CrackingWalnuts
Checked 3 August 2026. Meta states the overall timeline and the broad stages. Round names, counts and durations are commonly reported by candidates, not published. Source: metacareers.com/hiring-process.
| Round | Duration | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Phone Screen (Ninja) | 45 min | Two mediums in 35 min plus follow-up. Same bar as E5. |
| Ninja 1 (Coding) | 45 min | Two mediums or one hard in 35 min. |
| Ninja 2 (Coding) | 45 min | Different problem space. Hard variants common. |
| Pirate (System Design) | 60 min | Deep design at scale. Multiple deep dives. |
| Pirate Product (for product eng) or Cross-Team Round | 60 min | Cross-team or product implications at staff scope. |
| Jedi (Behavioral) | 60 min | Multi-team, org-level, hiring, mentorship stories. |
E6 is the staff level, one of the hardest external bars in tech.
Targeted guidance per round in this loop. Each section links to the matching track on the site. There is no shortcut list, the bar moves loop to loop, so build the pattern recognition and the stories from real practice.
Work the pattern templates until the recognition is instant. Trace one mock problem per pattern. Practice stating time and space complexity out loud before you write code.
Meta E6 (Staff Software Engineer) has one design round: Pirate (System Design) (60 min): Deep design at scale. Multiple deep dives.. Bar is owning architectural direction across teams. Trade-offs need numbers, alternatives need names, and the deep dive should be in your strongest area. Pick problems from the track at the scale this loop tests and rehearse the structure: requirements, numbers, high-level design, data model, API, deep dive on one part, trade-offs.
Staff bar. The work shifts to cross-team initiative, strategic judgment, influence without authority, and growing other engineers. Behavioral weight is roughly equal to system design at this level. Meta's framework (Move Fast, Build Awesome Things, Focus on Long-Term Impact, Live in the Future) is what stories should map to.