Backend / Full-Stack
The load-bearing rung underneath every role on the ladder.
Overview
One 90-day cycle to become a competent backend/full-stack engineer: APIs, databases, auth, testing, and shipping a real application end to end. This is the foundation every role rung above it assumes you already have.
Who it's for
Anyone past the on-ramp who wants a hireable generalist engineering role, or who needs this as a base before specializing.
Prerequisites
What proof looks like
From here on, proof means shipped artifacts and verifiable systems — not screenshots or certificates.
- A deployed full-stack application with a real database and auth
- Tests that actually run in CI, not just exist
- A README that lets a stranger run your project in under 5 minutes
Where this leads next
AI Engineering
One cycle to a hireable AI engineering role.
Applied GenAI and agentic systems: RAG pipelines, tool-using agents, evaluation, and production hardening. This is a role rung, not the whole ladder — it's one of several tracks you can stack.
Data Engineering
One cycle to a hireable data engineering role.
Pipelines, orchestration, warehousing, and data quality at a level that survives contact with production data. Pairs naturally with AI engineering or cloud/DevOps for senior blends.
Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE)
One cycle to a hireable FDE role — with an honest floor.
Customer-facing engineering: rapid prototyping, integration work, and shipping under ambiguous, changing requirements. Be honest with yourself about the floor here — FDE rewards judgment and communication as much as code, and this cycle alone does not make you senior.