Alchemy's advanced software engineering training program launches grads toward exponential opportunity and salary growth. The proof is in our employment data. The curriculum and philosophy at Alchemy is industry crafted by experts in the field. Our Advisory Board, made up of Senior Software Engineers from local companies, meets regularly with our instructional team to shape and plan curriculum based on the future technology needs of local companies.

A Portland-only school, we believe in the power of coding and software development to advance our economy and our community. At Alchemy Code Lab, mentorship means daily, strategic career assistance for each individual student through empathetic interaction with industry experienced instructors and staff utilizing professional competencies in a work-simulated environment.

We get Portland. We are committed to fostering a tech environment that welcomes women, LGBTQ, veterans, and students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Through our local connections and our App Lab tech consultancy, Alchemy grads have a place in cultivating our city’s vibrant and inclusive software development culture.

Our mission is made more meaningful through diversity-centric scholarship offerings and partnerships with influential Portland organizations including PDX Women in Tech, Women Who Code Portland, DonutJS, and LatinX PDX. Founded in 2015, Alchemy Code Lab is located in the heart of downtown Portland and is a Powered by Code Fellows Partner.

Learn more about the school and our approach on our Program Overview page.

how we got our start

With over two decades of experience in the field, our CEO and Senior Software Architect, Marty Nelson, began partnering with the Code Fellows network as an instructor in 2015, and helped shape and modernize the program’s 400 level, Career Track, curriculum.

As a key contributor to Reactive.JS (one of 2017’s JavaScript libraries to watch), Marty has a working understanding of the open-source space. This directly informs our curriculum and teaching methodologies, which are structured around the real life applications of code.

Since taking ownership of the school in 2016, Marty, and his wife Megan, co-owner and School Director, have built a program that engages directly with Portland’s tech and creative communities -- ensuring that our city’s leading-edge companies have access to the talent they need.

From the start, we’ve found the advanced curriculum created by Code Fellows to be the very best -- and it’s why we opened our doors with confidence in a city brimming with bootcamps. For its first two years, Alchemy Code Lab operated as Code Fellows PDX.