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How can I better contribute to system design discussions on my new team?
Senior Software Engineer [L5] at Google2 years ago
My whole team is engaged in a design exercise for the system we will build in subsequent quarters. Since I joined 2 months ago, I don’t feel I’m able to meaningfully contribute. I also feel weak with system design questions during interviews. How can I improve here?
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(1 comment)- 52 years agoRahul Pandey [OP]Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
In order to make system design questions less opaque, I like to use this 3 part strategy:
- Ask clarifying questions
- Create a component diagram
- Forecast how things may break or change in the future
Some additional points:
- With system design, there’s no “right” answer. It’s about identifying the constraints you have, and what you’re optimizing for.
- At a big tech co like Google, you have world-class experts in every part of the tech stack. So your job as someone new is to navigate the discussion toward the interesting spots where trade-offs have to be made, and then consult the experts.
- Dig into previous design docs from your team or adjacent teams and draw analogs to the problem your team is facing here.
