TJ Baxter

If you have system design interview at Amazon for a senior SWE role. And need a quick 2 minute refresher on Microservices, Read this : Microservices isn't one skill. It's 20 deliberate progressions. 𝗕𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗖 (𝟭-𝟳) 1. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀     Independent services working together as one system. 2. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀     Understand differences. Know when microservices enhance scalability. 3. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀     Learn HTTP, RPC, and messaging fundamentals for service interaction. 4. 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗔𝗣𝗜𝘀     Design stateless REST endpoints for structured communication. 5. 𝗴𝗥𝗣𝗖 & 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗯𝘂𝗳     Use high-performance communication through binary Protobuf serialization. 6. 𝗔𝗣𝗜 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻     Secure APIs using OAuth2, JWT tokens, and standard auth methods. 7. 𝗔𝗣𝗜 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝘆     Central gateway manages routing, authentication, and unified access. 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗘 (𝟴-𝟭𝟰) 8. 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻   Ensure consistent behavior across distributed services. 9. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿     Automatically locate service instances without manual configuration. 10. 𝗟𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴     Distribute traffic evenly across service nodes. 11. 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻     Prevent cascading failures using fallback logic. 12. 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘂𝗲𝘀     Enable asynchronous communication with message brokers. 13. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴     Trace service requests end-to-end clearly. 14. 𝗟𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴     Track metrics and logs using dashboards. 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗗 (𝟭𝟱-𝟮𝟬) 15. 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲     Each service uses its own database. 16. 𝗦𝗮𝗴𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻     Coordinate distributed transactions across services. 17. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴     Store changes as events for reconstruction. 18. 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 & 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲     Design for failure with retries, redundancy, and health checks. 19. 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀     Auto-scale services independently based on traffic. 20. 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆     Use Kubernetes, Docker, and dashboards for automated rollouts. You don't climb this by reading blog posts. You climb it by building. Breaking. Fixing. Defending your decisions. Follow Rakshith Yadhav  for • real-world engineering insights. • practical system design frameworks • lessons from building scalable AI systems.

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📚 Hiring Labs — Episode 4: Grads, It’s Tough Out There (But Here’s How to Make It Work) Let’s be real: If you just graduated with an engineering or software degree, this market is not playing nice. 🧊 Entry-level hiring has frozen at some of the biggest tech firms. 📉 Job listings for new grads are down ~50% since 2019. 😓 Nearly 6% of grads are unemployed, and over 40% are underemployed—working in jobs that don’t require their degree. And here's the truth: Graduating into a weak market like this can cause up to a ~9% salary penalty, lasting years. But... taking smart moves now can set you up for serious payoff later. Let’s talk about what recruiters are really noticing—and what might be holding you back. ❌ What’s Not Helping You Right Now Pricing yourself out of the market Asking for $120K in Orlando or Huntsville because your cousin's roommate got that in Palo Alto? Nope. Taking a ~$50–60K job now and learning fast can put you in that $120K seat sooner than you think. Unemployment = lost income and lost momentum. ❌ Relying on your degree alone Everyone applying has the same degree. What else do you bring? ✅ Projects ✅ GitHub repos ✅ Stack Overflow activity ✅ Open-source contributions Even self-initiated work counts. Show you’re hungry. ❌ Ignoring the tools If you haven’t touched: – GitHub – AI tools (yes, including ChatGPT & Copilot) – Python frameworks – Docker or Kubernetes – Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) …then you’re not showing recruiters you’re ready right now. ❌ Ghosting recruiters You might be ghosting your way out of your first job. Even a 10-minute chat can plant a seed. You don’t have to say yes—but you do have to show up. And yes, you should vet recruiters too: Do they know tech? Are they active in the space? ✅ What Does Get You Noticed – A clean, tailored resume that connects to the job posting (see Hiring Labs Episode #1!) – Proof of life: GitHub, LinkedIn, a portfolio site—something we can actually see 🎓 This cycle is tough, no doubt. But recession grads who stay visible and adaptable are often the ones leading teams five years later. Because while your degree opens the door—your hustle gets you in. — 💼 Want to know what we’re hiring for right now? Take a look: https://lnkd.in/etJQ5jCE

