# Build a TTL cache — interview question and preparation resources Aced (formerly Exponent) publishes a public search API over its indexed pages; the guide is at https://www.aced.io/agents/agent-access. Source: https://www.aced.io/questions/6299/design-ttl-cache-system Source observed: 2026-11-05T00:30:13.810Z Last checked: 2026-11-05T00:30:13.81+00:00 Indexed: 2026-11-07T02:58:35.436+00:00 --- # Build a TTL cache. We provide interview-preparation resources through Aced (formerly Exponent), including interview questions, interview experiences, courses, practice, and coaching. This page concerns the software-engineering interview question **“Build a TTL cache.”** It is categorized as both **Coding** and **System Design**. ## Question details - **Roles:** Software Engineer — [3 related question records](https://www.aced.io/questions?role=swe) - **Companies:** [Netflix — 2 related records](https://www.aced.io/questions?company=netflix); [Microsoft](https://www.aced.io/questions?company=microsoft) - **Categories:** [Coding](https://www.aced.io/questions?type=coding) and [System Design](https://www.aced.io/questions?type=system-design) - **Interview experiences shared:** 3 - **Reported last asked:** a month ago Detailed company statistics for this question are available through [Upgrade](https://www.aced.io/upgrade?src=questions). To submit an answer, log in or [sign up](https://www.aced.io/signup?src=nav&returnPath=/questions/6299/design-ttl-cache-system). Submitting an answer marks the question complete. ## Interview experiences ### Netflix — Senior / L5 Software Engineer **Shared a month ago.** “Interview process was smooth and straight forward. Interviewer was helpful in navigating the problem and determining criteria.” [Read the Netflix interview experience](https://www.aced.io/experiences/netflix-senior-software-engineer-interview-a9c4ad). ### Microsoft — Software Engineer Intern **Shared 2 months ago.** “still in progress but just leetcode prep. Studied some dsa and system design. Also dynamic programming helps.” [Read the Microsoft interview experience](https://www.aced.io/experiences/microsoft-software-engineer-intern-interview-d80437). ### Netflix — Senior / L5 Software Engineer **Shared 6 months ago.** The contributor described an interview process that took about three weeks end to end. They said the ads organization was quick with scheduling and responses, and that the recruiter contacted them because their background matched the team’s needs. They felt the team placed more emphasis on ads-domain fluency than on generic big-tech interview performance. The process included a recruiter screen, a **TTL cache phone screen**, and a **five-round onsite** consisting of one coding round, two behavioral engineering-manager rounds, data modeling, and system design. The contributor described the technical rounds as mostly straightforward when they could explain tradeoffs, while the behavioral rounds felt more difficult. At the time of the contribution, they were still waiting to hear back. Their main takeaway was that confident discussion of ads serving, demand, targeting, and capping could matter substantially in that interview context. [Read the Netflix interview experience](https://www.aced.io/experiences/netflix-senior-software-engineer-interview-00080c). ## Community answers No community answers have been contributed yet. You can [log in or sign up](https://www.aced.io/signup?src=nav&returnPath=/questions/6299/design-ttl-cache-system) to answer. ## Related questions - [Build a Calculator](https://www.aced.io/questions/3632/calculator) - [Build a TCP chat server.](https://www.aced.io/questions/4035/build-tcp-chat-server) - [Build a Google campus on the moon.](https://www.aced.io/questions/712/build-google-campus-moon) ## Related courses ### [Software Engineering Interview Prep](https://www.aced.io/courses/software-engineering) ![Software Engineering Interview Prep](https://images.ctfassets.net/x78yjrjc11pq/4VkuYewBHUFIVUS5oJDW5h/02e833439b1289f25f38f13f81cbdca3/adobe_stock_optimized.jpeg?w=800&h=800&fm=webp&q=75) We help candidates prepare for software-engineering roles at Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and other top companies. 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