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  2. Node.js Development

Node services that ship faster and hold up in production

Opinionated, full-stack TypeScript backends built by senior engineers in your time zone — for real-time products, API platforms and modernisation work across Australia and New Zealand.

When Node.js is the right fit

Node is excellent for some workloads and the wrong tool for others. These are the situations where it earns its place — and where we recommend it.

You are building real-time features that have to stay live

Chat, presence, streaming, IoT telemetry and live dashboards push concurrent connection counts that traditional request-per-thread backends struggle with. Node is built for this shape of workload.

You need an API platform in front of an existing system

A focused Node service can sit in front of a legacy backend, expose a clean contract to your clients and absorb the integration complexity — without rewriting the system underneath it.

You are launching a product and iteration speed matters

For MVPs and early product launches, full-stack TypeScript keeps the team in one language, one type system and one mental model. You ship more in week one and refactor with confidence in month six.

You are modernising an aging .NET, Java or PHP backend

Replacing a tired backend in one go is rarely the right move. We carve out services in Node, route traffic gradually, and retire the legacy system in pieces — without a hard cutover weekend.

Engineering rigour over framework soup

We standardise on a small set of tools we know hold up — and we use them well. The result is a codebase that is easy to change in year two, not just easy to start in week one.

An opinionated stack

NestJS, Fastify, tRPC, Prisma and Postgres on AWS — chosen because they hold up in production, not because they trended on Hacker News. Fewer choices, made deliberately, ship faster.

Full-stack TypeScript continuity

One language across API, web and worker code. Shared types from the database to the client mean refactors are safe and the gap between frontend and backend is small.

Observability built in

Structured logs, traces and metrics are part of the deliverable, not a follow-up ticket. When something behaves unexpectedly in production, you can answer why.

AU and NZ time-zone alignment

Engineers in your working hours, on your accountability standards, with proximity for in-person workshops when they matter. No overnight handoffs or missed standups.

Your IP, always

All code, schemas, infrastructure and documentation belong to your organisation from day one. No proprietary frameworks, no lock-in, no surprises at handoff.

Senior-only delivery

Node is easy to write quickly and structurally hard to keep healthy. Every engineer on the work has shipped Node services that are still running years later.

How it works

A five-step path that decides whether Node is the right answer first, designs the service before the code, and ships with observability and a handoff plan from day one.

01

Discover

Workload shape, traffic patterns, integration surface and team context. We figure out whether Node is the right answer before we recommend it.

02

Design

Service boundaries, data model, API contract and deployment topology agreed up front. Architecture decisions written down, not left in a Slack thread.

03

Build

Production-grade implementation on the opinionated stack — typed end-to-end, tested, with logs, traces and metrics wired in from the first deploy.

04

Ship

Deploy to AWS with CI, infrastructure as code, alerts and runbooks. The first version goes live behind real telemetry, not a feature flag and a hope.

05

Support

Evolve the service as the product changes — versioned APIs, graceful migrations, and a clean handoff to the team that owns it next.

Opinionated stack vs framework soup

Node has more frameworks and ORMs than any team needs. Picking a few good ones and using them well beats sampling the npm registry. Here is how the two approaches compare in practice.

Opinionated StackFramework Soup
Project shapeConsistent across every serviceDifferent per repo, per team, per quarter
OnboardingNew engineers productive in daysFolklore tour required for every codebase
Type safetyEnd-to-end, schema to clientPatchy, depends on which library was picked
ObservabilityLogs, traces and metrics by defaultBolted on after the first incident
Best forServices that have to outlive the team that built themOne-off prototypes nobody plans to maintain

The stack we standardise on

A focused set of tools we ship with confidence. We pick the framework, ORM and platform to fit the workload — not the other way around.

Frequently asked questions

How does Node compare to Go, Rails or Laravel for our case?

Node is the right call for I/O-heavy, real-time and full-stack TypeScript work. Go is a better fit for CPU-bound services and tight latency budgets. Rails and Laravel still win for content-heavy CRUD apps with a small team. We pick the runtime to fit the workload — and we will tell you when Node is the wrong answer.

Why NestJS over plain Express?

Express is a router, not an architecture. On anything beyond a small service it leaves you assembling structure by hand, inconsistently across the codebase. NestJS gives you modules, dependency injection, validation and a sensible default project shape — which means new engineers can find their way around without a folklore tour.

How fast can you start?

Most engagements begin within one to two weeks of the initial conversation. We mobilise quickly because the stack is standardised and the engineers are senior — there is no ramp-up on framework choice or project skeleton.

Do you handle DevOps and cloud infrastructure?

Yes. CI, infrastructure as code, deployment pipelines, observability and on-call runbooks are part of the deliverable, not a separate workstream. We default to AWS with Terraform and adapt to your existing platform if you have one.

Can you embed engineers into our team?

Yes. We work project-based, as a dedicated squad, or as embedded engineers in your existing team — whichever fits your situation. Engagement model is decided in the discovery conversation, not assumed up front.

Who owns the code and IP?

You do. All code, schemas, infrastructure definitions, documentation and tests belong entirely to your organisation from day one. No proprietary tooling, no managed-only platforms, no lock-in.

Tell us what your Node service needs to do

Tell us where you're headed and we'll figure out the best way to get you there.

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