What is the difference between a system design interview for a staff engineer and one for a senior software engineer?
Recruiters often mention that a staff engineer interview involves a deeper dive compared to a senior software engineer interview, but it's not clear how much deeper it needs to go. Are there any resources that can clarify this?
Discussion
(2 comments)- 0
2 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroIt's hard to quantify and really fuzzy, but I tried my best here: "What is the difference between a Senior and Staff engineer in a System Design Interview?"
I think the main way to understand it is to know the delta between a senior and staff engineer overall. I recommend going through the L5 -> L6 course if you really want to get it: [Course] Grow From Senior To Staff Engineer: L5 To L6
- 0a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
In short, I'd say the Staff Engineer should atriculate more opinions in a System Design interview compared to a Senior Engineer. These should be evidence-backed judgment calls that are based on past experience or forecasting various problems.
I'd highly recommend going through this course: The Top Ways People Fail System Design Interviews
