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System Design Interview

A technical interview where a candidate designs a large software system to demonstrate architectural thinking.

A system design interview asks you to architect something substantial — "design a URL shortener," "design a chat app" — talking through data models, APIs, scaling and trade-offs. It tests senior engineering judgement rather than coding syntax.

It is a common stage for mid-to-senior remote engineering roles. Practising out loud matters, since remotely you must narrate your thinking clearly over a shared diagram.