Arslan Ahmad: Interview Coaching

Who the coach is

The coach is a co-founder of the platform and the author of its Grokking courses on coding patterns and system design, including Grokking the Coding Interview, whose course page shows more than 190,000 learners (September 2026). The platform's coach listing describes him as a tech lead with experience at Meta, Microsoft and Hulu, where he worked on building and scaling distributed systems, developing data storage infrastructure and shipping applications used by millions.

What sessions cover

• System design and distributed systems: how to structure an answer, go deep on the parts that matter, and discuss trade-offs at the level expected for your role.
• Data structures and algorithms: reviewing how you approach and communicate coding problems.
• Interview strategy: planning your preparation, deciding what to focus on in the time you have, and reading what went wrong in a past interview.
• Career and leadership: positioning for a move up rather than across, and the expectations at senior, staff and principal level.

Sessions are offered for roles from software engineer through staff engineer, tech lead, solutions architect and principal engineer, with company-focused preparation for loops such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, LinkedIn, Oracle and Salesforce.

Booking and price

Sessions are booked through the coach's profile on the platform. The platform's mock interview page (September 2026) lists one-to-one coaching sessions from $149 with an interviewer from a large tech company, or $215 with an interviewer from your target company, each shown as a discount from a higher list price and backed by a satisfaction money-back guarantee. Rates for individual coaches can differ, so confirm the price on the booking page.

What a session is for

A course teaches the pattern; a coach shows you why your particular answer is not landing, which is usually something you cannot see yourself. Common examples: designs that are technically sound but delivered without structure, coding solutions produced in silence, and experienced candidates aiming a level below what their background supports.

How to get the most from it

• Do the course work first. Arrive having worked through the relevant Grokking course (for example Grokking the Coding Interview or the system design courses), so the hour goes on your gaps rather than on material you could read.
• Bring something real: a design you produced, a problem you struggled with, or a written account of a recent interview and its feedback.
• Name the target: company, level and date of your loop, so the session can be calibrated to it.
• Ask for a prioritised list of what to fix before the real interview, and book a follow-up mock interview once you have worked on it.

What you can expect afterwards

A clear view of where your preparation stands against the bar for your target role, the two or three changes that will make the most difference, and a plan for the remaining weeks.

Best for: candidates who have prepared seriously, particularly for senior and staff system design rounds, and want an expert read on what is still missing.