40 Must Read Engineering Blogs to Learn System Design and Software Architecture in 2024
Master System design and Software architecture by reading engineering blogs from top tech companies.
Hello guys, mastering System design and software architecture is hard as they are very vast and there are a lot of concepts in play. I have been doing programming for close to 25 years now and I have worked on all kind of applications like starting from tiny 10KB mobile applications to monolithic applications where it take 30 minutes to just checkout the code.
I have worked on stateless applications and stateful applications, I have also worked on low latency applications and where latency doesn’t matter much.
From all these experience what I have found that In order to master System design and software architecture, its not enough to just know concepts and software architecture components, you also need to know how and when to use them.
Not just that you also need to know how to improvise them to meet your requirement and there is no better way to learn that then learning engineering blogs from top tech companies like Netflix, Uber, AWS, Google, Azure, Microsoft, Spotify etc.
In the past, I have shared best System Design courses, books, websites, newsletters, cheat sheets, mock interviews and 100+ System Design Interview Questions and Problems and today I am going to share 40 engineering blogs you can read e in 2024.
In the ever-evolving world of software engineering, system design has become a crucial skill for developers looking to build scalable, efficient, and robust applications.
Whether you’re preparing for technical interviews or aiming to enhance your architectural knowledge, learning from industry leaders is an invaluable strategy.
By reading these 40 engineering blogs you will learn deep insights into system design practices at some of the world’s most innovative companies.
By the way, if you are preparing for System design interviews and want to learn System Design in a limited time then you can also checkout sites like ByteByteGo, Design Guru, Exponent, Educative and Udemy which have many great System design courses
Why Read Engineering Blogs?
Before we dive into the list, let’s consider why these engineering blogs are so valuable and how they help you to learn System design and software architecture:
- Real-World Examples
These blogs often provide case studies of actual problems solved at scale. For example by reading Netflix blog you can get an idea of how they are managing membership of their 230 million subscribers and how they are recommending the content to keep you watching hours and hours. - Cutting-Edge Technologies
You also learn about the latest tools and technologies used in production environments which you may not be using, for example these large tech companies often innovate things like Kubernetes, Docker, Machine Learning which you may not find in other companies. - Best Practices
Reading these blogs also a good way to discover industry-standard practices for designing complex systems. There is no point re-inventing the wheel, learn what is already tried and tested and reading these blogs is great first step. - Problem-Solving Approaches
By reading these engineering blogs you will also understand how top engineers approach and solve challenging problems. - Architecture Insights
By reading them you can also gain insights into the architecture of some of the most popular platforms you use daily.
Apart from that you will learn about several real world problems and how they are solved at scale, which is as good as doing them and believe me you will not get many chances in your own career, so learning from other’s experience is best strategy here.
By the way, if you don’t get enough time, you can also subscribe to newsletters like ByteByteGo, Design Guru, and SystemDesign.one where you can get one of two email every week where they read these blog and share insights. If you need more choices, you can also see my article on same topic
The Top 40 Engineering Blogs to Master System Design and Software architecture in 2024
Here is a list of 40 popular Engineering blogs you can read to learn about System Design and Software Architecture in 2024
- Netflix Tech Blog
- https://netflixtechblog.com/
- This is a great blog to find insights into Netflix's distributed systems and scalable architecture
2. Uber Engineering Blog
- https://eng.uber.com/
- Covers various aspects of Uber's large-scale distributed systems
3. Airbnb Engineering & Data Science
- https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering
- Discussions on scaling accommodation platforms and data-driven decisions
4. Instagram Engineering
- https://instagram-engineering.com/
- Insights into handling billions of photos and interactions
5. Dropbox Tech Blog
- https://dropbox.tech/
- File storage and synchronization at scale
6. Spotify Engineering
- https://engineering.atspotify.com/
- Music streaming architecture and data processing
7. Pinterest Engineering
- https://medium.com/@Pinterest_Engineering
- Visual discovery engine architecture and scaling
8. LinkedIn Engineering
- https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog
- Professional network's architecture and data handling
9. Slack Engineering
- https://slack.engineering/
- Real-time messaging and collaboration platform insights
10. Twitter Engineering Blog
- https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us
- Handling millions of tweets and real-time data processing
11. Facebook Engineering
- https://engineering.fb.com/
- Insights into one of the world's largest social networks
12. Google Cloud Blog
- https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/developers-practitioners
- Cloud architecture and best practices
13. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Architecture Blog
- https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/architecture/
- Cloud architecture patterns and best practices
14. Microsoft Azure Blog
- https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/
- Cloud services and architecture insights
15. Atlassian Engineering
- https://www.atlassian.com/engineering
- Collaboration tools and scaling agile practices
16. GitHub Engineering
- https://github.blog/category/engineering/
