Angela Zhou

Dear Frontend Engineers, repeat after me: My job isn’t just about pixel-perfect UI or chasing the hottest frameworks. My real job is to build interfaces people can trust: – So a student can submit their assignment on time, – So a parent can pay school fees without frustration, – So someone can book a doctor’s appointment without confusion. I’m not just ticking off design specs or shipping new features. I’m creating the front door to a product, how people see, use, and remember it. In the end, it’s not about clever CSS tricks or passing every Lighthouse audit. It’s about building experiences that feel simple, work everywhere, and don’t fall apart when people need them most. Because when someone’s relying on your UI to do something important, Your responsibility is bigger than “just frontend.” You’re building trust, one interaction at a time. Make every click count.

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𝐔𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧: In 12 months, your dev team won’t be writing code. They’ll be managing agents that do. Sounds extreme, but let me explain. The way we build software is going through a fundamental shift. We’re moving from engineers-as-coders to engineers-as-architects. While agents handle every line of logic, engineers are designing how these agents work together in a unit. At SpotDraft, we already see this in action. Our teams are experimenting with cloud agents that handle: → Clause extraction → Risk classification → Suggesting redlines → Even summarising entire contracts Each one is like a junior dev with a very specific job. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: In 12 months, a single engineer will manage 5 - 8 cloud agents like this. Their job won’t be to write low level code, it’ll be to review, quality-check, and fine-tune what these agents output. I think of it as a shift from builder to orchestrator. The question isn’t: “Will AI take my job?” It’s: “How good am I at managing a team of non-human contributors?” Are you training your engineers to think like quality checkers?

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If you're a Senior Engineer looking to move up, the next role will likely be a Staff Engineer. And in this guide, Shruti shares tips from her own experience of getting promoted to Staff Engineer at PayPal and Slack. She talks about what Staff Engineers do (and how it's different from Seniors), why you might not be getting promoted, and how to take that next step. https://lnkd.in/g58dnFEG

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The first SDE-2 absolutely nailed the system design round. The question was: Design a live streaming system. The second SDE-2 was asked to Design Google Drive. He did well, spoke about trade-offs, but missed one important detail: chunking the file, especially for large uploads. Yet, the second engineer got the job. These are from real interviews I took around 4 months ago. You might ask: Why? Only one reason, the second one nailed the behavioral questions like a boss. The question was about working on a project with tight timelines. The first SDE-2 (subtly) blamed the external team’s API for delays, which led to tight project deadlines. The second one, on the other hand, shared a story about how he helped his manager prioritize requirements to navigate the crunch. That’s how important behavioral interviews are. Yet, 90% of SDEs leave them to luck. If everything else is equal: - DSA (both solved the coding problems), - LLD (designed with solid object-oriented principles), - HLD (covered all the P0 functional and non-functional requirements) then your behavioral answers become the deciding factor. Yes, the second engineer missed the file chunking detail. But it wasn’t a critical red flag. He covered all other parts well and crushed the behavioral round. As long as you're working with humans (no matter how many), you’ll be judged on your behavioral skills. Call them soft skills, leadership skills, whatever you like, but you should prepare them well in advance. You can start preparing for behavioural interviews right away, with these 5 MUST read behavioural interview posts I wrote. (tip: save this post for later, as it may take some time to complete all of them) [1] How to answer any behavioural interview question https://lnkd.in/gH3N8b5q [2] 4 step guide for behavioural interview preparation in 3 hours https://lnkd.in/gccxG3MP [3] How to create 10+ stories for your past projects https://lnkd.in/g4nv_jqU [4] How to answer a failure story? https://lnkd.in/gtN-Dfuv [5] 10 behavioural interview mistakes to avoid at all cost https://lnkd.in/gpupvYVs If you’re preparing for mid-senior SDE or EM roles and need dedicated help with behavioral interview prep, DM me COACH.

