Embedding cache invalidation
Your personalization service fetches precomputed user + item embeddings from an embedding store (cache in front of a database) before scoring. At 18:00 p99 latency on the embedding-fetch step jumps from 15ms to 600ms and the backing DB shows a read-QPS spike. Dashboards: the embedding cache hit-rate fell from 98% to 60% at 18:00; a job that nightly regenerates and bulk-reuploads all item embeddings ran early today at 18:00 and rewrote every item key (changing values), and the cache evicted/invalidated en masse. No app deploy. Triage and mitigate.
What a strong answer looks like
Stop the bleeding first (mitigate), then form hypotheses from real signals. Separate root cause from symptom, communicate status as you go, and close with what prevents a repeat.
0:00 of about 30 min
Which questions mattered is sealed until you submit. Telling you now would just be handing over the edge cases.
Run or narrate your approach, then ask the coach.