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Backend Engineering

Python Backend Developer

FastAPI, databases, and production Python from the ground up

130h total9 courses3 stages
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What you'll be able to do

  • Build production APIs with Python (FastAPI / Django)
  • Work with databases and ORMs
  • Add auth, background jobs, and testing
  • Deploy a Python service to the cloud

Before you start

  • Basic programming logic in any language
  • Comfort using a terminal
  • Willingness to read documentation

Level 1 ·Python Foundations

Python Core

beginner18h

Types, data structures, comprehensions, decorators, async, and idiomatic Python.

  • List/dict comprehensions mastery
  • Decorators & context managers
  • async/await with asyncio
  • Type hints & mypy

OOP & Design Patterns in Python

beginner12h

Classes, inheritance, ABCs, dataclasses, and common design patterns.

  • Implement Repository pattern
  • Factory + Strategy patterns
  • Dataclasses vs TypedDict vs Pydantic

Git, Linux & Dev Environment

beginner8h

Version control, bash scripting, virtual environments, and pyproject.toml.

  • Poetry / uv project setup
  • Pre-commit hooks (ruff, mypy)

Level 2 ·FastAPI & Databases

FastAPI: Modern Async APIs

intermediate20h

Pydantic models, dependency injection, OAuth2/JWT, background tasks.

  • Pydantic models & validation
  • Dependency injection system
  • OAuth2 + JWT authentication
  • Ship a production-ready CRUD API

SQLAlchemy 2.0 & PostgreSQL

intermediate14h

ORM, async sessions, migrations with Alembic, and query optimisation.

  • Async SQLAlchemy session
  • Alembic migration: add column
  • Eager loading with selectinload

Celery, Redis & Background Tasks

intermediate12h

Async job processing, scheduling, and retry logic with Celery + Redis.

  • Email sending as a Celery task
  • Scheduled periodic task with Celery Beat
  • Retry with exponential backoff

Level 3 ·Testing, CI & Production

Testing with pytest

intermediate12h

Fixtures, parametrise, mocking, and async test patterns for FastAPI.

  • >80% test coverage on your API
  • Factory fixtures with faker
  • Async integration tests with httpx

Docker, CI/CD & Cloud Deployment

advanced14h

Containerise your FastAPI app, set up GitHub Actions, and deploy to fly.io or Railway.

  • Multi-stage Dockerfile for FastAPI
  • GitHub Actions: test + push + deploy
  • Deployed to fly.io with SSL

System Design Fundamentals

advanced10h

Scalability, caching, database sharding, and async communication patterns.

  • Design a rate limiter
  • Design a notification service

Frequently asked

Is the Python Backend Developer roadmap free?+

Yes. The entire Python Backend Developer roadmap and every curated resource is free to follow on Commit. You can track your progress, keep a daily streak, and earn a shareable certificate at no cost — there is no paywall.

How long does the Python Backend Developer roadmap take to complete?+

About 130 hours of focused study across 9 courses and 3 stages. At roughly one hour a day that is about 5 months; you can move faster by studying more each day.

Do I get a certificate for finishing the Python Backend Developer roadmap?+

Yes. When you complete the roadmap on Commit you receive a verifiable certificate of completion that you can add to LinkedIn and your public Commit profile as proof of what you finished.

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