LinkedIn
Medium
Machine Learning EngineerDesign LinkedIn Learning course recommendations
ML System Design
8
0
February 18, 2026
Database Design Interview Questions
Database design questions test your ability to model data, choose storage systems, and optimize for access patterns.
Expect questions on SQL vs NoSQL trade-offs, schema normalization, indexing strategies, and consistency models.
Interviewers want to see that you can match data storage choices to actual system requirements.
740Questions
169Companies
Easy 32 • Medium 390 • Hard 318Difficulty mix
Common database design interview patterns
- SQL vs NoSQL selection criteria
- Schema normalization and denormalization trade-offs
- Index design for read-heavy vs write-heavy workloads
- CAP theorem and consistency models
- Database replication strategies
- Data modeling for time-series, graph, and document data
Database design interview questions
Filter and sort
Databricks
Medium
Machine Learning EngineerDesign Harmful Content Detection
ML System Design
9
0
February 7, 2026
Meta
Medium
Software EngineerDesign a food ordering and delivery system
System Design
8
0
January 5, 2026
Amazon
Medium
Software EngineerDesign a multi-size storage locker system
System Design
7
0
January 2, 2026
XPeng
Hard
Machine Learning EngineerDesign and train a PPO pipeline
ML System Design
6
0
September 6, 2025
Atlassian
Medium
Software EngineerDesign a tagging system and REST APIs
System Design
8
0
January 5, 2026
Amazon
Hard
Software EngineerDesign a keyboard and mouse input system
System Design
7
0
September 6, 2025
Microsoft
Medium
Machine Learning EngineerDesign chat and online chess
System Design
8
0
February 23, 2026
Giga
Medium
Software EngineerDesign an Agentic Ticket Support System
ML System Design
9
0
April 9, 2026
Google
Hard
Machine Learning EngineerDesign a reaction-factor prediction system
ML System Design
6
0
September 6, 2025
Meta
Hard
Data EngineerDesign tables for event-driven metrics
System Design
7
0
September 6, 2025
Snapchat
Hard
Machine Learning EngineerDesign real-time top-K POI retrieval on maps
ML System Design
7
0
September 6, 2025
Citadel
Hard
Data ScientistBuild a regression model for wind power output
ML System Design
7
0
August 13, 2025
Snapchat
Medium
Software EngineerDesign an Instagram Stories feature
System Design
5
0
February 8, 2026
Rippling
Medium
Software EngineerDesign personalized news aggregation service
System Design
7
0
October 4, 2025
DoorDash
Hard
Software EngineerDesign limited-time donation platform
System Design
9
0
August 9, 2025
NVIDIA
Hard
Software EngineerExplain shader compilers and graphics APIs
System Design
8
0
August 7, 2025
Instacart
Hard
Software EngineerDesign an e-commerce category page
System Design
4
0
July 15, 2025
LinkedIn
Medium
Software EngineerDesign an exception monitoring system with top‑K
System Design
7
0
October 13, 2025
Credit Genie
Hard
Software EngineerIntegrate Chroma and design semantic search API
ML System Design
4
0
September 6, 2025
Common mistakes with database design
- Choosing a database without understanding access patterns
- Over-normalizing when denormalization improves read performance
- Adding too many indexes without considering write overhead
- Ignoring data growth and capacity planning
- Not discussing backup and disaster recovery
How database design questions are evaluated
Justify your database choice based on the specific workload requirements.
Show awareness of trade-offs between consistency, availability, and performance.
Discuss how the schema evolves as requirements change.