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Imagine you’re a backend engineer at a fintech startup that closed $10M in funding recently.  It’s Sunday, 10 a.m. Your phone buzzes. PagerDuty alert: “Database CPU at 80%.” You wipe your eyes. Why is the database melting down on a quiet weekend? You open the dashboard. Traffic is 10x normal. The system is crawling.  Customers are complaining.  Leadership is freaking out. You replay the last week in your mind. – Did you over-provision?  – Underestimate growth? – What went wrong? Turns out, nobody planned for a viral moment. Capacity planning wasn't just skipped. If you had done it right, here’s what would have happened: Before launch, you’d sit with your team, whiteboard in hand. You’d map out real questions: ↬ How many users do we expect on a normal day? ↬ What if traffic suddenly spikes, double, triple, 10x? ↬ How much data will each user generate? ↬ Can our current database handle the load? ↬ What happens if a single node fails? ↬ Where are our bottlenecks? Storage? CPU? Bandwidth? ↬ Do we have a plan for scaling, or just hope for the best? You wouldn’t need perfect numbers. You’d need a logical approach. Estimate, sense-check, and stress test those assumptions. That’s why capacity planning never stops. You keep one eye on the metrics, always. If latency creeps up, or storage fills faster than expected, you react before users notice. You talk to business teams because those cloud bills also matter. You optimize for both performance and cost. Just like Netflix, you don’t store everything forever: you tier, you archive, you plan. That’s the trait behind systems that scale: It’s about preparing for chaos before chaos arrives. Capacity planning is what lets you sleep at night: even on the weekend, even during Black Friday, even when your app is trending. That’s the difference between firefighting at 10 a.m. on a sunday and sipping your morning chai, knowing your system is ready for anything.

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System Design Interviews can be the difference between a mid-level role and a senior offer and yes, that often means a lot more money 💰 Over the next 5 days, I’m breaking down one commonly asked system design interview question per day over on YouTube. Questions include: 🔗 URL shorteners 📨 Real-time Messaging Apps (Slack, Whatsapp) 📈 Newsfeed architecture …and more. If you're prepping for interviews (or just want to level up your thinking), follow along so you don’t miss a single one. Full playlist here - https://lnkd.in/gtw9tBEW

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Your work should speak for itself. But it doesn’t. You write clean code. You unblock teammates. You fix things no one else even notices. And somehow... you're still overlooked. Here’s why: Invisibility is the default in most orgs. Especially for engineers who don’t self-promote. Especially for the ones who actually get things done. You’re not missing skill. You’re missing surface area. Because impact isn’t just what you do. It’s what people see, remember, and talk about. If you want: • A seat at the table • A say in decisions • A role that fits your ability You need a system that makes your work visible without playing politics, posturing, or turning into someone you’re not. That’s exactly why I built The Top Engineer Method. To help quiet, high-output engineers get the traction they deserve. If you're tired of being the best-kept secret on your team? Start here → https://lnkd.in/gbZHGtfe

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🎯 Master System Design Interviews: 50 Questions That Separate Junior from Senior Engineers As a technical recruiter, I can tell you that system design knowledge isn't just about getting hired - it's about being prepared for real-world engineering challenges. Today, I'm sharing a game-changing resource that could transform your interview preparation. 🔑 Why This Matters: The difference between a $1XXK and $2XXK+ offer often comes down to system design expertise FAANG companies heavily emphasize system design in their interviews These questions reflect actual scenarios you'll face in production environments 📋 What's Included: 50 carefully curated system design questions Real-world examples from companies like Netflix, Uber, and WhatsApp Detailed solutions and architectural approaches Progressive difficulty levels from foundational to complex systems 🎯 Key Categories: Fundamental Concepts API Gateway vs Load Balancer Microservices vs Monolithic Architecture Horizontal vs Vertical Scaling Popular System Designs URL Shortener Chat Applications Video Streaming Platforms Social Media Feeds Advanced Scenarios Distributed Systems Real-time Processing High-Availability Architecture 💡 Pro Tips: Practice explaining your thought process Focus on scalability and reliability Consider trade-offs in your solutions Master the fundamentals before tackling complex designs 🔍 Resources Included: Detailed explanations Architecture diagrams Best practices Common pitfalls to avoid Ready to level up your system design skills? Download the complete guide (link in comments) 📚 #SystemDesign #SoftwareEngineering #TechInterviews #Engineering #FAANG #TechCareers #SoftwareDevelopment #CodingInterview Call to Action: Like and share if you found this valuable Comment with your favorite system design question Follow for more engineering insights Remember: Great system design skills aren't built overnight. Start practicing today! 💪

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Imagine paying $$$ in fines just to keep your site broken. Welcome to how companies "do" accessibility. • In the US → ADA fines up to $150k per violation. Target paid $6M to settle. • In the EU → the new Accessibility Act means €5k–€20k per violation. • In India → this summer, 96 companies fined ₹50k each for inaccessible services. Companies think this is "cheaper" than fixing accessibility. But here’s the irony → most fixes cost almost nothing: - use semantic HTML instead of <div> buttons - write alt text - test with the Tab key once before shipping Accessibility shouldn’t sit under "legal risk" It should sit under "good engineering" I’ll be posting more practical accessibility lessons for devs and designers over the next weeks. I’m also building a course to go deeper. If this topic matters to you, follow along.

