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Algorithms System Design Case Studies

InterviewSkool tracks 20 Algorithms case studies with architecture diagrams, scale estimates, and deep dives.

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Companies

OpenAI5Google3Meta3Microsoft3Anthropic2Atlassian2Rippling2Salesforce2Adobe1Apple1LinkedIn1Netflix1Oracle1Pinterest1TikTok1Uber1

Topics

Distributed Systems 90Real-time 51Storage 43Data Pipelines 42API Design 41Databases 38Caching 37Security 32AI / ML 23Algorithms 20Scheduling 20Search 19Event Driven 14Fintech 14Payments 11Geospatial 11Analytics 11Observability 11E-commerce 11Messaging 10CDN 9Concurrency 8Ads 8Frontend 8Booking System 6Networking 5IoT 4Media 3Media Streaming 3Collaboration 3Rate Limiting 2
Algorithms✕Clear all
Shazam
14 min readSearchReal-timeAlgorithms
Advanced—▶ Mock
Ad Budget Pacing System
5 min readAdsReal-timeDistributed Systems
Advanced▶ Mock
Real-Time Collaborative Editor (Google Docs / Sheets)
7 min readCollaborationReal-timeDistributed Systems
Advanced▶ Mock
Inventory Serving on Spinning Disks with Little RAM
5 min readStorageDatabasesAlgorithms
Advanced▶ Mock
Distributed Crossword Solver
6 min readAlgorithmsDistributed SystemsScheduling
Advanced▶ Mock
Finding the Mode of Data Spread Across Many Machines
4 min readAlgorithmsDistributed SystemsData Pipelines
Intermediate▶ Mock
Duplicate File Detection at Scale
6 min readStorageAlgorithmsDistributed Systems
Intermediate▶ Mock
Expense Policy and Violation Processing (Rippling)
5 min readFintechDistributed SystemsEvent Driven
Advanced▶ Mock
Sorting a 500 GB CSV with 16 GB of RAM (External Merge Sort)
4 min readAlgorithmsStorageData Pipelines
Intermediate▶ Mock
Flight Search Platform (Google Flights / Kayak)
4 min readSearchCachingData Pipelines
Advanced▶ Mock
Storing a Hierarchy and Returning All Descendants
4 min readDatabasesAPI DesignAlgorithms
Intermediate▶ Mock
Word Store with Lexicographic Range Queries
4 min readStorageAlgorithmsDatabases
Intermediate▶ Mock
Matching Tagged Problems to Skilled Programmers at Scale
4 min readAlgorithmsDistributed SystemsScheduling
Advanced▶ Mock
PDF Viewer Search Box that Cycles Through Matches (React)
4 min readFrontendAlgorithmsConcurrency
Intermediate▶ Mock
Social Post Search (Keyword and Boolean Queries)
6 min readSearchDistributed SystemsAlgorithms
Intermediate▶ Mock
Scaling a Rules Engine for High Traffic (Rippling)
3 min readDistributed SystemsAlgorithmsEvent Driven
Advanced▶ Mock
Stock Price Alert System
3 min readFintechReal-timeAlgorithms
Intermediate▶ Mock
Surge (Dynamic) Pricing for Ride-Hailing
4 min readReal-timeGeospatialAlgorithms
Advanced▶ Mock
Top-K Trending Items (Heavy Hitters)
7 min readAnalyticsReal-timeAlgorithms
Advanced+4▶ Mock
Typeahead / Search Autocomplete
6 min readSearchCachingData Pipelines
Intermediate▶ Mock

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Algorithms in system design?

Algorithms is a core system design topic covered in 20 case studies on InterviewSkool. It appears frequently in FAANG interviews, especially at Google, Amazon, and Meta.

How should I prepare Algorithms for system design interviews?

Study the case studies above, focusing on architecture trade-offs, scale estimates, and API designs. Practice explaining your decisions aloud — this is exactly what interviewers evaluate.

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