Interviews

7-file structure

Step	File	What it covers
1	01_positioning_and_roles.md	Core positioning, role archetypes, skills checklist, messaging
2	02_career_strategy.md	Search plan, comp bands, outreach, negotiation, 4-year strategy, public artifacts
3	03_interview_rounds.md	Round types, prep ramp, take-homes, coding drills, checklists
4	04_behavioral_and_lead.md	STAR bank, lead questions, leadership/mentorship frames, closing questions
5	05_lead_frameworks.md	Hiring rubric, build/buy, rollout, team design, cost, governance
6	06_mock_interview_log.md	Debrief template + running interview log
7	07_solution_architecture_presales.md	GenAI Solution Architect / pre-sales: discovery, qualification, workshops, demos, POC scoping, reference architectures, objection handling, SA interview prep

Quick use guide

1. Read 01-03 once to lock the story, targets, and loop shape.
2. Rehearse 04-05 repeatedly during active interview weeks.
3. Maintain 06 continuously; every mock and real round gets a debrief within 24 hours.
4. Use the deeper system-design track in ../learning/06_system_designing/ alongside interview practice.
5. Keep Portfolio.xlsx updated with applications, follow-ups, and loop notes.

System design pointer

Topic	File
Quick reference and interview framework	../learning/06_system_designing/01_system_design_quick_reference/weekly_plan.md
Networking fundamentals	../learning/06_system_designing/02_networking_fundamentals/weekly_plan.md
Database fundamentals	../learning/06_system_designing/03_database_fundamentals/weekly_plan.md
API design	../learning/06_system_designing/04_api_design/weekly_plan.md
AI system design problems	../learning/06_system_designing/05_ai_system_design_problems/weekly_plan.md

• Companion artifact: ../learning/06_system_designing/system_design_complete_plan.xlsx

Lead-tier shift

• More architecture, less coding.
• More team, hiring, mentorship, and postmortem questions.
• More judgment on build-vs-buy, evals, cost, and rollout.
• Your existing senior-engineering experience still applies; translate it into AI-language seniority.

Anti-patterns

• Memorizing behavioral answers verbatim.
• Reading system design solutions without practicing aloud.
• Skipping mock interviews because "I'll wing it".
• Cramming prep into the last week.
• Shipping toy demos with no evals.
• Sounding apologetic about the AI pivot.