Live Cohort · 8 Weekends · Limited Seats

Master System Design

Stop memorizing. Start designing systems.

You can grind 500 LeetCode problems and still freeze when the interviewer says "Design Instagram." This 8-week live cohort fixes that — you learn each building block in the right order, then immediately apply it through guided design discussions and real-world walkthroughs until it becomes instinct.

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Duration
8 Weeks · Weekends
Timing
Sat & Sun · 9AM–1PM
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Next Batch
July 18
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Price
₹39,999
See the full roadmap ↓

Built by an engineer who's designed systems at scale · 16 modules · 218 real-world problems · 300+ diagrams

Sound familiar?

Most engineers don't fail system design because they're not smart. They fail because nobody taught them the building blocks in the right order.

"I blank out at the whiteboard."You know the words — sharding, caching, Kafka — but can't assemble them under pressure into a coherent design.

"I watched 40 hours of videos."…and still can't drive a design yourself. Watching isn't doing. Passive learning never transfers to the interview.

"I just memorize template answers."The moment the interviewer changes one constraint, the template breaks and so does your confidence.

"I'm a senior dev but interviews humble me."You ship features daily, yet open-ended design questions expose gaps you never had to fill on the job.

The fix isn't more content. It's structured practice — learn one block, apply it the same hour, repeat until designing systems feels as natural as writing a for-loop.

The learn → apply method

Every concept is followed by hands-on application — that's how intuition is built.

1

Learn a building block

One core concept at a time — taught in a deliberate sequence so each new idea builds on the last. No random topic-hopping.

2

Apply it immediately

The same session, we apply that block through a guided discussion and design walkthrough of a real system — turning theory into intuition while it's fresh.

3

Combine the blocks

As your toolkit grows, the discussions get richer — we compose multiple blocks into complete real-world architectures, together.

4

Solve the big ones

By the final weekends you design large, open-ended systems (Slack, Uber, Netflix scale) end-to-end, confidently.

The 8-weekend roadmap

16 concept modules across 8 weekends · Sat & Sun, 9AM–1PM (4 hours, 15-min break). Tap any weekend to expand. Every weekend = learn the blocks, then apply them through guided design discussions & walkthroughs.

Week 1

Foundations & Networking

The mental model + how data actually moves

Building Blocks

  • How to approach any design question (requirements → constraints → API → data → scale)
  • Back-of-the-envelope estimation (QPS, storage, bandwidth, memory)
  • Latency numbers every engineer must know (RAM vs SSD vs network vs cross-region)
  • CAP theorem, PACELC, and the tradeoffs that drive every decision
  • DNS, TCP vs UDP, HTTP/1.1 vs HTTP/2 vs HTTP/3, TLS handshake
  • Load balancing: L4 vs L7, algorithms, health checks, sticky sessions

Apply & Discuss

  • Estimate QPS, storage & bandwidth for a photo-upload feature (live back-of-envelope)
  • "What happens when you type a URL?" — trace DNS → TCP → TLS → HTTP
  • CP vs AP: bank balance vs a like-counter — which side of CAP and why
  • L4 vs L7 load balancing for routing API vs static traffic
Week 2

APIs & Infrastructure

Designing the contract + the plumbing around it

Building Blocks

  • REST vs gRPC vs GraphQL — when to use each
  • WebSocket & SSE for real-time APIs
  • Idempotency keys, pagination, versioning, rate-limit headers
  • Reverse proxies, API gateways, BFF pattern
  • Service discovery, containers & Kubernetes basics
  • Multi-region deployment & serverless tradeoffs

Apply & Discuss

  • Idempotency key on a /pay endpoint to prevent double-charge on retry
  • WebSocket vs SSE vs long-poll for a live score ticker
  • Cursor vs offset pagination for an infinite-scroll feed
  • What belongs in the API gateway vs the service (auth, rate limit, routing)
Week 3

