How to Think About System Design (GitHub Engineer's Perspective)
Beyond Coding19 Nov 2025

How to Think About System Design (GitHub Engineer's Perspective)

System design interviews often focus on theoretical complexity, but how do Senior Engineers at GitHub actually approach scaling? In this episode, Bassem Dghaidi breaks down how to think about system design when real business impact is on the line.


We discuss why "simple is complicated enough," the dangers of premature scaling, and why vertical scaling often beats complex distributed systems. If you want to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and understand how to design software that actually serves the business, this conversation is for you.


In this episode, we cover:

- The "Order of Magnitude" rule for scaling systems

- Why GitHub often runs millions of requests on simple architecture

- How to communicate technical constraints to non-technical stakeholders

- Why 90% of Bassem's code is now written by AI agents


Connect with Bassem Dghaidi:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bassemdghaidy


Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:48 - Theory vs. Practice in System Design

00:02:06 - The Startup That Almost Failed via Kubernetes

00:03:33 - How GitHub Scales (It's Simpler Than You Think)

00:05:20 - The Underrated Power of Vertical Scaling

00:08:23 - Why Big Tech Interviews for Scale You Don't Need Yet

00:10:39 - Software Evolves, It Isn't Just "Built"

00:11:53 - Only Design for the Next Order of Magnitude

00:15:39 - Stop Building Generic Frameworks

00:18:17 - "Hacking" the System Design Interview

00:21:29 - Translating Tech Problems to Business Risks

00:27:37 - Layoffs & Engineering Efficiency

00:29:41 - Proving Your Impact with Numbers

00:31:00 - Professional Engineering vs. Hobby Coding

00:32:19 - "Simple is Complicated Enough"

00:35:03 - The Rise of AI Coding (The Motorcycle Analogy)

00:37:30 - "90% of My Code is Written by AI Agents"

00:41:04 - How to Become a Great Engineer


#SystemDesign #SoftwareEngineering #GitHub

Episoder(249)

The Fundamentals You Need to Know About AI Coding (Microsoft Trainer)

The Fundamentals You Need to Know About AI Coding (Microsoft Trainer)

Most engineers are using AI coding tools without understanding what they actually are and it's costing them. Microsoft Certified Trainer Rob Bos has trained thousands of engineers on AI tooling, and h...

29 Apr 47min

How to Master Your Skills and Get Hired Without Applying (Terraform Core Contributor)

How to Master Your Skills and Get Hired Without Applying (Terraform Core Contributor)

Most engineers approach open source the wrong way. They write code, open a PR, and wonder why it never gets merged. Bruno Schaatsbergen, Terraform core contributor and ex-HashiCorp engineer, breaks do...

22 Apr 37min

Software Expert: This Is How You Design Systems That Survive

Software Expert: This Is How You Design Systems That Survive

What separates software that survives from software nobody wants to touch? Nico Krijnen has spent 30 years building systems, coaching teams, and learning why some projects thrive while others quietly ...

15 Apr 53min

Top Microsoft Advisor: "Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive." You're Focused on the Wrong Thing

Top Microsoft Advisor: "Coding Is Cheap, Software Is Expensive." You're Focused on the Wrong Thing

Suzanne Daniels is a Top Microsoft Advisor who works with CTOs and engineering leaders across EMEA on developer productivity, GitHub, and AI adoption. Her take: the industry is obsessing over coding s...

8 Apr 46min

AI Expert: Most Software Engineers Aren't Ready for What's Coming

AI Expert: Most Software Engineers Aren't Ready for What's Coming

The role of the software engineer is shifting from execution to orchestration, and it's happening faster than most of us realize. Dennis Vink, Principal Consultant at Xebia, breaks down how he approac...

1 Apr 47min

If You've Been At The Same Company 3+ Years, You're Already In A Box

If You've Been At The Same Company 3+ Years, You're Already In A Box

Most senior engineers don't realize they're stuck until it's too late. The longer you stay, the more people around you have already decided who you are and what you're for. Ian Miell, CTO at Container...

25 Mar 1h

How to Battle Complexity Before It Kills Your Software (30-Year Veteran's Take)

How to Battle Complexity Before It Kills Your Software (30-Year Veteran's Take)

Most architects stop coding... and that's exactly where they lose their edge. Dennis Doomen has been a hands-on coding architect for 30 years, and his take is blunt: if you're not in the code, you can...

18 Mar 52min

Uber Engineering Manager on Scaling Systems, Career Trade-offs, and Why Clarity Beats Seniority

Uber Engineering Manager on Scaling Systems, Career Trade-offs, and Why Clarity Beats Seniority

Sendil Nellaiyapen, Engineering Manager at Uber, has built systems that scale to millions of users. In this episode he shares what most engineers get wrong about both system design and the move into e...

11 Mar 44min

Populært innen Teknologi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
romkapsel
teknisk-sett
nasjonal-sikkerhetsmyndighet-nsm
shifter
rss-impressions-2
tomprat-med-gunnar-tjomlid
smart-forklart
teknologi-og-mennesker
rss-alt-som-gar-pa-strom
fornybaren
elektropodden
energi-og-klima
hans-petter-og-co
pedagogisk-intelligens
rss-fish-ships
kortslutning
rss-polypod
rss-heis
rss-ai-forklart