Pega Lead System Architect
Toronto, Canada – Hybrid
Role Summary
The Pega Lead System Architect is responsible for the end-to-end architecture, technical design, development governance, and successful implementation of enterprise applications built on Pega Platform. The role provides hands-on technical leadership, translates business needs into scalable solution designs, guides engineering teams, and ensures that applications are secure, performant, maintainable, and aligned with Pega guardrails and delivery standards.
Required Qualifications and Experience
· Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Technology, or a related discipline.
· 10+ years of overall experience in information technology with extensive experience delivering Pega applications.
· Pega Certified Lead System Architect (PCLSA/CLSA) certification.
· Strong hands-on knowledge of Pega Platform, including App Studio and Dev Studio, case management, data model, security, integrations, reporting, background processing, and deployment.
Ability to communicate architecture decisions and technical risks clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
· Lead scope definition, requirements analysis, solution architecture, functional and technical design, application build, testing, deployment, and production transition.
· Architect complex Pega solutions for case management, workflow automation, business rules, integrations, data access, security, and user experience.
· Own application architecture decisions, including enterprise class structure, ruleset strategy, reusable components, data model, deployment approach, and integration patterns.
· Provide technical governance through design reviews, code reviews, guardrail compliance checks, architecture checkpoints, and quality gates.
· Lead and mentor System Architects, Senior System Architects, developers, and technical leads; assign technical work and remove design impediments.
· Collaborate with clients, product owners, business analysts, program management, infrastructure teams, security teams, and integration partners.
· Ensure non-functional requirements are addressed, including performance, scalability, availability, security, auditability, maintainability, and operational support.
· Guide performance analysis and tuning using appropriate Pega diagnostic and monitoring capabilities, including Pega Diagnostic Cloud where applicable.
· Oversee integrations between Pega applications and enterprise systems using REST/SOAP services, messaging, file interfaces, databases, and other approved patterns.
· Support release planning, deployment validation, production readiness, post-release monitoring, root-cause analysis, and resolution of critical technical issues.
· Maintain architecture artefacts, technical specifications, decision records, deployment guidance, and knowledge-transfer materials.
· Identify opportunities to improve delivery through reusable assets, automation, platform capabilities, and Pega best practices.
Expected Deliverables
· Solution architecture and high-level/low-level technical design artefacts.
· Architecture decision records, integration specifications, data and security designs.
· Design and code review findings, guardrail remediation plans, and quality evidence.
· Capacity, performance, deployment, cutover, and production-readiness recommendations.
· Technical delivery plan, estimates, risks, dependencies, and mitigation actions.
· Mentoring, technical enablement, and knowledge-transfer plans for the delivery team.
Success Measures
· Solution meets agreed business and non-functional requirements.
· Architecture decisions are documented, traceable, and aligned with platform standards.
· Delivery teams follow approved design patterns and Pega guardrails.
· Technical risks and defects are identified early and driven to closure.
· Production releases are stable, supportable, and operationally ready.
· Client stakeholders receive clear, timely technical guidance and status communication.
Interview Focus Areas
· End-to-end Pega solution architecture and design trade-offs.
· Enterprise class structure, ruleset strategy, reuse, and application layering.
· Integration, security, data, performance, scalability, and deployment architecture.
· Pega guardrails, design/code reviews, debugging, monitoring, and production support.
· Leadership of multi-location engineering teams and stakeholder management.
· Practical experience with current Pega Platform capabilities relevant to the assignment
Desired Skills:
· Experience with recent Pega capabilities such as Constellation architecture, DX API, Pega Blueprint, Pega GenAI, Pega Cloud, and Pega Diagnostic Cloud.
· Knowledge of cloud platforms, containers, CI/CD, DevSecOps, automated testing, observability, and enterprise security controls.
· Experience with Pega Decisioning, Customer Decision Hub, industry frameworks, or specialized Pega products relevant to the engagement.
· Prior consulting experience in a client-facing environment and the ability to support proposals, estimates, technical discovery, and solution demonstrations.
· Experience conducting architecture audits, performance reviews, technical risk assessments, and modernization or upgrade programs.
