Full-Stack Software EngineerAdvanced8 modules~4.0 hours hands-on3 learning modes
The System Design Interview
Reason about scale and tradeoffs like a senior engineer - a repeatable framework, the core building blocks, the CAP theorem, and three worked designs you can defend live.
// What you'll be able to do- The five moves that structure every design
- Turn a product into QPS, storage, and bandwidth
- Load balancers, caches, CDNs, replication, sharding, queues
- The tradeoff behind every data decision
8 modules, built to run
Every module ships runnable code. Expand any one to see what's inside.
00IntroductionReason about scale, not memorized answers30 min
Questions this module answers
- What should you know about what a system design interview is really testing?
- How do you choose the learning path that fits your goals?
Start moduleFree preview
01The Interview FrameworkThe five moves that structure every design30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you recall the five-step framework in order and know what each step produces?
- How do you clarify functional and non-functional requirements before proposing any component?
02Back-of-the-Envelope EstimationTurn a product into QPS, storage, and bandwidth30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you compute queries per second from a daily volume and a peak multiplier?
- How do you use estimates to justify which components a design actually needs?
03The Core Building BlocksLoad balancers, caches, CDNs, replication, sharding, queues30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you name each core building block and the specific bottleneck it relieves?
- How do you match a problem symptom to the correct component?
04CAP Theorem & ConsistencyThe tradeoff behind every data decision30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you state the CAP theorem and explain why partition tolerance is not optional?
- How do you choose CP or AP for a given feature based on its consistency requirement?
05Design a URL ShortenerRead-heavy, ID generation, cache-first30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you run the full five-step framework on a concrete problem end to end?
- How do you derive the read-heavy architecture from estimated numbers?
06Design a News FeedFan-out on write vs read, and the hot-key problem30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you run the framework on a write-amplification problem?
- How can you recognize and defend a hybrid strategy for celebrity accounts?
07Pattern SynthesisChoose the right move, then prove it30 min
Questions this module answers
- How do you select the right technique for any design prompt using a decision flow?
- How do you pass a scored capstone assessment across all course concepts?
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