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Gusto·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

IntermediatePrefer not to say
May 2026

Summary

Interviewed for a SWE role at Gusto, got a practical coding question about building a feature for displaying a weekly lunch menu. Pretty straightforward but there's more to it than the prompt lets on.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

How would you design and code an app that displays a weekly lunch menu?

System DesignData ModelingAPI & Integrations
Author's notes

Seemed simple at first and I kind of underestimated it.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying requirements (e.g., read-only vs. editable, user roles, data source) and then outline a simple architecture: a backend API serving menu data from a database, and a frontend that renders the weekly view. Focus on data modeling (menu items, days, weeks) and API design, then discuss coding considerations like state management and caching.

Pro tip: Emphasize how you'd handle real-world concerns like time zones, menu updates mid-week, and caching to reduce API calls—showing you think beyond the happy path.

1. Clarify Requirements

Ask questions to understand scope: Is the menu static or dynamic? Who can edit it? What platforms (web, mobile)? Are there dietary tags or filters? This ensures you design the right solution.

2. Design Data Model

Define entities: MenuItem (name, description, tags), DayMenu (date, items), WeekMenu (week start date, days). Consider relationships and how to handle recurring items or specials.

3. Design API

Outline REST endpoints: GET /menu?week=2024-04-01 returns the week's menu. Discuss pagination, caching headers, and error handling. Consider GraphQL if flexible queries are needed.

4. Outline Frontend Implementation

Describe component structure: a WeeklyMenu component that fetches data and renders DayMenu components. Discuss state management (e.g., React hooks, Redux) and UI considerations (responsive design, loading states).

5. Discuss Coding Details and Trade-offs

Talk about specific implementation choices: database (SQL vs. NoSQL), caching strategy (Redis, CDN), and how to handle updates (polling vs. WebSockets). Mention testing and deployment.

Key Points to Mention

  • Data modeling: normalizing menu items and days to avoid duplication and support queries by week.
  • API design: RESTful endpoints with query parameters for week selection, and proper HTTP caching.
  • Frontend state management: fetching data once per week and caching locally to avoid redundant requests.
  • Handling time zones: ensuring the correct week is displayed based on user's locale.
  • Scalability: using a CDN for static assets and caching API responses to handle traffic spikes.
  • Extensibility: designing the schema to easily add features like ratings, dietary filters, or notifications.

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