Damian Maclennan is a software architect, trainer, and consultant based in Brisbane, Australia, specialising in event-driven architecture and distributed systems.
With over twenty-five years of experience building and leading software teams across industries - from early-stage startups to some of Australia’s most trafficked platforms - he has spent the last decade focused on one of the hardest problems in software: helping teams build distributed systems that actually make sense.
He created Nimbus, an open source .NET library for building event-driven distributed applications, which has been running in production since 2013. Nimbus is the practical foundation for much of his teaching - the idea that messaging-based architecture doesn’t have to be complicated if you model it around the way people and teams actually communicate.
That idea has a name: Human Shaped Microservices. It’s a modelling-first approach to distributed systems design that starts with team structure, communication flows, and domain boundaries, not technology choices. It’s the framework behind his workshops, his writing, and his consulting work.
Damian runs architecture workshops for engineering teams who are building distributed systems - or who have already built something and suspect the seams are in the wrong places. He also works directly with engineering leaders on architecture reviews and design decisions through consulting engagements and workshop training.
He is the Technical Director of YOW! Conferences, Australia’s leading developer conference series, and has been involved in the developer community through conferences and events for over 15 years.
Outside of software, he is a cyclist and musician - both activities he recommends for anyone who wants to think more clearly about distributed systems.