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If you are a frontend developer, then this is for you. Double down on the following to be a good frontend developer. - Tailwind CSS: This is an agnostic way of writing regular CSS, I hated Tailwind for over two years. But now, Tailwind is the first thing I install! - TypeScript: I honestly believe static typing is better. This alone can cut down the majority of the bugs you'll ever have if you don't pollute your codebase with `any`. - Testing: I am not saying always write tests or have 100% coverage. But I want you to think "Can this be tested?", if you think no, then most probably you can refactor the code to be much better. I cover the latter two in my free course: https://lnkd.in/erKzXfz3

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Most developers think job searching is about perfecting their resume. They're missing the bigger picture. At 3.5 years experience, I was making more than senior developers with 8+ years. Not because I was a better coder. But because I understood something they didn't: Your next job doesn't come from job boards. It comes from relationships. Here's what I see every single day: Talented developers with incredible GitHub repos getting rejected. While less experienced developers land $150k+ offers. The difference isn't technical ability. It's strategy. Most developers approach job searching like this: • Send out 200+ applications • Wait for callbacks that never come • Feel undervalued and underpaid • Wonder if their skills even matter But the developers landing dream jobs do this instead: • Build meaningful connections BEFORE they need them • Position themselves as experts on LinkedIn • Have hiring managers reach out to THEM • Choose from multiple offers This is how I've helped 100+ developers across different continents land $100k-$200k roles. Not by teaching them to code better. But by teaching them to be seen, valued, and remembered. Your technical skills are incredible. The world just doesn't know it yet. And that's fixable. Want to see exactly how top developers position themselves to attract opportunities? Comment "BLUEPRINT" and I'll send you my free Developer Career Blueprint that shows the exact networking and LinkedIn strategy I used to land my dream role. Stop being the best-kept secret in tech.

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If I were having system design interviews at Uber, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta in the next 2 months...this is exactly how I would prepare (based on my experience of 5+ years in the Industry): 1. Get Clear on What System Design Actually Tests ⤻What you’re really being judged on:   → How you break down an ambiguous problem   → How you weigh trade-offs (performance, scalability, cost, maintainability)   → How you communicate complexity simply   → How well you handle constraints, edge cases, and real-world failures There’s no “perfect answer.” The goal is to show how you think, not just what you know. ⤻The main interview focus:   • Product Design: (e.g. “Design Uber’s backend”)   • Infrastructure Design: (e.g. “Design a rate-limiter”)   • Object-Oriented: (e.g. “Parking lot system,” less common for SDE2+)   • Frontend/App: (skip for most backend interviews)  In almost every company, you’re judged on:   → Problem Solving   → Solution Design   → Technical Depth   → Communication Clarity 2. Refresh The Fundamentals (Don’t Skip This) Before you solve big problems, nail the basics that every interviewer expects. Focus on depth over “checking boxes.” (Check the 1st Comment, I’ve put all the main fundamentals there) 3. Master The Building Blocks You don’t need to memorize every tech out there. Just deeply understand these 7 core components (know pros, cons, and failure modes): –Server/Compute: Monolith, microservice, serverless –Database: SQL, NoSQL (document, key-value, column) –Cache: Redis, Memcached (cache-aside, read/write-through) –Message Queue: Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS (async, decouple, backpressure) –Load Balancer: Distributes traffic, handles failover –Blob Storage: S3, GCS (for unstructured, large objects) –CDN: Edge caching for speed, offloading origin, DDoS protection Bonus: Know how you’d monitor/log/alert for each piece. 4. Work Backwards From Common Problems (PRACTICE > THEORY) Passive learning is a trap. Pick up the most asked system design questions. Don’t only watch YouTube breakdowns - actually practice sketching, whiteboarding, and thinking aloud, and you can do it all on our platform - layrs.me. Join our discord: https://lnkd.in/g9wGRadq It’s like Leetcode for system design, which helps you give a proper, structured plan with problems so you understand what you need to learn to stand out. 1. Design a URL Shortener (Bitly) 2. Design Dropbox 3. Design Ticketmaster 4. Design a News Feed 5. Design WhatsApp 5. Mock Interviews & Feedback Loops Collect feedback, act on it. Find your blind spots (did you skip failure scenarios, did you not justify a choice, did you fumble API design?). You’ll see patterns repeat after 3–5 interviews. You’ll never “know it all.” But you can get dramatically better, fast, if you build on the fundamentals, master your building blocks, and drill through those 10 classic problems with practice and feedback. You got this.