Storage & Databases

Picking and shaping the source of truth

Building Blocks

  • SQL vs NoSQL — the real decision framework
  • Indexing internals: B-Tree vs LSM-Tree, when writes vs reads win
  • Document, wide-column (Cassandra/Scylla), and key-value stores
  • Blob/object storage & when to keep data out of the DB
  • Full-text search with Elasticsearch & inverted indexes
  • Partitioning fundamentals (range vs hash)

Apply & Discuss

  • B-Tree vs LSM-Tree: pick storage for a write-heavy event log
  • Design a composite index for "filter orders by user + date"
  • Wide-column schema for chat messages (partition by channel, cluster by time)
  • Store user avatars in blob storage + CDN vs in the database
Week 4

Caching & CDNs

Making it fast without melting the database

Building Blocks

  • Cache-aside, write-through, write-back, read-through
  • Eviction policies: LRU vs LFU vs TTL
  • Redis data structures (String, Hash, List, Set, Sorted Set, HLL, Geo, Streams)
  • Thundering herd, cache penetration, cache avalanche — and the fixes
  • CDN & edge caching, cache invalidation strategies
  • Redis Pub/Sub vs Streams for real-time

Apply & Discuss

  • Sorted Set for a real-time leaderboard (ZADD / ZREVRANGE / rank)
  • HyperLogLog to count unique daily visitors in ~12KB
  • Cache-aside vs write-through for a user-profile read path
  • Fix a thundering herd on a hot key (SETNX lock + TTL jitter)
Week 5

Messaging & Data Pipelines

Decoupling services and processing streams

Building Blocks

  • Message queues vs log-based streaming (Kafka)
  • Pub/Sub, consumer groups, partitioning & ordering
  • Delivery semantics: at-most / at-least / exactly-once
  • Dead letter queues, retries, idempotent consumers
  • Event sourcing, CQRS, the Saga pattern
  • Batch vs stream processing, CDC, Lambda/Kappa architectures

Apply & Discuss

  • Choose a Kafka partition key that preserves per-user ordering
  • Idempotent consumer: make at-least-once behave like exactly-once
  • Saga to roll back an order → payment → inventory flow
  • DLQ + retry/backoff policy for a flaky email-send worker
Week 6

Consistency & Distributed Systems

The hard part — agreement under failure

Building Blocks

  • Consistency models: strong, eventual, causal, read-your-writes
  • ACID vs BASE, transactions, two-phase commit
  • Quorums (R + W > N), conflict resolution, vector clocks
  • Consensus: Raft & Paxos (leader election, log replication)
  • Replication strategies, hinted handoff, anti-entropy
  • Fault tolerance, split-brain, fencing tokens

Apply & Discuss

  • Quorum math: tune R / W / N for read-heavy vs write-heavy
  • Read-your-writes for a "post then refresh" timeline
  • Walk through Raft leader election (3 vs 5 nodes, split vote)
  • Fencing token to stop a zombie lock-holder after a GC pause
Week 7

Scalability, Security & Observability

Scaling out, locking down, seeing inside

Building Blocks

  • Sharding strategies & consistent hashing
  • Rate limiting algorithms, backpressure, auto-scaling
  • Bloom filters & probabilistic data structures
  • Auth: sessions, JWT, OAuth2, token rotation
  • Encryption in transit & at rest, secrets management
  • Logs, metrics, traces · SLO/SLA · alerting pipelines

Apply & Discuss

  • Consistent hashing: add a cache node without re-keying everything
  • Token bucket vs sliding window for an API rate limiter
  • Bloom filter to skip disk lookups for "is this username taken?"
  • JWT vs server session — what to safely put inside the token
Week 8

Capstone, AI Systems & Interview Mastery

Put it all together and perform under pressure

Building Blocks

  • Modern AI systems: LLM serving, RAG, vector search, AI gateways, guardrails
  • The key numbers cheat sheet for fast estimation
  • Decision flowcharts: which DB? which cache? which queue? sync vs async?
  • How to communicate, drive, and handle curveballs in the interview

Apply & Discuss

  • Rate-limit an LLM API by tokens, not requests (weighted token bucket)
  • Vector search: HNSW vs IVF tradeoffs for 1B embeddings
  • Capstone: design a full product end-to-end (Uber / Netflix / Twitter)
  • Live mock interviews with feedback & scoring

What you'll walk away with

By week 8, system design stops being scary and starts being a structured conversation you lead.

