12-Week Intensive

Master Backend Dev & AI-Driven Architecture

Go from absolute beginner to deploying secure, scalable APIs. Learn Node.js, Express, and Database management while mastering AI tools to code, debug, and architect like a senior engineer.

What You Will Achieve:

  • Architect scalable APIs using Node.js and Express.
  • Design and manage databases (SQL & NoSQL).
  • Implement secure user authentication (JWT).
  • Leverage AI for rapid debugging, testing, & schema design.
  • Deploy a complete, portfolio-ready capstone project to the cloud.
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Prerequisites:No prior coding experience required!
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Course Syllabus

  • Understand the Client-Server model, HTTP protocols, and how the web functions behind the scenes.
  • Introduction to APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and RESTful architecture.
  • Prompt Engineering 101: Using AI to break down and visualize complex system architectures.
  • Outcome: You can confidently explain backend concepts and use AI as a technical tutor to clarify advanced topics.
  • Mastering ES6+ syntax: let/const, arrow functions, destructuring, and asynchronous programming (Promises & async/await).
  • Introduction to the Node.js runtime and the V8 engine.
  • Using AI to generate practice algorithms, refactor syntax, and explain asynchronous execution flows.
  • Outcome: You can write clean, modern JavaScript and leverage AI to accelerate your syntax mastery.
  • Working with the Node.js File System (fs), path modules, and understanding the Event Loop.
  • Building a raw HTTP server from scratch without frameworks.
  • AI-Assisted Debugging: Learning how to feed stack traces into AI to quickly identify and resolve Node.js errors.
  • Outcome: You understand the core mechanics of a Node server and how to troubleshoot it efficiently.
  • Setting up Express.js, handling routing, and understanding the request/response cycle.
  • The power of Middleware: parsing JSON, handling CORS, and creating custom logger functions.
  • Using AI to quickly scaffold Express boilerplate and generate custom middleware templates.
  • Outcome: You can spin up a fully functional, robust web server using the industry-standard Express framework.
  • Relational vs. Non-Relational databases: When to use PostgreSQL vs. MongoDB.
  • Data modeling, schema design, and defining relationships (One-to-Many, Many-to-Many).
  • Using AI as a Database Architect to design optimal schemas and generate complex SQL queries or MongoDB aggregations.
  • Outcome: You can architect efficient databases for your products and use AI to write optimized queries.
  • Connecting your Express application to a live database using ORMs/ODMs (like Mongoose or Prisma).
  • Building out full CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) RESTful endpoints.
  • Leveraging AI to quickly generate mock data (seeding) to test your database connections.
  • Outcome: You can build APIs that persistently store, update, and retrieve data from a cloud database.
  • Implementing secure user registration and login workflows.
  • Understanding password hashing (bcrypt) and stateless authentication using JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
  • Security Audits: Using AI to scan your code for common vulnerabilities (OWASP Top 10) and suggest security patches.
  • Outcome: You can securely manage users and protect sensitive API routes from unauthorized access.
  • Handling file uploads (images/documents) using Multer and cloud storage (AWS S3 / Cloudinary).
  • Implementing pagination, sorting, and data filtering for large datasets.
  • Asking AI for architectural advice on optimizing response times for heavy data requests.
  • Outcome: You can build enterprise-level features required by modern, data-heavy applications.
  • Building a centralized error-handling mechanism for your Express app.
  • Implementing third-party logging tools to monitor application health in production.
  • Using AI to decode cryptic server logs and write robust error-catching wrapper functions.
  • Outcome: Your application won't crash silently; you can catch, log, and resolve errors like a senior engineer.
  • Introduction to automated testing using Jest and Supertest.
  • Writing unit tests for individual functions and integration tests for API endpoints.
  • AI-Driven Testing: Prompting AI to automatically generate comprehensive test suites and edge-cases for your routes.
  • Outcome: You can ensure your product is bug-free and reliable before it reaches your users.
  • Managing environment variables securely and preparing the app for production.
  • Deploying the database and backend server using platforms like Render, Railway, or Heroku.
  • Using AI to instantly generate professional API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI) and Dockerfiles.
  • Outcome: Your backend is live on the internet, securely hosted, and professionally documented for frontend developers to use.
  • Architect and build a complete, portfolio-ready backend product from scratch.
  • Utilize AI as your 'Senior Pair-Programmer' to unblock complex logic issues during the build.
  • Project presentations, code reviews, and mock technical interviews.
  • Outcome: You graduate with a deployed, secure, and scalable backend product that proves your expertise to employers or investors.
  • Weekly Mini-Projects: Practical API-building assignments to reinforce concepts (30%).
  • AI-Assisted Code Reviews: Submitting code for peer and instructor review focusing on security and efficiency (20%).
  • Capstone Project: A fully deployed, documented backend application (40%).
  • Participation: Active engagement in the Marlayer community and live Q&A sessions (10%).