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Sharing some incredible real frontend interview questions from major tech companies on Devtools Tech - and they're absolute awesome for interview prep. - 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 (Microsoft): https://lnkd.in/dWzTA_mN - 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗿 (Atlassian, Postman): https://lnkd.in/dVtieDi7 - 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 (Meta): https://lnkd.in/d_5xxPeg - 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 (Uber): https://lnkd.in/d5Kv5nBv - 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 (Flipkart): https://lnkd.in/d_xh6utV - 𝗗𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 (Google): https://lnkd.in/dTT-nzKJ - 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 (LinkedIn, MindTickle, JioCinema, Tekion): https://lnkd.in/dSJRHHBA 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: ✅ Real questions from actual interviews - not generic coding problems ✅ Company-specific challenges that match their tech stack ✅ Hands-on practice with detailed solutions and explanations ✅ Current trends in frontend development 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: Most developers practice on generic algorithms, but frontend interviews are shifting toward practical, real-world problems that test: - Component architecture - State management - API integration - Performance optimization - User experience thinking 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: If you're preparing for frontend interviews, focusing on these types of questions will give you a massive advantage. They're testing skills you'll actually use on the job.

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One piece of honest advice to every developer searching for a job right now (Warning: this might trigger or offend you, but it is not my intention, just my observation) If you’re grinding through endless interviews, checking your inbox ten times a day, and feeling the pressure to land that one “perfect” offer, pause for a second and read this. I know how it feels to want that dream company badge on your LinkedIn. I know how easy it is to think, “I’ll wait a few more days, something better will show up.” But in this market, offers are in limited quantity. They can vanish overnight, budget freezes, headcount cuts, or simply because a hiring manager moved on. And companies don’t take it personally when you walk away, they just move to the next resume in line. I’ve seen candidates hold out, waiting for a second offer that never comes. I’ve seen people reject a role only to find the market dries up for months. And I’ve watched friends struggle to explain gaps on their resumes that only exist because they gambled on “something better.” On the flip side, I’ve seen candidates accept, keep searching, and end up with two offers in hand. Yes, sometimes they back out late, and it’s not ideal for the company, but in the end, only you will live with your choices, not your recruiter or your manager. If you have an offer, secure it first. You can always decline later, once everything else is final, signed, and real. Don’t make decisions based on hope or what you think is “fair.” Make decisions that give you real options, not just promises. Because in this market, nobody is looking out for you the way you need to look out for yourself. Take the win when it’s in front of you. Keep searching if you must. But don’t risk everything just to hold out for a maybe. It’s just basic survival right now. And it’s how you make sure you never have to settle for less than you deserve. Also, before turning down any offers, make sure you have the other offer in writing and a start date attached to it. Just because you think you are the perfect candidate doesn't mean you will be offered the job. 

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Show me something you've built outside of work... ... 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 😅 Senior Engineer at Company X means nothing to Company Y if you can't demonstrate your abilities. Let’s be real: your company’s codebase isn’t your portfolio. 𝐒𝐨, 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 That microservice you're so proud of? It’s locked behind NDAs and corporate firewalls. The brilliant architecture you designed? Good luck explaining it without revealing trade secrets. While you’re becoming an expert in your company’s proprietary systems, the rest of the industry is moving forward. Your skills are becoming increasingly specific to problems only your employer faces. Your title won’t tell the whole story of your abilities. You need proof of execution. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥: ↳ A small tool that solves a problem you actually have ↳ An open-source contribution to libraries you use daily ↳ A technical blog post explaining something you learned ↳ A weekend project exploring a technology you're curious about Start small. Start today ♻️ P.S I’ll be posting my project for Q3 on here for the first time soon, you’ll love it. New to my content? I'm Mojisola Alegbe , a Frontend Engineer sharing lessons from my own journey.

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