- Version control and collaboration at scale
17. Etsy Engineering
- https://codeascraft.com/
- E-commerce platform architecture and practices
18. Shopify Engineering
- https://shopify.engineering/
- E-commerce solutions and scalable architecture
19. Stripe Engineering Blog
- https://stripe.com/blog/engineering
- Payment processing and financial technology insights
20. Booking.com Technology Blog
- https://blog.booking.com/
- Travel industry tech and scaling accommodations platforms
21. Yelp Engineering Blog
- https://engineeringblog.yelp.com/
- Local business recommendations at scale
22. Cloudflare Blog
- https://blog.cloudflare.com/
- Content delivery networks and internet security
23. Lyft Engineering Blog
- https://eng.lyft.com/
- Ride-sharing platform architecture and scaling
24. Zoom Engineering Blog
- https://medium.com/zoom-developer-blog
- Video conferencing at scale
25. PayPal Engineering Blog
- https://medium.com/paypal-engineering
- Financial technology and secure transactions at scale
26. Zillow Tech Hub
- https://www.zillow.com/tech/
- Real estate data processing and recommendations
27. Reddit Engineering Blog
- https://redditblog.com/topic/technology/
- Scaling one of the world's largest forums
28. SoundCloud Backstage Blog
- https://developers.soundcloud.com/blog/
- Audio streaming and processing at scale
29. Expedia Technology
- https://medium.com/expedia-group-tech
- Travel booking systems and scalable architecture
30. Square Engineering Blog
- https://developer.squareup.com/blog/
- Payment processing and financial services tech
31. Instacart Tech Blog
- https://tech.instacart.com/
- On-demand grocery delivery platform insights
32. Heroku Engineering Blog
- https://blog.heroku.com/engineering
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) architecture
33. Twilio Engineering Blog
- https://www.twilio.com/blog/engineering
- Communication APIs and scalable infrastructure
34. Box Tech Blog
- https://medium.com/box-tech-blog
- Cloud content management and collaboration
35. Ebay Tech Blog
- https://tech.ebayinc.com/
- E-commerce platform and auction system architecture
36. Databricks Engineering Blog
- https://databricks.com/blog/category/engineering
- Big data processing and analytics
37. Figma Engineering Blog
- https://www.figma.com/blog/section/engineering/
- Collaborative design tools and real-time syncing
38. Grab Tech Blog
- https://engineering.grab.com/
- Super app architecture for Southeast Asian market
39. Monzo Technology Blog
- https://monzo.com/blog/technology/
- Digital banking and fintech architecture
40. Flipkart Tech Blog
- https://tech.flipkart.com/
- E-commerce platform for the Indian market
Remember to read these blogs critically and consider how the concepts can be applied to your own projects and system designs.
How to Make the Most of These Resources?
To be honest, 40 blogs are too many but I wanted to share with you but you don’t need to read all of them once. Start with the ones most relevant to your current interests or projects.
Here are few tips to make most of these resources:
- Start with Familiar Platforms: Begin with blogs from companies whose products you use regularly. This context will help you better understand their engineering challenges.
- Look for Common Patterns: As you read across different blogs, note recurring themes and solutions. These often represent fundamental principles of system design.
- Focus on Your Interests: Whether it’s data processing, real-time systems, or e-commerce platforms, prioritize blogs that align with your interests or current projects.
- Implement What You Learn: Try to apply concepts from these blogs in your own projects, even if on a smaller scale. Practical application reinforces learning.
- Join the Conversation: Many of these blogs allow comments. Engage with the community, ask questions, and share your thoughts.
- Stay Updated: Consider following these blogs on RSS feeds or social media to stay current with the latest posts.
- Cross-Reference: When a blog post mentions a specific technology or concept you’re unfamiliar with, use it as an opportunity to deep dive into that topic.
Beyond Reading: Applying Your Knowledge
While reading these blogs is enlightening and increase your knowledge about System design and software arhictcture components, the real value comes from applying this knowledge. Here are some ways to do that:
- Design Exercises: Regularly challenge yourself with system design exercises, applying principles you’ve learned.
- Open Source Contributions: Many of these companies have open-source projects. Contributing to these can give you hands-on experience with their technologies.
- Write Your Own Blog: Explaining concepts in your own words can solidify your understanding and contribute to the community. You can also start your own newsletter, in fact that also a great way to create multiple income stream for developers
- Attend Tech Talks and Conferences: Many of these companies host or participate in tech events where you can learn even more and network with their engineers.
You can also see these 100+ system design problems to practice your skilis.
Conclusion
That’s all about 40 Must read engineering blogs for experienced developers to learn System Design and Software Architecture. Mastering system design is a journey, not a destination. These 40 engineering blogs offer a wealth of knowledge from some of the brightest minds in the industry.
By regularly reading and engaging with this content, you’ll gain insights that can dramatically improve your ability to design and build complex systems.
Remember, the goal isn’t just to read, but to understand, apply, and innovate. Happy learning, and may your systems be ever scalable!
What aspects of system design are you most excited to learn about? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like this engineering blogs then please share with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions feel free to ask in comments.
P. S. — By the way, DesignGuru.io also have many other Grokking courses to prepare for essential coding interview topics like OOP Design, System Design, Dynamic Programming etc and you can get access to all of their courses for a big discount by joining their All course bundle. You can also use code GURU to get 30% discount.
