Backend systems that actually work under production load.
APIs, databases, authentication, background jobs, webhooks — backend work is invisible until it breaks. Getting it right the first time means designed schema, consistent API patterns, and proper error handling from the start.
Need a backend developer for API design, database work, or server-side business logic
Backend systems have long tails. Issues that seem minor in early development become load-bearing problems at scale:
API design: Inconsistent REST conventions (or half-REST, half-GraphQL) that API consumers have to memorize. Fix: consistent resource naming, standard HTTP status codes, consistent error response format.
Database access patterns: Application code that queries the database in loops (N+1), makes unbounded queries without pagination, or doesn't use database transactions for operations that require atomicity.
Error handling: Swallowed errors (empty catch blocks), errors that return 500 when 400 is correct, no structured error logging. Production debugging becomes impossible.
Authentication: Roll-your-own session management or JWT implementation with security gaps. Fix: use Clerk, Auth.js, or a well-understood library rather than implementing from scratch.
Background jobs: Operations kicked off in API route handlers without proper queuing (fire-and-forget in a serverless environment doesn't work reliably). Fix: proper job queue (Trigger.dev, BullMQ, Inngest).
Backend system with designed API, database schema, authentication, and deployment — built to scale from the current load to the next order of magnitude
API routes
with consistent patterns and error handling
Database schema
and access layer
Authentication
with session management
Background jobs
and async task processing
Webhook handlers
with signature verification
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Backend system with designed API, database schema, authentication, and deployment — built to scale from the current load to the next order of magnitude
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Backend scope is the feature set and the integration points. Fixed-price.
Questions, answered.
For most applications: Next.js Route Handlers. The API lives in the same codebase, deployment is unified. Separate Node.js server: needed for WebSocket connections, long-running processes, or when the API is consumed by multiple frontend clients.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.