System Architect/Engineering is a key role in the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe). It is responsible for the technical vision and architecture of a solution at the ART or solution level. While business and product management answer the "what" questions (which features/value), System Architect/Engineering takes care of the "how" – i.e., technical consistency, scalability, and sustainability.
Practical relevance
The tasks include:
• Defining the architecture runway: Ensuring that the technical basis for future features is prepared.
• Aligning business and technology: Translating strategic goals into architectural guidelines.
• Technical governance: Defining standards, interfaces, and quality criteria.
• Coordination across teams: Supporting design decisions, especially when multiple ARTs are involved.
• Promoting innovation: Identifying and integrating new technologies to remain competitive in the long term.
Typically, a system architect/engineer works closely with product management, business owners, RTE/STE, and teams.
Interaction with other roles (RACI)
• Product Management: Responsible for business features, while System Architect/Engineering is accountable for technical feasibility and architecture.
• RTE/STE: Collaborative partners – they create flow, while the system architect/engineer designs content and structures.
• Agile teams: Consulted on design decisions that affect technical implementation.
• Business Owner: Informed about technical implications and decisions.
A key element is balancing short-term business value and long-term technical sustainability.
Typical misunderstandings
❌ "System architect/engineering is a central gatekeeper" – in an agile environment, it's not about hierarchy, but about orientation and enablement.
❌ "Only technology experts" – the role must build bridges between business and technology.
❌ "Architecture is static" – architecture in SAFe is evolving, not definitively defined.
Relevance for organizations
• Technical coherence: Prevents uncontrolled growth in architectural decisions.
• Sustainability: Creates a balance between fast delivery and technical stability.
• Competitiveness: Enables new technologies to be introduced in a meaningful and timely manner.
• Transparency: Makes technical debt and risks visible.
Organizations without a clear architect role run the risk of getting lost in technical silos, redundancies, and high long-term costs.
Real-world example
A financial services provider introduced agile teams without an overarching architecture role. After a short time, redundant services, interface inconsistencies, and security problems arose. Only with the introduction of system architects, who provided guidance across teams, was it possible to stabilize the system and establish a common architecture runway.
Use outside of SAFe
Even in organizations without SAFe, architecture requires responsibility. Elements of the role are universally applicable:
• Governance boards to harmonize technology decisions.
• Architecture principles as guidelines in transformation projects.
• Cross-functional architecture teams to avoid silos.
This role is particularly important for security, efficiency, and future viability in digitization or cloud projects.
CALADE perspective
Our work shows that system architecture/engineering is much more than just "technology." It is the interface between business value and technology. At CALADE, we emphasize that architects should not just "write blueprints," but empower teams to develop sustainable solutions. We combine SAFe's understanding of roles with practical approaches from Lean Architecture, Team Topologies, and Living Transformation® so that architecture does not block innovation, but rather enables it.
Related terms
• Architecture Runway
• Solution Architect/Engineering
• Agile Release Train (ART)
• Release Train Engineer (RTE)
• Technical Debt
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