Which companies take system design interviews?

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System design interviews are a common part of the interview process for mid-to-senior level software engineering roles, especially in tech companies that deal with large-scale, distributed systems. These interviews are typically more common for roles above entry-level (such as Software Engineer II and above) because they assess your ability to design scalable, efficient, and reliable systems.

Here’s a list of companies that are known to conduct system design interviews:

1. FAANG Companies

a. Google

When: For positions at L4 (Software Engineer II) and above.
Focus: Scalable, distributed systems. You may be asked to design services similar to YouTube, Google Drive, or Google Search.
Example questions:
- Design a URL shortener.
- Design a distributed caching system.

b. Amazon

When: For SDE II and above.
Focus: Scalability and performance in cloud systems, e-commerce, and logistics. Strong emphasis on distributed systems and service-oriented architecture.
Example questions:
- Design an e-commerce checkout system.
- Design a high-scale notification service.

c. Meta (Facebook)

When: For engineers at E4 (mid-level engineer) and above.
Focus: Social media applications, real-time data, and distributed systems.
Example questions:
- Design a news feed system like Facebook’s feed.
- Design a messaging system like WhatsApp or Messenger.

d. Apple

When: For senior-level positions (Software Engineer II and higher).
Focus: System architecture, scalability, and performance optimization for services like iCloud, iMessage, or the App Store.
Example questions:
- Design a photo-sharing service like iCloud.
- Design an app store search and ranking system.

e. Netflix

When: For senior and staff engineers.
Focus: High-throughput systems, content distribution, and real-time streaming services.
Example questions:
- Design a video streaming service like Netflix.
- Design a recommendation system for personalized content.

2. Other Tech Giants

a. Microsoft

When: For mid-to-senior level roles (SDE II and above).
Focus: Distributed cloud systems (Azure), large-scale services (Outlook, Teams, Office 365).
Example questions:
- Design a scalable cloud storage service like OneDrive.
- Design a load balancer for cloud services.

b. LinkedIn

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Real-time data, social networking, and recommendations.
Example questions:
- Design a job recommendation system.
- Design a scalable messaging system for LinkedIn InMail.

c. Twitter

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Real-time data streaming, high availability, and low-latency systems.
Example questions:
- Design a system to handle millions of tweets per second.
- Design a follower recommendation system.

d. Uber

When: For senior and lead engineers.
Focus: Real-time location tracking, ride matching, and surge pricing.
Example questions:
- Design a system to match riders with drivers in real-time.
- Design a dynamic pricing system for ride-hailing.

e. Airbnb

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Booking systems, real-time search, and availability.
Example questions:
- Design a system for property search and booking.
- Design a recommendation system for vacation rentals.

3. Cloud Providers and Infrastructure Companies

a. AWS (Amazon Web Services)

When: For senior and solutions architect roles.
Focus: Cloud infrastructure, distributed systems, and fault tolerance.
Example questions:
- Design a distributed file storage system.
- Design a scalable database-as-a-service platform.

b. Google Cloud

When: For senior engineers and cloud architects.
Focus: Scalable cloud infrastructure, database solutions, and microservices.
Example questions:
- Design a global load balancer for cloud applications.
- Design a cloud-based data pipeline.

c. Microsoft Azure

When: For senior engineers and cloud architects.
Focus: Enterprise cloud solutions, storage, and compute services.
Example questions:
- Design a scalable virtual machine service for cloud hosting.
- Design a global distributed database for cloud applications.

4. FinTech Companies

a. Stripe

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Payment processing, transaction scalability, and fraud detection.
Example questions:
- Design a system to process millions of payments per second.
- Design a fraud detection system for online payments.

b. PayPal

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Payment processing, financial transactions, and fraud detection.
Example questions:
- Design a payment gateway.
- Design a distributed ledger system for transactions.

c. Robinhood

When: For senior engineers and staff engineers.
Focus: Real-time stock trading, low-latency systems, and financial analytics.
Example questions:
- Design a system to handle millions of stock trades in real-time.
- Design a real-time notification system for stock prices.

5. Startups and Growth-Stage Companies

a. Dropbox

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Cloud storage, file synchronization, and sharing.
Example questions:
- Design a file synchronization service like Dropbox.
- Design a scalable storage system for millions of users.

b. Slack

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Real-time messaging and collaboration tools.
Example questions:
- Design a messaging system for large teams.
- Design a file-sharing service integrated into a messaging platform.

c. Pinterest

When: For senior engineers and above.
Focus: Image search, recommendations, and large-scale content storage.
Example questions:
- Design an image search and recommendation system.
- Design a scalable image hosting service.

6. Consulting and Enterprise Software Companies

a. Salesforce

When: For senior engineers and architects.
Focus: CRM systems, enterprise solutions, and large-scale data processing.
Example questions:
- Design a customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
- Design a scalable reporting and analytics system.

b. IBM

When: For senior engineers and architects.
Focus: Cloud solutions, enterprise software, and machine learning platforms.
Example questions:
- Design a global distributed system for enterprise data storage.
- Design a real-time analytics platform for large enterprises.

Conclusion

System design interviews are common in companies that deal with large-scale distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, or real-time data processing. They are most frequently conducted for mid-to-senior level roles, including software engineers, cloud architects, and senior developers. The companies listed above are known to conduct system design interviews, and these interviews assess how well you can design systems that scale, handle failures, and meet performance requirements.

Key Takeaways:

FAANG companies and other major tech firms often conduct system design interviews for mid-to-senior engineers.
Cloud infrastructure companies like AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure focus on designing distributed, scalable systems.
FinTech and startups often look for engineers with expertise in building real-time, scalable, and secure systems.