Be honest about the complexity trade-off. A service mesh solves real problems but introduces operational overhead. Show you understand when it is worth it and when it is not.
Look for: understanding of what service meshes provide (mTLS, traffic management, observability), experience with specific tools (Istio, Linkerd), awareness of the complexity cost (latency overhead, operational burden, debugging difficulty), and judgment about when simpler solutions suffice. Best candidates can articulate clear criteria for adoption.
Tests depth of infrastructure knowledge and judgment. Candidates who advocate for service meshes in every environment lack practical experience with the operational burden. Those who have never considered them may not be current.