Alex Xu

Alex Xu is a software engineer and author whose books have defined a new standard of system-design interview preparation. System Design Interview, in two volumes, teaches candidates to architect large-scale systems — from messaging queues to recommendation engines — through clear diagrams, trade-off analysis and a repeatable framework.

Xu previously worked in infrastructure at Pinterest and as an interviewer at major tech firms, and draws on the pain of hundreds of recorded sessions. His materials, including a newsletter and video channel read by hundreds of thousands, have made him the best-known teacher of the system-design interview in the industry.