API design
Show where API design affected a real decision in the project. Include the implementation, constraint, test or measurement that makes the skill verifiable.
CAREER PROJECT · Intermediate · 1–2 weekends
Production API + Rate Limiter
Ship an authenticated API with persistence, Redis-backed throttling, tests, monitoring and deployment.
API designPostgreSQLRedisDockerObservability
WHAT THIS PROJECT PROVES
Make the engineering visible.
This brief is designed as portfolio evidence for a Backend Developer path. The goal is not to claim a hiring outcome; it is to make your implementation, judgment and tradeoffs easier to inspect.
PostgreSQL
Show where PostgreSQL affected a real decision in the project. Include the implementation, constraint, test or measurement that makes the skill verifiable.
Redis
Show where Redis affected a real decision in the project. Include the implementation, constraint, test or measurement that makes the skill verifiable.
Docker
Show where Docker affected a real decision in the project. Include the implementation, constraint, test or measurement that makes the skill verifiable.
Observability
Show where Observability affected a real decision in the project. Include the implementation, constraint, test or measurement that makes the skill verifiable.
BUILD PLAN
Finish the core before expanding the scope.
Use this as a project sequence, not a rigid tutorial. Your stack can change; the evidence should still show what you built, why you built it that way and how you know it works.
Define the scope and success criteria
Turn the brief into a small finishable system. Decide what the core Production API + Rate Limiter must do, what you will deliberately leave out, and how you will show that it works.
Build the core workflow
Ship an authenticated API with persistence, Redis-backed throttling, tests, monitoring and deployment. Keep the first pass focused on the main user or system flow before adding stretch features.
Add engineering proof
Create public repository and live api. Document the decisions, failure states, tests, performance, security or operational tradeoffs that matter for this project.
Ship and package the evidence
Publish the strongest artifacts, including architecture diagram, load-test notes, rate-limit telemetry. Make it easy for a reviewer to understand the problem, architecture, tradeoffs and what you personally implemented.
PORTFOLIO PROOF CHECKLIST
Leave artifacts a reviewer can inspect.
A strong project page should make it possible to understand the system without guessing what you personally built.
01
Public repository
02
Live API
03
Architecture diagram
04
Load-test notes
05
Rate-limit telemetry
06
A concise README explaining the problem, architecture and tradeoffs
07
A working demo, API example or reproducible run path
08
Evidence of testing, monitoring, performance, accessibility or reliability where relevant
RESUME / PORTFOLIO FRAMING
Describe what you actually did.
Built and deployed a production-style API with Redis-backed rate limiting, persistent storage, tests and monitoring.
Use this as a starting structure, then replace it with your real implementation details, metrics and constraints. Do not claim outcomes you did not measure.
INTERVIEW TALKING POINTS
Be ready to defend the decisions.
These prompts turn the project from a repository link into a technical conversation about judgment, tradeoffs and evidence.
Why did you choose your approach to API design, and what alternative did you reject?
Answer with details from your implementation. Prefer concrete constraints, measurements and alternatives over generic best practices.
Where could Production API + Rate Limiter fail under real usage, and how would you detect or recover from that failure?
Answer with details from your implementation. Prefer concrete constraints, measurements and alternatives over generic best practices.
How did PostgreSQL affect the rest of the design?
Answer with details from your implementation. Prefer concrete constraints, measurements and alternatives over generic best practices.
What did you measure or test to prove Observability instead of only claiming it?
Answer with details from your implementation. Prefer concrete constraints, measurements and alternatives over generic best practices.
If you had one more week, what would you improve first and why?
Answer with details from your implementation. Prefer concrete constraints, measurements and alternatives over generic best practices.
STRETCH GOALS
Go deeper only after the core is solid.
Per-user quotas
Add it only if it strengthens the engineering story instead of delaying a finished, deployable core.
Distributed locking
Add it only if it strengthens the engineering story instead of delaying a finished, deployable core.
Prometheus metrics
Add it only if it strengthens the engineering story instead of delaying a finished, deployable core.
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