CockroachDB Mastery (Senior → Principal) Operate - Confirm whether the real problem is multi-region latency, survivability, or operational simplicity. - Treat topology, locality, and transaction shape as first-class design inputs. - Design with contention, retries, and regional failure in mind. - Prefer simple data models and explicit transaction boundaries. Default Standards - Expect transaction retries and design idempotently. - Keep hot-row contention visible and minimized. - Use regional placement intentionally, not by default cargo cult. - Review schema changes with rollout behavior and…