Coach
Coach
Single source of truth for plan state — compressed 2026-07-29 from three overlapping files (Coach Hub, Job Switch Hub, Interview Prep Hub) that had the same DSA/SD progress duplicated across two of them and were never all updated together. Content that belongs elsewhere now just links there instead of being copied: company list → [[Interview Prep/Job Switch]], behavioral stories → [[Interview Prep/Behavioral & Past Projects]], all reading material → [[Interview Prep/Content/index]], day-to-day → [[Interview Prep/Dashboard]], month-to-month → [[Interview Prep/Monthly Plan/index]].
Current State
goal: 50+ LPA offer | Senior SDE/SDE2 | product co | Pune/Bangalore/Remote/US-Remote
plan window: May 11 → Nov 11, 2026
current phase: DSA/SD restart (see Monthly Plan/August 2026 for the live schedule)
current_week_file: Interview Prep/Weekly Tracker/Week 06 RESTART (Jul 29–Aug 4) — Backtracking.md
notice period: 90 days at HCLTech, buyback available after 30 — leverage at offer stage
current comp: 26 LPA → target 50+ LPA → floor TBD at offer stage
applications sent: 0 (deferred until DSA/SD sprint closes)
Update this block after every retro. Live day-to-day view (don't wait for retro to check status): [[Interview Prep/Dashboard]].
Plan Overview
May 11 ── Jun 7 ── Jun 22 ── Jun 28 ── (4wk gap) ── Jul 29 ─────────── Nov 11
| W1–W4 | | W5 done| GAP | RESTART |
| ~50 NC | |8+2 pat | zero problems | see Monthly Plan |
Strategy (goal, hours budget, hard rules, funnel math) lives in [[Interview Prep/Main Plan]] — this file only tracks where things stand right now, not the reasoning behind the plan.
Known risk, stated plainly: the DSA restart pushes apply-phase start later than originally planned, which tightens against Nov 11 on top of the 90-day-notice tension already baked in — see [[Interview Prep/Dashboard]] for the live numbers, this isn't re-litigated here every update.
Positioning
Primary identity: AI-Native Python Engineer — backend performance chops + AI integration + full-stack experience.
| Area | Honest Level | Interview Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Python (FastAPI, async, RAG) | Expert, 5 yr production | Lead skill |
| Distributed systems (geospatial WebSocket) | Real — HCLTech production | Strong story |
| DynamoDB schema design + API perf | Real (AskTGE 2s→200ms) | Primary backend story |
| LLM/RAG integration | Real (AskTGE hallucination fixes) | Best differentiator for AI roles |
| ML pipeline ownership (Splunk) | Real, 90% search time reduction, conf24 contributor (not speaker) | External validation |
| Go | Growing — talking point, not deep claim | Differentiator on resume |
| React + Next.js 15 | Strong, 5 yr prod | Own it for full-stack roles |
| Architect-level distributed systems | Growing | Don't oversell; lean on concrete stories |
Lead stories: AskTGE (2s→200ms + RAG) for backend/AI roles. WebSocket geo (250 drivers, sub-second) for distributed systems roles. Full stories: [[Interview Prep/Behavioral & Past Projects/Projects Done]].
Non-DSA Checklist
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Resume rewrite to 1 page | ✅ done |
| LinkedIn rewrite + "Open to work" private | ✅ done |
| 30-company target list | ✅ done — [[Interview Prep/Job Switch/30 Company Target List]] |
| STAR drilled — all 4 war stories | ⬜ carried since W1, still not done |
| Pre-screen Q answers fluent | ⬜ drafted below, not drilled |
| Splunk + Amazon referral DMs | ⬜ deferred to apply phase |
| First applications | ⬜ deferred to apply phase |
Pre-screen Q drafts:
- "Why leaving HCLTech after 1 year?" — frame growth ceiling, not complaint.
- "Expected CTC?" — range 55–75 LPA, anchor high, never a single number.
- "Walk me through your background (2 min)" — who I am now + lead story (AskTGE or geo) + why switching + what I bring. 90 sec max.
