Your best resources to ace a System Design Interview

Posted by brunoliveira1@reddit | ExperiencedDevs | View on Reddit | 19 comments

Essentially, the title.

However, a bit more context. I'm currently in the process of interviewing for a new position at a somewhat large company, a tier below FAANG, but, the largest one I've ever interviewed at.

This has a System Design Interview as part of the loop and given that I have around 1 week to prepare, what's the best way to ace it and "get this done"?

I've worked so far in small or medium companies and there I've done some design and leading of features but nothing of the scale required by these interviews.

So, what would be your best resources and recommendations to make the most out of this week of preparation? TIA.

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Practicing with real person is the most straightforward way to pass. I you don't have experienced buddy to talk to, you can try https://www.arch-talk.dev/ it offers realtime interview using voice and shared board.

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cheesyvagine@reddit

Is this brand new? I just finished design gurus course, seems interesting

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Life_Atmosphere_28@reddit

1. Master the Basics
Learn common design patterns (caching, load balancing, database sharding) and know when to use SQL vs. NoSQL.

2. Use Trusted Resources
Check out System Design Interview (Alex Xu) or The System Design Primer (GitHub: donnemartin) for quick, scenario-based learning.

3. Follow a Framework
When given a prompt, outline requirements, sketch a high-level diagram, dive into major components (storage, queues), and discuss trade-offs.

4. Practice & Talk Out Loud
Time yourself (30–45 min) and walk through designs verbally. If you freeze in a live setting, consider liveinterview.ai, which suggests answers in real time.

Keep it clear and logical—explain your decisions instead of rattling off buzzwords. Good luck!

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AliKarimli@reddit

List of materials for a software engineer role at FAANG

https://www.isakov.io/interviews/faang-materials/

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raisercostin@reddit

Moved to https://engineeringbolt.com/tech/list-of-materials-for-a-software-engineer-roles-at-faang-maang/ ?

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NinjaBear95@reddit

If you’re cramming, Aldovelio Castremonte's GCP practice exam book is a must-have. I used it when prepping for my GCP ACE exam, and the 20 practice tests (which are real exam difficulty) really nailed down the tricky parts – felt fully prepared afterward.

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Constant_Ice8119@reddit

Big thanks for the tip! Just cracked open Aldovelio Castremonte's GCP practice exam book, and it's like having a personal exam whisperer by my side. Absolutely a game-changer!

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Comfortable_Trifle_7@reddit

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System design fundamentals: https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-system-design-fundamentals
System design case studies: https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-system-design-interview
Advanced system design case studies: https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-the-advanced-system-design-interview
Microservice design patterns: https://www.designgurus.io/course/grokking-microservices-design-patterns

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