AI writes the code.
You design the system.
A 2-day live workshop on system design and software architecture for the AI-assisted era. Learn to architect systems that AI can build but can't design.
Next: Apr 30–1 · 1–5 PM PT / 4–8 PM ET · 2 days · Live & hands-on · Limited to 20 seats
See the ScheduleYou can build features. But can you design systems?
AI made you faster. It didn't make you better. You use Copilot. You prompt Claude. You ship features in hours that used to take days. But when someone asks you to design something from scratch — to decide which database, which architecture, which trade-offs — AI can't help you because you don't know the right questions to ask.
You're stuck between junior and senior. You've outgrown beginner tutorials. You don't need another "Intro to X" course. The gap between where you are and senior-level thinking isn't about writing more code — AI already does that for you. It's about making the decisions that determine whether a system works at scale, stays maintainable, and doesn't collapse under its own complexity.
The new dividing line isn't who codes fastest. It's who designs best. AI flattened the implementation gap — anyone can generate code now. The developers getting promoted, leading projects, and commanding higher salaries are the ones who can architect a system, evaluate trade-offs, and tell AI exactly what to build. That's the skill this workshop teaches.
Two days. Five levels of thinking.
AI can generate code at every level. But it can't progress through these levels of judgment for you. This workshop builds the thinking that makes you the architect, not the typist.
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Build Your Mental Models
Learn the mental models that AI doesn't have. Identify architecture patterns, recall design principles, explain trade-offs in your own words.
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Write Real Code
Implement with AI as your pair. Use Claude and Copilot to build faster — while you focus on the design decisions they can't make.
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Read Any System
Break down existing systems. Use AI to explore alternatives rapidly, then evaluate which approach actually fits the constraints.
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Make Confident Decisions
Make and defend decisions. Assess competing approaches, critique architectures, and justify your choices under review.
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Design From Scratch
Design a system from scratch. This is the skill AI can't replace — architect a solution, defend your trade-offs, and direct AI to build it.
Two days. The skill AI can't replace.
Each day is a half-day session (4 hours) mixing live instruction and hands-on exercises. AI is your tool throughout — you'll learn to direct it, not defer to it.
Foundations & Patterns
4 hours · Morning session- Monoliths, modular monoliths, and microservices
- Layered, clean, and hexagonal architecture
- Reading and drawing system diagrams
- Repository, Strategy, Observer, Factory — when AI suggests them and when it's wrong
- SOLID principles through AI-assisted refactoring exercises
- Recognizing over-engineering vs. under-engineering (AI's blind spot)
Exercise: Diagram an open-source system, then use AI to refactor it — and evaluate whether AI made the right calls
Trade-Offs & Design Challenge
4 hours · Morning session- Break down a production architecture using AI as a research tool
- Evaluate trade-offs AI can't weigh: consistency vs. availability, simplicity vs. flexibility
- Prompting AI for design alternatives, then critiquing what it gets wrong
- Design a system from real-world requirements — using AI as your implementation partner
- Walk through your architecture and explain where you overruled AI's suggestions
- Defend your trade-offs — the decisions only a human architect can make
Deliverable: A system you designed and AI helped you build — with a clear explanation of every decision you made
What workshop attendees say
"I was using Claude for everything but still writing spaghetti systems. This workshop taught me to design first and let AI implement second. My PRs got cleaner overnight."
Daniel T. Mid-Level Developer, 3 yrs exp.
"The design challenge on Day 2 was the highlight. Walking through my architecture and getting real feedback from the instructor — that’s something you can’t get from a video course."
Aisha R. Full-Stack Developer, 2 yrs exp.
"As a junior trying to level up fast, this was exactly what I needed. AI can autocomplete my code, but this workshop taught me the thinking that decides what code to write in the first place."
Chris N. Junior Engineer, 1 yr exp.
Two days that make you the architect, not the typist
$1,997
Book early and save. Price goes to $1,997 two weeks before the event.
One-time payment. Lifetime access to recordings.
- 2 live half-day sessions (4 hours each)
- Hands-on exercises with instructor feedback
- Design challenge with live instructor feedback
- Lifetime access to session recordings
- Workshop Slack channel for your cohort
Refund excluding a 3% processing fee if you cancel 7+ days before the workshop.
We run a different topic each month. Coming soon: Testing Strategy & Quality Engineering, Performance & Observability, and Developer Tooling & Automation. Each workshop stands alone — take one or collect them all.
Common questions
What experience level do I need?
You should be comfortable writing code and have built at least one project — even a small one. If you can implement a feature from a ticket, you're ready. Ideal for developers with 1–4 years of experience, or ambitious juniors who want to skip the slow path.
What's the time commitment?
Two half-day sessions (4 hours each), typically on a Thursday and Friday afternoon. That's 8 hours total. Come prepared to work — this is hands-on, not a lecture series.
What language or framework does the workshop use?
Examples use Python and JavaScript/TypeScript, but the concepts are language-agnostic. Architecture patterns, system design, and trade-off analysis apply regardless of your stack. If you work in Go, Ruby, Java, or anything else, the mental models transfer directly.
Can't AI just do system design for me?
AI can generate architecture diagrams and suggest patterns. But it can't weigh your team's constraints, your budget, your timeline, or your users' actual behavior. It doesn't know when "good enough" beats "theoretically optimal." System design is judgment under uncertainty — exactly the skill AI can't replicate. This workshop teaches you to use AI as a powerful research and implementation tool while you make the decisions that matter.
How is this different from the 90-day course?
The 90-day course teaches you to code from zero. This workshop assumes you already can. Here you'll learn to think about software at a higher level — architecture, design patterns, trade-offs, and system-level reasoning. Think of the course as learning to drive — this teaches you to design the engine.
Do I need to attend all the workshops?
Each monthly workshop is a standalone topic. Take whichever ones match the skills you want to build. System design this month, testing strategy next month, performance the month after. No prerequisites between them.
What's the refund policy?
Refund excluding a 3% processing fee if you cancel 7 or more days before the workshop. Within 7 days, we'll transfer your seat to the next cohort instead. Sessions are recorded, so you'll have lifetime access either way.