01 — Modern Web Stack
Next.js · Node.js · PostgreSQL
We select each layer of the stack based on a single criterion: production reliability at scale. Next.js provides server-side rendering and static generation for blazing-fast frontends. Node.js powers our API with a non-blocking event loop that handles concurrency without thrashing memory. PostgreSQL gives us ACID compliance, relational integrity, and the query performance needed for complex business data.
Request lifecycle
Browser
Next.js App Router
Edge / CDN
Static + ISR cache
API Gateway
Rate limiting · WAF
Next.js Server
RSC · SSR · API routes
Node.js Service
Business logic layer
Auth Middleware
JWT · Session
PostgreSQL
Primary DB · ACID
Redis
Cache · Sessions
02 — AI Integration Layer
Embedding Intelligence into Workflows
We treat AI not as a feature, but as a service layer. LLMs are orchestrated through structured pipelines where each step has a defined input contract and output schema. A confidence-routing mechanism decides whether the model output is reliable enough to pass through, or whether a human reviewer must intervene — ensuring accuracy without sacrificing automation speed.
AI orchestration pipeline
Raw Input
File / Text / API
LLM Processor
LangChain · GPT-4
Schema Validator
Output contract
Confidence ≥ 90%
Auto-approve
Confidence Router
Threshold logic
Human Review UI
HITL interface
Audit Trail
Immutable log
Output Store
PostgreSQL · S3
03 — Security Layer
Authentication · API Protection · OWASP
Security is not a final pass — it is the frame around which everything else is built. We implement defence-in-depth: each layer independently validates and rejects untrusted requests before they reach the next. OWASP Top-10 mitigations are applied at the infrastructure level, not the application level, so they cannot be accidentally removed during a future refactor.
Defence-in-depth layers
WAF + DDoS Protection
AWS Shield · CloudFront rules
API Gateway
Rate limiting · IP allowlisting · TLS only
Authentication
JWT RS256 · Short-lived tokens · Refresh rotation
Authorisation
RBAC · Attribute-level permissions · Ownership checks
Input Validation
Zod schemas · Sanitisation · SQL parameterisation
Encrypted Data Store
AES-256 at rest · TLS in transit · Vault secrets
04 — Cloud Deployment
Docker · AWS Infrastructure
Every service we deploy is containerised via Docker, ensuring that the environment in development is identical to the environment in production — eliminating the classic "works on my machine" failure mode. On AWS, we orchestrate containers using ECS Fargate for serverless container management, back them with RDS for managed PostgreSQL, and front them with CloudFront for global edge caching.
AWS deployment topology
AWS CloudFront
CDN · Edge caching · TLS termination
ECS Fargate
Next.js container
ECS Fargate
API service container
API Gateway
Auth · Throttle
S3 Bucket
Static assets
AWS RDS
PostgreSQL · Multi-AZ
ElastiCache
Redis cluster
Secrets Manager
Vault · Keys · Certs