James C. Burchill

Systems Architect – Designing and Building Resilient Business and Software Systems

Modelling system behaviour before decisions are locked in.

Former VP of Software Engineering at Givex and Shift4

Read the systems essays Listen to the audio editions

Note: Contact is best after reading one or two pieces from The Vault so we start with shared context.

What I work on

Early risk and alignment analysis across organisational and technical systems to prevent downstream failure.

I focus on identifying system drift early – misaligned decisions, hidden coupling, brittle operating models, and false stability – before these issues harden into expensive failures.

Technology is used deliberately, not reflexively.

The goal is to preserve stability, optionality, and long-term system resilience.

How engagements typically work

Analyze
Clarify outcomes, boundaries, constraints, and failure modes.
Design
Define the system architecture -- business, operational, and technical.
Selective execution
Implementation or oversight only where it reinforces the architecture.

Fit matters

Engagement filter

I work best with leaders who examine the system itself before prescribing solutions; if you are seeking rapid execution without structural analysis, I am not the right fit.

Context

Earlier in my career, I led software engineering at scale at Givex and Shift4, accountable for complex, business-critical systems.

I am also a bestselling author and instructor, having taught more than 35,000 people globally.

Explore my work

If you want the clearest signal of how I think about systems, start here:

The Vault The Vault Podcast