HighLevel·Software Engineer·Onsite - System Design / Architecture·Senior

SeniorRejected

May 2026Remote

Summary

Did a low level design round with HighLevel for a senior SWE role and got rejected, still not totally sure why. The interviewer let me use AI tools but drew some weird lines around what counted as 'scaffolding', which made the whole hour feel like I was fighting the format more than solving the actual problem.

Questions Asked (1)

Design and implement a service from scratch using an MVC architecture, optimizing for performance.

System DesignTechnical Trade-offs

Author's notes

The setup was kind of contradictory.

Create a free account to read the full note

AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying requirements and scale, then outline a high-level MVC architecture with clear separation of concerns. Dive into performance optimizations at each layer (database, caching, async processing) and discuss trade-offs. Conclude with how you would implement and test the design.

Pro tip: Emphasize that performance is a cross-cutting concern and must be addressed at every layer, not just the database. Also, discuss how you would measure and monitor performance to validate your optimizations.

1. Clarify Requirements and Constraints

Ask questions to understand expected load, data volume, latency requirements, and any existing tech stack or constraints. This ensures your design is tailored to the actual needs.

2. High-Level MVC Design

Sketch the Model, View, and Controller components, defining their responsibilities and interactions. Choose appropriate technologies (e.g., framework, database) based on requirements.

3. Performance Optimization Strategies

Identify bottlenecks and propose optimizations: caching, database indexing, query optimization, asynchronous processing, load balancing, and horizontal scaling.

4. Trade-offs and Alternatives

Discuss trade-offs between consistency and availability, latency and throughput, and complexity vs. maintainability. Mention alternative architectures if relevant.

5. Implementation and Testing Plan

Outline how you would implement the service incrementally, including testing (unit, integration, load) and monitoring for performance.

Key Points to Mention

Separation of concerns in MVC and how it aids maintainability and scalability
Caching strategies (e.g., Redis, CDN) to reduce database load and latency
Database optimization: indexing, denormalization, read replicas, sharding
Asynchronous processing and message queues for long-running tasks
Horizontal scaling and load balancing to handle increased traffic
Monitoring and profiling tools to identify and address performance bottlenecks

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