1 min lesson
Mock AI-editor design problem
Match each case in "Mock AI-editor design problem" to the signal and response that fit it.
Step 1 of 2
Cursor's design round isn't generic distributed-systems trivia. It's an AI-editor problem with a brutal latency budget, real inference cost and a quality bar that a senior engineer would notice if you got it wrong.
Treat the rubric as a gap finder, not a score to admire. Mark the weakest proof, turn it into one practice rep and keep the artifact you would show an interviewer.
Pick one prompt, set a 40-minute clock and run it end-to-end out loud. The three below each stress a different muscle the role needs.
Predict the next edit for millions of users under a tight latency budget.
Stresses: caching, speculative decoding, small-model tradeoffs, debounce.
Assemble the right code into a prompt within a token budget.
Stresses: ranking, recency, symbol graphs, what to cut when over budget.
Serve completions without persisting customer code.
Stresses: data boundaries, on-device vs server, audit and trust.