Design a YouTube/Netflix video platform

Quick Overview

This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of distributed systems architecture, media processing and delivery concepts including upload resiliency, transcoding into multiple bitrates, scalable storage and low-latency streaming.

Design a YouTube/Netflix video platform

Company: Meta

Role: Software Engineer

Category: System Design

Difficulty: medium

Interview Round: Onsite

Design a video platform similar to YouTube/Netflix. Requirements: - Upload videos (for YouTube-like) and/or ingest catalog (for Netflix-like). - Transcode into multiple bitrates/resolutions. - Stream videos reliably at scale with low startup latency. - Support resumable uploads and playback progress. Out of scope: recommendations, ads, DRM deep details.

Overview: This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of distributed systems architecture, media processing and delivery concepts including upload resiliency, transcoding into multiple bitrates, scalable storage and low-latency streaming.

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Feb 25, 2026
mediumSoftware EngineerOnsiteSystem Design
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Design a video platform similar to YouTube/Netflix.

Requirements:

  • Upload videos (for YouTube-like) and/or ingest catalog (for Netflix-like).
  • Transcode into multiple bitrates/resolutions.
  • Stream videos reliably at scale with low startup latency.
  • Support resumable uploads and playback progress.

Out of scope: recommendations, ads, DRM deep details.

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