GeneralBackend
Latency vs Throughput
Latency is how long a single request takes; throughput is how many requests a system can handle over time. Optimizing one can sometimes hurt the other.
Think of it like
Latency is how long it takes one customer's order to reach their table; throughput is how many total orders the kitchen can turn out per hour — optimizing for one doesn't always win at the other.
Junior or senior?
Junior sounds like
Uses latency and throughput loosely, without understanding the tradeoff between them.
Senior sounds like
Can describe a time they had to choose between optimizing for one or the other, and why.
Ask them
“Tell me about a time you had to choose between optimizing for latency or for throughput. What did you pick, and why?”