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Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) interview questionsSystem Design Interview round

A 60 min interview plan with a time-boxed script, what each question is for, and the signals to score against. Key skills: System Design, Scalability, High Availability, Fault Tolerance, Disaster Recovery.

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Introduction

5 min
•

Hi, I’m [YOUR_NAME], and I’m a [YOUR_TITLE] at [COMPANY_NAME]. I’m excited to learn more about your experience today.

•

Could you briefly introduce yourself and share what attracted you to apply for this position?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess communication skills, alignment with the role, and initial confidence.

Signals to score

  • Clear introduction provided
  • Relevant experience mentioned
  • Motivations for applying explained
  • Alignment with team values
  • Specific skills highlighted
  • Response is concise and organized
  • Understanding of role requirements

Follow-up questions

  • What excites you most about this position?
  • How does your background align with our team’s work?
•

Great, thank you for sharing! In the next 50 minutes, we’ll dive into a system design challenge to assess your skills as an SRE.

System Design Challenge

50 min
•

Design a scalable and highly available logging system for a large-scale distributed application. Consider factors such as data ingestion, storage, retrieval, and fault tolerance.

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess the candidate's ability to design systems with scalability, high availability, and fault tolerance.

Signals to score

  • Understands the requirements clearly
  • Proposes a scalable architecture
  • Considers high availability
  • Addresses fault tolerance
  • Discusses data ingestion methods
  • Explains storage solutions
  • Considers retrieval mechanisms
  • Considers disaster recovery strategies

Follow-up questions

  • How would you ensure the system can handle a high volume of logs?
  • What storage solutions would you consider for scalability?
  • How would you ensure high availability in your design?
  • What fault tolerance mechanisms would you implement?
•

If you had more time, what would you change in your design?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess the candidate's ability to reflect on their work, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Signals to score

  • Recognizes limits in their original design
  • Points out clear areas to improve
  • Suggests specific changes
  • Talks about how changes could help performance
  • Shares ideas clearly and logically
  • Shows a desire to learn and improve

Follow-up questions

  • What additional features would you consider adding?
  • How could you further optimize the system?
  • Are there any potential bottlenecks you foresee?
•

Great job on the system design challenge!

Closing

5 min
•

Do you have any questions for me about the team or the company?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Gauge the candidate’s curiosity and interest in the role.

Signals to score

  • Thoughtful questions asked
  • Interest in company culture
  • Curiosity about growth expressed
  • Questions about role raised
  • Inquiries about team challenges
  • Engagement with responses shown
  • Desire to learn next steps
  • Focus on company values expressed

Follow-up questions

  • What interests you most about this team?
  • Are there any areas of the role you’d like to explore further?
•

Thank you for your time today. We’ll be in touch soon regarding the next steps.

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Interview Template
Position
Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)
Round
System Design Interview for 60 min
Key skills
System Design, Scalability, High Availability, Fault Tolerance, Disaster Recovery

Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) interviews — common questions

Who is this Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) interview plan for?
It is written for the interviewer, not the candidate: the hiring manager, engineer or panel member running the System Design Interview round for a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) role. It gives you a 60 min script to follow in the conversation — 4 questions with what each one is for and the signals to score against — so you are not writing the round from scratch the night before.
What does the System Design Interview round assess?
This round is focused on: System Design, Scalability, High Availability, Fault Tolerance, Disaster Recovery. It works through Introduction, System Design Challenge and Closing, scoring against 29 observable signals, with follow-up prompts on all 4 questions for going deeper where an answer is thin.
How is the 60 min split up?
Introduction (5 min), System Design Challenge (50 min), Closing (5 min). The timings are there so the round stays on schedule and every candidate gets the same shape of interview — which is what makes two candidates comparable afterwards.
What other rounds should I run for a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)?

A single round does not cover a whole role. The other rounds in this library for a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE):