On Lead Backend Engineer interview questions

The process (what to expect): The interview ran over several rounds and finished with a multi-part "Experience Day." Expect roughly: a technical exercise / systems design round, then a final stage made up of a Product interview, a Role-Related technical deep dive, and a shorter Executive interview. Communication from the recruitment team was prompt and friendly throughout, and they were transparent about the format ahead of time, which I appreciated. How to prepare - the technical deep dive: This round focuses heavily on event-driven architecture, backend scaling, and trade-offs. They care far more about how you reason than whether you know a specific tool - be ready to explain why you'd choose one approach over another, and talk through the trade-offs out loud. E-commerce-style scenarios (high-traffic product drops, order pipelines, inventory consistency, idempotency) are very relevant given the business. Two pieces of feedback I'd pass on: 1. be ready to discuss writing formal design docs / RFCs, not just design systems verbally, and 2. if you cite scale or traffic numbers from past work, have them straight and consistent - reason them out from first principles rather than quoting figures you're unsure of. Product & Executive rounds: The Product round looks at product thinking and how you influence decisions and work with product teams — prepare STAR-style stories, ideally about mentoring or shaping product direction. The Executive round rewards concise answers that lead with business value before the tech, plus honesty about any gaps and how you'd close them. They'll also want to understand your specific motivation for joining, so have a genuine "why this company" ready. Overall: A well-structured, respectful process with clear communication and useful feedback at the end. I'd happily apply again. Go in ready to talk trade-offs, keep your numbers consistent, and connect your work to business impact.