Drive any open-ended design question with a repeatable framework — no more blanking.
Instantly do capacity estimation and justify every component with real tradeoffs.
Confidently pick the right database, cache, and queue for any scenario.
Explain consistency, replication, and consensus like you've shipped them.
Design FAANG-scale systems — chat, feed, rideshare, payments, streaming.
Walk into Staff/Senior interviews calm, structured, and senior-sounding.

Is this for you?

✓ Perfect if you're…

  • A SWE with 2–10 yrs experience prepping for FAANG/MAANG
  • Targeting a Senior / Staff Engineer role
  • Strong at coding but shaky on open-ended design
  • Tired of passive videos and want to actually practice
  • Returning to interviews after a few years and rusty

✕ Not for you if…

  • You want a quick "templates to memorize" hack
  • You can't commit ~8 hours per weekend for 8 weeks
  • You're looking for pure LeetCode/DSA coaching
  • You expect to learn by watching, not by doing

Everything included

No upsells. One price, full access.

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16 Live Sessions

Every Sat & Sun for 8 weeks, fully recorded if you miss one.

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218 Practice Problems

Full access to the HelloSDE problem bank to keep drilling.

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16-Module Cheatsheet

Every concept distilled with 300+ visual diagrams for revision.

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Live Mock Interviews

Real interview simulation with structured feedback & scoring.

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Mentor Access

Direct doubt-clearing over the cohort group — never stay stuck.

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Capstone Review

Design a full system end-to-end and get it reviewed 1:1.

What learners say

"The learn-then-apply format is the only thing that made design click for me. I went from dreading the round to actually enjoying it."

AR
Arjun R.SDE-2 → Senior, fintech

"I'd watched every YouTube playlist. This was different — I was forced to design every weekend. Cleared my Staff loop two months later."

PK
Priya K.Senior → Staff, product company

"The roadmap sequence is genius. Each weekend built on the last, so by week 8 the 'big' problems felt easy."

SV
Sandeep V.Backend engineer, 6 yrs

"Worth every rupee. The estimation and tradeoff drills alone changed how I talk in interviews."

MN
Meera N.SDE-3, e-commerce

Reserve your seat

Small cohort · personal attention · limited seats.

🔥 Next batch starts July 18 · seats fill fast — enroll early to lock your spot
Next Batch · July 18
39,999
One-time · all 8 weekends + recordings + problem bank
  • 16 live sessions (Sat & Sun, 9AM–1PM)
  • Learn-then-apply format with real design problems
  • Capstone end-to-end design + 1:1 review
  • Live mock interviews with feedback
  • Full problem bank + 16-module cheatsheet access
  • Session recordings & direct mentor access

Frequently asked

I work full-time. Can I keep up?
Yes — that's exactly why it's weekend-only (Sat & Sun, 9AM–1PM). Sessions are recorded, so if you miss one you can catch up. Expect ~2–3 hours of optional practice between weekends.
Do I need prior system design experience?
No. We start from foundations and build up in sequence. You do need to be comfortable as a working software engineer (any backend/full-stack background is ideal).
Is it live or recorded?
100% live and interactive — you design alongside the instructor and get real-time feedback. Recordings are provided for revision and missed sessions.
What if I miss a weekend?
You'll get the recording and can ask doubts in the cohort group. The learn-then-apply structure means you can self-practice the applied problem and review in the next session.
Will this help for non-FAANG interviews too?
Absolutely. The building blocks are universal — they apply to product companies, startups, and on-the-job architecture decisions, not just FAANG loops.
How do I pay / enroll?
Tap any "Enroll" button to message us on WhatsApp. We'll confirm your seat and share the payment link and onboarding details.

Eight weekends from now…

…you could be the candidate who calmly draws the architecture while everyone else recites templates. The next batch starts July 18.