System Design Interview

Alex Xu

 ·  system-design   interview   preparation   software-engineering  ·  technology   career

System Design Interview cover
Cover of System Design Interview on the Open Library.

Overview:

Written by Alex Xu, this book breaks down the intimidating process of system design interviews into approachable frameworks and case studies. It’s structured to help software engineers practice thinking at scale and build confidence when asked to design large, distributed systems.

The book covers fundamentals such as scalability, reliability, and maintainability, while guiding readers through real-world scenarios like designing a URL shortener, a social media feed, or a messaging system.

Key Takeaways:

  • Learn step-by-step frameworks for approaching open-ended design questions
  • Review trade-offs between different system architectures
  • Practice real interview-style problems drawn from Big Tech companies
  • Develop intuition for designing systems that balance performance, scalability, and cost

This is one of the most practical resources for preparing for technical interviews beyond coding, and a strong complement to coding interview prep books like Cracking the Coding Interview.