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Meta·Software Engineer·Onsite - System Design / Architecture·Intermediate

IntermediatePrefer not to say
May 2026

Summary

Meta SWE system design round, got asked to build a music player using MVC. Pretty standard architecture question but I fumbled some of the component boundaries more than I expected.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

Design a music player application using the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture.

System DesignTechnical Trade-offsData Modeling
Author's notes

I started with the Model layer and listed out the obvious stuff: tracks, playlists, playback state.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying requirements and scope, then walk through the MVC components for a music player, explaining how they interact. Focus on separation of concerns, data flow, and trade-offs in design decisions, while keeping the discussion interactive and tailored to Meta's scale.

Pro tip: Emphasize how MVC enables testability and parallel development, and proactively discuss how you'd handle real-time updates and offline mode—common in music apps—to show depth beyond basic architecture.

1. Clarify Requirements and Scope

Ask questions to understand core features (playback, playlists, search, offline), scale, and platform (mobile/web). This ensures your design addresses the right problems.

2. Define the Model

Outline data entities like Song, Album, Artist, Playlist, and User, and how they relate. Discuss data storage, caching, and synchronization with backend services.

3. Design the View

Describe UI components (player controls, playlist view, search) and how they observe model changes. Highlight reactivity and platform-specific considerations.

4. Design the Controller

Explain how controllers handle user input, update the model, and select views. Discuss routing, state management, and coordination between components.

5. Discuss Trade-offs and Extensions

Address scalability, performance, offline support, and testing. Compare MVC with other patterns (e.g., MVVM) and justify your choices.

Key Points to Mention

  • Separation of concerns and how MVC enables modularity and testability
  • Data flow: user action → controller → model → view update
  • Handling real-time updates (e.g., playback progress) and offline mode
  • Caching strategies and synchronization with backend services
  • Trade-offs: MVC vs. MVVM, and when to use each
  • Scalability considerations for millions of users (e.g., CDN, streaming)

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.