900+ hours of Learning System Design in 9 Minutes

Try Opera Neon, the AI browser for researching, summarizing docs and working with multiple AI models: https://opr.as/Opera-neon-maddyzhang Everyone is talking about system design, but to actually crack senior-level interviews, get better offers, or build scalable systems, you need to understand the core principles, not just memorize buzzwords. In this video, I break down the 6 system design concepts that completely changed how I think about architecture. Whether you're preparing for system design interviews, trying to level up as a software engineer, or learning how real distributed systems work, this video will help you build the right mental models. 💡 Here’s what you’ll learn: ✅ Statelessness — why scalable servers should not remember previous requests ✅ Caching — how systems trade freshness for speed using Redis, CDNs, and browser caches ✅ CAP Theorem — why distributed systems must choose between consistency and availability ✅ Message Queues — how Kafka, SQS, and async workflows make systems more resilient ✅ Databases — when to use SQL vs NoSQL and why ACID guarantees matter ✅ API Design — how REST, GraphQL, versioning, and contracts shape reliable systems 👋 about me I’m Maddy, a senior software engineer (prev. at Google), with prior internships at Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft. Sharing my journey here - thanks for watching 🤍 🔗find me on other socials Instagram   / madeline.m.zhang   LinkedIn   / madelinemzhang   Tiktok   / madeline.m.zhang   📖 Timestamp 0:00 Intro 0:59 Concept 1 3:24 Concept 2 4:22 Concept 3 5:35 Concept 4 6:29 Concept 5 8:17 Concept 6 9:04 Final Advice 🔔 Subscribe for more coding, system design, DSA, and tech career videos! *disclaimer: views are all my own and do not represent any current / past employer(s) Thank you to Opera Neon for sponsoring this part of the video. #systemdesign #softwareengineering #codinginterview #systemdesigninterview #seniorengineer #softwaredeveloper #techcareers #backendengineering #distributed systems #scalability #caching #redis #kafka #sqs #captheorem #databases #sql #nosql #acid #apidesign #restapi #graphql #loadbalancing #techjobs #faang #google #amazon #coding #programming #computerscience