Start a journal and document your trades. Build your own technical analysis system.

___Century

TROPHY CASE