Overview
Build modern software in a world where AI makes writing code easier—but designing great systems still takes skill. This program helps you strengthen core software engineering practices, including architecture patterns, system design, and test-driven development, while learning how to use AI tools thoughtfully and effectively.
You'll learn to design systems that are robust, reliable, modular, and scalable, and to evaluate AI-generated code with confidence. By the end, you won’t just ship working software—you'll think like an experienced engineer, ready to design, evolve, and own complex systems in real-world environments.
Syllabus
- Test-Driven Development
Gain confidence in your software with Test-Driven Development (TDD). Practice the red-green-refactor loop with Python and pytest—writing tests before you write your code. Learn how unit, integration, and end-to-end tests fit together to provide a comprehensive safety net. Organize clean test suites using advanced techniques: fixtures, mocking, and parameterization. Deploy with confidence at scale by incorporating testing into CI/CD and pre-flight checklists. Leverage TDD to use AI tools the right way—encode your requirements as tests, then let AI help implement the code that passes them. By the end of this course, you will be able to refactor with confidence, catch regressions early, and ship features faster with less risk.
- Design Patterns
Build a strong foundation in object-oriented design by applying proven software design patterns in Python. Explore creational, structural, and behavioral patterns, and see how each category addresses common challenges in building flexible, reusable, and scalable systems. Learn why these patterns go beyond "common sense" and represent decades of accumulated engineering wisdom. Practice translating abstract ideas into clear, maintainable code. By the end of this course, you will understand how design patterns connect to SOLID principles, dependency injection, and modern AI-assisted development workflows.
- Software Architecture Patterns
Design systems that scale beyond a single codebase. Learn how to think like a software architect by exploring proven architectural patterns, cloud-native design, and real-world system tradeoffs. Model applications using monolithic and event-driven architectures, diagram complex systems, and understand the foundations of microservices and serverless computing. Design data pipelines and storage strategies, reason about machine learning system architecture, and make informed choices around caching, CDNs, IoT, and blockchain systems. By the end, you’ll be equipped to move from "working code" to well-designed, resilient architectures fit for modern software systems.
- Vibe Engineering
Master the professional skills to engineer production-quality software with AI assistants, agents, and tools. You'll learn to review AI-generated code for quality, security, and reliability risks, and master structured communication to prevent common pitfalls like hallucinations and over-engineering. By integrating AI into the full development lifecycle from planning and coding, to testing and documentation, you'll build software faster while maintaining engineering standards and professional responsibility.
Taught by
Liam Stevens, Laura Morinigo, Afreen Aliya and Bruce Cantarim
Subjects
Computer Science
