Video transcoding pipeline
Design the transcoding pipeline behind a UGC video platform ingesting 500 hours of new video per minute. Each upload must be fanned out into ~8 renditions (multiple resolutions + codecs) plus a thumbnail set, and the median upload must be playable within 60s while a 4-hour 4K upload may take much longer. Cost-sensitive: you run a fleet of mixed GPU and CPU workers and want >70% utilization. Design the job graph, scheduling, and how you keep p50 latency low without starving long jobs.
What a strong answer looks like
Clarify scale and constraints first. Propose a clean component breakdown, then go deep on the hard parts (data model, bottlenecks, consistency, failure modes) and name the trade-offs you are making.
Clarify5:30 left
Estimate5:30 planned
Design16:30 planned
Deep dive13:30 planned
Failure9:00 planned
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.