New Release
The Software Conductor
A journey of discovery from software developer to architect — designing systems, leading teams, creating harmony.
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Architecture courses from someone who's run it at scale.
Practical, self-paced courses for software architects and engineering leaders, from Lee Atchison.
New course
Architecting for Cost
Finance can't fix your cloud bill. Your architecture caused it, and only architecture decisions can change it.
See the course →How the courses work
- Short video lessons. Each one makes one argument, with a reading you can come back to.
- Tools you keep. Worksheets and templates you use on your own systems, not just during the course.
- Your own pace. Start when you want, and stop when the meeting runs long.
How much of your cloud bill can you explain?
The Cost Attribution Worksheet takes your five biggest line items and asks what decision caused each one. Most teams find out it's fewer than they thought.
Get the free worksheet →
About Lee
Lee Atchison is a software architect and author who helps companies architect and operate AI-powered SaaS at scale. At Amazon, he helped rearchitect the retail website and built AWS Elastic Beanstalk. He led architecture for New Relic’s fast-growing SaaS platform and served as CTO of an AI company. He wrote Architecting for Scale (O’Reilly) and publishes Software Architecture Insights.
Books
Books at Atchison Academy
Published works available through Atchison Academy.
Co-Authored
Business Breakthrough 3.0
A five-step process that fuels engagement, boosts agility, and drives lasting change in your organization.
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Courses
Courses at Atchison Academy
Training available through Atchison Academy and affiliated learning platforms.
Architecting Scalable Applications and Systems
Three courses on availability, cloud architecture, and technical risk, decided from the architect's seat — the full program, in the order it was built to run.
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Software Architecture: From Developer to Architect
What actually changes when a developer becomes a software architect, and how to make that transition on purpose.
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Cloud Migration Fundamentals: Best Practices for Moving to the Cloud
The strategies and practices that move a migration from a slide deck to a running system, without the outage nobody planned for.
Learn more → LinkedIn LearningCloud Architecture: Advanced Concepts
Lee's longest and newest LinkedIn Learning course: architecting a cloud infrastructure end to end, from core cloud types through serverless, security, AI, the edge, and sustainability.
Learn more → CourseraScalable Availability in Software Architecture
Practical techniques for designing modern, high-scale applications that maintain strong availability while managing complexity, risk, and service dependencies.
Learn more → CourseraCloud Architecture for Scalable Systems
Vendor-neutral cloud architecture from the architect's seat — deployment models, managed services, infrastructure as code, cloud-native design, cost as a first-class constraint, and migration planning.
Learn more → CourseraRisk Management for Scalable Systems
Risk as a portfolio you manage on purpose. Build a matrix for your own systems, then use it to win the arguments that decide the roadmap.
Learn more → LinkedIn LearningAvoiding Bad Decisions in Your Cloud Strategy
The decisions that quietly sink a cloud strategy after it's already running — misjudged security, blurry roles, cost that gets away from you — and how to catch them before they become expensive.
Learn more → LinkedIn LearningFraming Cloud Discussions for the C-Suite
Translating cloud decisions into language a C-suite audience will actually engage with, whatever the specific decision is.
Learn more → LinkedIn LearningUnderstanding the Impact of a Merger for IT Teams
Navigating a merger from the IT seat: overlapping systems, competing architectures, and where your job actually stands.
Learn more → Coming SoonArchitecting Systems That Use AI
Architecting around AI components without inheriting their unpredictability as your own production risk.
Learn more → Coming SoonService Ownership and Criticality at Scale
Who owns a service, how critical it really is, and why most organizations can't answer either question with confidence.
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