System Architecture

At Level 1, you're not yet responsible for system design, but you're starting to understand how the parts fit together. Your focus is on building features within an existing architecture and following established patterns. You're learning to read diagrams, understand service boundaries, and follow conventions that others have set. You may not yet make architectural decisions, but you're becoming aware of them—and that's the first step.

At Level 2, your focus shifts to reinforcing and extending the architecture that already exists. You make implementation decisions with the system's structure in mind and help ensure new code aligns with architectural intent. You work within the current architecture to make it more robust, resilient, and consistent. You may raise small architectural concerns or suggest refinements, but you aren't yet expected to design new components from scratch.

At Level 3, you begin shaping architecture proactively. You're trusted to make design decisions that impact multiple components or services, and you consider tradeoffs with clarity. You help evolve the system thoughtfully—refining boundaries, simplifying interactions, and identifying areas that need new abstractions. Your work anticipates scale, performance, and flexibility.

At Level 4, you lead architectural direction across domains and teams. You make system-wide design decisions that unlock future growth, reduce complexity, and address long-term technical risk. You anticipate organizational and technical evolution—and design systems that enable it. You guide teams through ambiguity, set standards, and coach others in architectural thinking.

At Level 5, you define architectural vision and strategy at the company level. Your work aligns technology decisions with business goals and ensures that systems remain adaptable, sustainable, and empowering at scale. You operate across time horizons—designing for what's needed now, next, and far beyond. You enable the company to scale not just its systems, but its ability to design great systems.