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The difference between a mid-level engineer and a senior engineer? Mid-level thinks: 'How do I build this feature?' Senior thinks: 'How does this feature interact with 15 other services at 3am when traffic spikes?' That shift in thinking is what system design interviews test. And the fastest way to build that muscle? Study one complex, real-world system deeply like eCommerce.   This guide breaks down the key components of a robust eCommerce architecture:   1. User Flows for search and purchase, routed through load balancers   2. Core Services like cart, wishlist, order, inventory, and item management   3. Supporting Systems like recommendation engines, serviceability checks, and warehouse logistics   4. Real-time Infrastructure powered by Kafka, Spark, and streaming clusters   5. Data Layers using MySQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, and archival systems   6. Integration Points with notification services, user auth, and analytics pipelines   If you are preparing for a system design interview or building your own eCommerce product, this diagram is a great starting point to understand how everything connects. So, if you are ready to rebuild your career, learn directly from Senior FAANG Engineers who have been on the other side of the table and know what it really takes to get hired. Start your mentorship journey with Everyone Who Codes and let’s turn your next opportunity into your biggest career win. Master System Design for SDE 1- SDE 3 interviews with our Sr. FAANG Mentors from Everyone Who Codes (EWC) - https://lnkd.in/gvNFmtti #FAANG #techinterviewprep #FAANGMentors #mentorship #softwareengineer #softwaredeveloper #jobsearch #joboffer #hiring #AI #systemdesign #mockinterview

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Waymo cars are already driving around Chicago with human drivers. Not autonomous yet. Just mapping the city. But this is how every rollout starts. First: data collection Then: edge cases Then: limited autonomy Then suddenly: no driver Most people will notice when it’s live. Engineers should care now. Because this isn’t just self-driving. It’s AI operating in the real world: unpredictable environments non-deterministic systems zero tolerance for failure We’ve spent years building AI in controlled environments. Now it’s hitting the streets. Chicago is a brutal test case: snow traffic chaos If it works here, it works anywhere. Feels like we’re watching the “ChatGPT moment” for robotics happen in slow motion. Curious? would you trust a fully driverless car in Chicago today? #AI #AIEngineering #AutonomousVehicles #Robotics #Startups

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Fire your Engineering Managers. If you're running a tech company, keeping Engineering Managers (EM) on payroll is like paying someone six figures to slow things down and repeat what your devs already know. Here are my hot takes on this: 🚫 EMs are glorified middlemen. EMs command salaries of $150,000–$250,000/year, more in places like San Francisco, yet many act as glorified intermediaries, relaying messages between engineers and stakeholders. Your Senior Engineers already have the technical depth—just coach them to interact with stakeholders. 🐢 EMs bottleneck decisions. They approve tools, plans, and architecture… despite not writing code. Why not let the people who actually ship make the calls? 🎭 EM-led “people management” is theater. Performance reviews and conflict resolution by EMs can be subjective, colored by personal biases or limited technical context. Surface-level mentorship? Train your engineers in mediation, feedback, and leadership instead. It’s cheaper AND better. 👨‍💻 Most EMs don’t code. Most EMs don’t code regularly, leaving them out of touch with the technical realities their teams face. So why are they estimating timelines, risks, and budgets? 📉 They stifle innovation. Process-heavy and risk-averse, EMs love predictability. But your best engineers crave experimentation and autonomy. 👀 Now, when do you need EMs?: 1. You’re in a large organization with multiple cross-functional stakeholders—you’re forced to “play the game” of corporate structure. 2. Your senior engineering leader is managing 15+ engineers and needs support with coordination, people ops, and overhead. Let me know what you think!

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