Backend Engineer - Intern

Certa; United States; Remote; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Certa is seeking candidates for a batch program in the United States focused on strengthening fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, system design, and databases. Proficiency in Python, Node.js, Go, or Java is required, along with hands-on experience with databases, authentication, caching, APIs, and deployment beyond localhost.

Ideal applicants show curiosity, document well, and demonstrate ability to reason about why solutions work.

Qualifications

• Strong fundamentals in data structures, algorithms, system design basics, and databases.
• Proficiency in at least one backend language: Python, Node.js, Go, or Java.
• Real project experience touching several areas such as relational DBs, auth, cache, APIs with real error handling, message queues, and deployment beyond localhost.
• Web fundamentals: HTTP, REST, auth, caching beyond textbook level.
• Curiosity: ask why before how and read docs for fun.
• AI-assisted building: prompting well in Cursor, Copilot, or LLMS, spotting hallucinations, and not blindly trusting code.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to backend services and APIs with strong emphasis on reliability and scalability.
• Design and optimize data models and storage strategies.
• Implement authentication flows and secure access controls (JWT, sessions, OAuth).
• Work with caching layers (Redis) and message queues (Kafka, SQS, Celery).

Skills

Data structures

Algorithms

System design basics

Databases

Python

Node.js

Go

Java

HTTP/REST

Docker

Redis

Kafka

SQS

Celery

JWT/OAuth

Tools

Docker

Redis

Kafka

SQS

Celery

OAuth

Job description

Batch: 2026/2027/2028. Requirements:

• Strong fundamentals: Data structures, algorithms, system design basics, and databases


• Backend language: Proficiency in at least one: Python, Node.js, Go, or Java


• Real project experience: Built something real (side project, open source, or hackathon) touching several of: relational DBs (schema design, queries, indexes), auth (JWT, sessions, OAuth implemented), cache layer (Redis), APIs with real error handling (400s, 401s, 500s), message queues/background jobs (Kafka, SQS, Celery, cron), and deployment beyond localhost (Docker, VM, serverless)


• Web fundamentals: HTTP, REST, auth, caching beyond a textbook level


• Curiosity: Ask "why" before "how", and read documentation for fun


• AI-assisted building: Prompting well in Cursor, Copilot, or LLM APIs, spotting hallucinations, and never blindly trusting code