[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f3ql451mj1ximb":3},{"_id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"subtitle":7,"kind":8,"cards":9,"tags":57,"categories":59,"source":61,"lang":64,"author":65,"audioState":68,"stats":69,"publishedAt":72,"renderer":73},"6aba3bd9ca21c797c7e983fe","building-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a","Building My Cloud Resume Challenge! From AZ-900 to Serverless Architecture","Entering my third year as an IT student, my career goal became crystal clear: I want to be a Cloud Engineer.","news",[10,12,17,22,27,32,37,42,47,52],{"headline":6,"body":7,"imageUrl":11,"sourceImageUrl":11},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedia2.dev.to\u002Fdynamic\u002Fimage\u002Fwidth=1200,height=627,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto\u002Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fm1krjc12k4byrldau02u.png",{"headline":13,"body":14,"imageUrl":15,"images":16},"Earning the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification was","Earning the Microsoft Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900) certification was a massive first step, but passing a multiple-choice exam doesn't deploy infrastructure. I needed hands-on experience to prove I could bridge the gap between cloud theory and production reality. That is why I took on the Azure Cloud Resume Challenge (By Forrest Brazeal).","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F1.webp",{"local":15},{"headline":18,"body":19,"imageUrl":20,"images":21},"Instead of deploying a basic static site, I","Instead of deploying a basic static site, I set out to architect a secure, fully automated serverless backend from scratch. Let's look under the hood at the architecture, the custom design, and the critical lessons I learned! Embracing an Agentic Workflow","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F2.webp",{"local":20},{"headline":23,"body":24,"imageUrl":25,"images":26},"While the core cloud architecture, security boundaries, and","While the core cloud architecture, security boundaries, and system design were my own, I utilized AI coding tools as a pair-programmer throughout this project. Acting as the technical lead, I directed the AI to help scaffold templates, generate testing boilerplate, and accelerate styling. This modern \"agentic\" workflow allowed me to focus my energy on high-level engineering—like orchestrating automation and debugging remote cloud conflicts—rather than getting bogged down in syntax. Here is exactly how I built it, step-by-step:","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F3.webp",{"local":25},{"headline":28,"body":29,"imageUrl":30,"images":31},"(Step 1) Certification The foundation of the project","(Step 1) Certification The foundation of the project. I studied for and passed the Microsoft AZ-900 exam, validating my core understanding of Azure cloud services.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F4.webp",{"local":30},{"headline":33,"body":34,"imageUrl":35,"images":36},"(Step 2 & 3) HTML & CSS I","(Step 2 & 3) HTML & CSS I wanted to avoid the generic \"AI-generated\" look that floods the internet. I designed a custom aesthetic utilizing a deep navy Azure color palette with sharp, asymmetric edges. I also designed a pixelated \"jdm\" SVG favicon and added custom Open Graph tags so the site generates a clean preview card on LinkedIn.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F5.webp",{"local":35},{"headline":38,"body":39,"imageUrl":40,"images":41},"(Step 4, 5, & 6) Static Website, HTTPS","(Step 4, 5, & 6) Static Website, HTTPS, & DNS I hosted the frontend in an Azure Blob Storage $web container. To ensure it was secure and easy to find, I mapped my custom domain using Cloudflare and enforced HTTPS encryption.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F6.webp",{"local":40},{"headline":43,"body":44,"imageUrl":45,"images":46},"(Step 7) JavaScript I wrote a lightweight client","(Step 7) JavaScript I wrote a lightweight client script that automatically reaches out to my backend database every time the page loads to display a live visitor count.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F7.webp",{"local":45},{"headline":48,"body":49,"imageUrl":50,"images":51},"(Step 8, 9, & 10) Database, API, &","(Step 8, 9, & 10) Database, API, & Python This is where it gets serverless. I set up an Azure Cosmos DB (Table API) to store the visitor count. To retrieve and update that number, I built a serverless API using the Azure Functions Python v2 programming model.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F8.webp",{"local":50},{"headline":53,"body":54,"imageUrl":55,"images":56},"(Step 11) Tests Before deploying my Python code","(Step 11) Tests Before deploying my Python code to the cloud, I needed to know it wouldn't break. I used pytest to write automated unit tests, isolating my code and proving it worked perfectly without needing to connect to the live database.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-8622599a\u002F9.webp",{"local":55},[58],"dev",[60],"Technology",{"name":62,"url":63},"Dev.to","https:\u002F\u002Fdev.to\u002Fjdmercado\u002Fbuilding-my-cloud-resume-challenge-from-az-900-to-serverless-architecture-1ljo","en",{"handle":66,"displayName":67},"spots","Spots","queued",{"views":70,"likes":71,"saves":71,"shares":71,"completions":71,"opens":71,"skips":71,"depthSum":71},5,0,"2026-09-28T10:05:13.313Z","local"]