Network outreach (referral-first, 5× screen rate vs cold — use before mass cold apps):
| Source | Action |
|---|---|
| Splunk conf24 contacts | DM 5, ask for 15-min coffee chat |
| Amazon referral contacts | Convert to formal referral |
| LinkedIn engineers at target cos | 1 connection/day, no immediate ask |
Kill list (don't pivot back): AWS MLA-C01 cert, LangChain deep dive, vectorbuilds.dev articles, backend portfolio project, dedicated LLD/machine-coding track (covered via SD problems), dedicated FastAPI-internals track (war story has it), Go mastery deep track, dedicated frontend SD prep (only if specifically asked), NeetCode grind-only approach (revision-heavy instead), FDE pivot.
Interview Orientation (reference, mostly static)
| Round | Format | Who tests it |
|---|---|---|
| DSA / Coding | 2 LC medium in 45 min, Python | Everyone |
| System Design HLD | 45 min open-ended, whiteboard | Senior roles everywhere |
| Behavioral | STAR, leadership, conflict | All rounds |
| SQL | 2-3 queries: joins, window fns, CTEs | Fintech (Razorpay, PhonePe, Juspay) |
| Domain (AI/ML) | RAG, LLM systems, vector DBs | AI startups (Sarvam, Krutrim) |
| LLD / Machine Coding | 1-2 hr, design a class/feature | Most product companies |
| Frontend Machine Coding | Implement UI component | Full-stack / FE roles |
SD Interview Formula (cold): Clarify reqs+scale → estimate (QPS/storage/bandwidth) → high-level diagram → deep-dive 2 hard components → trade-offs → failure modes+monitoring.
L7 signals (Senior→Staff): state the cost of every component added · flag hot-key risk proactively on any skewed-traffic read-heavy system · defend cache with hit-rate math not "cache=fast" · failure-first framing ("how does this break") · say "we don't need X yet" when numbers don't justify it. Full page: [[Senior SD Mindset]].
Frontend machine coding — still needed: Memoize function, LRU Cache (JS/Map-based), basic Virtual DOM diff. (Debounce/throttle/Promise combinators/currying/array polyfills/deep-clone already covered — see [[Interview Prep/Content/Frontend]].)
Pre-interview checklist (48h before): revise DSA pattern templates · re-read 3 most recent SD problems · review behavioral stories · research company (product, stack, engineering blog). Day of: Python 3.11+ ready · pen+paper for SD diagrams · clarify constraints before coding · think aloud throughout.
Historical Scorecard Log
| Week | DSA Score | Non-DSA | Gate result |
|---|---|---|---|
| W01 (May 11–17) | 15/15 STRONG (~192/420 min) | Resume ✅, LinkedIn ✅, 30 cos ✅, contacts ✅ | PASS STRONG |
| W02 (May 18–24) | 13/15 (1 FAIL 328, 1 asterisked 23) | Caching SD ✅ | PASS STRONG |
| W03 (May 25–31) | 13/13 (~86/265 min) | SD theory 3/3 ✅ | PASS STRONG |
| W04 (Jun 1–7) | 6/7 (1 FAIL 450) + 3 bonus | STAR/DMs/mock all slipped | PASS STRONG |
| Jun 8–21 | — (no DSA) | DDIA Ch1/Ch2 notes + /ddia skill (off-plan detour) | re-baseline |
| W05 (Jun 22–28) | 8/10 (fail 621, 355) | Redis started; Rate Limiter SD done | PASS STRONG |
| W06-W09 (Jun 29–Jul 26) | 0 solved, 4 weeks | Only Rate Limiter (Jul 2) landed | GAP — see restart |
| W06 RESTART (Jul 29+) | in progress | — | — |
Full per-week detail (theory blocks, daily plans, decision gates): [[Interview Prep/Weekly Tracker]].
Cross-links
[[Interview Prep/Dashboard]] · [[Interview Prep/Content/index]] · [[Interview Prep/Job Switch/index]] · [[Interview Prep/Behavioral & Past Projects/index]] · [[Interview Prep/Monthly Plan/index]] · [[Interview Prep/Resume]] · [[Coach/project_dsa_sd_curriculum]] · [[Coach/project_current_week]]