Last month, we launched the new Delivery Roles: Solution Designer & Solution Builder.
New skills. New ways of working. New opportunities to bridge the gap between business vision and technical execution.
But, what does that mean, exactly? Whether you are wondering:
• “Is the Solution Designer role right for me?”
• “How does Solution Builder differ from today’s System Architect roles?”
• “What skills should I focus on first?”
• “How do Blueprint and Infinity fit into all of this?”
• Or something we haven’t thought of yet..
You have 24 hours starting Tuesday, July 21st to ask Pega experts your questions. Pega SMEs including Jayakumar Soundarajan, Raj Upadhyay, Brijesh Rajak, Amey Thombre, Brad Tanner, Di Smith-Knowles, and Mark Hurd will be monitoring this conversation to answer questions, share perspectives, and discuss what these new roles families mean for practitioners, teams, and the future of delivery.
So, jump in. Be curious. Challenge assumptions.
What’s on your mind? Post your questions below when the clock starts on July 21st. Change the notifications from Normal to Watching so you don’t miss a beat when our AMA opens.
Hi Kamil. I appreciate your enthusiasm … as a reminder the AMA doesn’t open until July 21st, but this is a hot topic so it is timely to respond
Take a look at the blog I posted a few weeks ago on our announcement of Solution Designer and how it is different than an FDE. I wrote it because of the hype around FDE, but we chose to focus on the Solution Designer role to address the design thread that causes a gap between business intent and and the production-ready application… and Blueprint is the powerful tool that enables Solution Designers to close that gap. We have been talking about the skills and role of FDE, which we believe are advanced Solution Builders/LSAs that should be partnering with the Solution Designer early in the design and project lifecycle process. All starting in Blueprint and now can more seamlessly than ever flow directly into Pega Infinity Studio.
Will the current Pega roles be redefined in the new delivery model?
Will the LBA role gradually be phased out, with LSA evolving into Solution Designer and CSA/CSSA becoming Solution Builder?
If so, what is the recommended transition path, and will there be any formal certification. I know a learning track for these new roles is launched already.
Also, how should we prepare if clients are slow to adopt the new model even when we are ready?
My view is that we should avoid thinking about this as a direct role swap (LBA → Solution Designer, LSA → Solution Designer, CSA/CSSA → Solution Builder).
The industry challenge Pega is trying to address is that AI, Blueprint, and model-driven delivery are changing how we work, not necessarily why the traditional roles exist. Business understanding, architecture, governance, system design, integration thinking, and delivery leadership are still required.
I expect the existing BA/SA/SSA/LSA career paths to remain highly relevant. Rather than replacing those roles, I see Solution Designer and Solution Builder as capability domains that practitioners will build on top of their existing expertise.
From a preparation perspective, I’d encourage practitioners to invest in the new Academy learning paths, badges, and hands-on training aligned to Solution Designer and Solution Builder. Those learning journeys provide a structured way to develop Blueprint-led and AI-assisted delivery skills while continuing to strengthen existing professional expertise.
he other reality is that client adoption will not happen overnight. Some clients will embrace Blueprint Delivered quickly, while others will continue with more traditional delivery models for some time. The safest approach is to be fluent in both worlds: maintain strong implementation and architecture fundamentals while building proficiency in Blueprint, AI-assisted delivery, and the new learning paths.
In short, I don’t see this as “old roles versus new roles.” I see it as an evolution of skills where practitioners who combine deep delivery expertise with Blueprint and AI-assisted delivery capabilities will be in the strongest position going forward.
The difference between the new roles and the existing ones is clear, thanks to Jayakumar’s response. With these new roles in place, is the eventual strategy to gradually phase out the existing roles (like CSA/CSSA) and shift more focus to the new roles in the long run? Or they will always be present and Solution Designer, Solution Builder will be like a additional role that are more focused on blueprint and AI driven build.
Hello @RahulChoudhary
Welcome back to the community. It’s great to see you back!
Thanks for asking this question. I’m sure a few of our practitioners have similar question.
My understanding is that the new Solution Designer and Solution Builder roles are intended to complement, rather than immediately replace, existing certifications. These roles are tailored for a Blueprint-first, AI-assisted delivery model, focusing on solution design and AI-driven application development, respectively.
While I expect the way we design and build applications to continue evolve with Blueprint and GenAI, I haven’t seen any indication that current roles are being phased out. At this stage, the new role families describe the skills and responsibilities practitioners apply when working with Blueprint and Pega Infinity. They build on core Pega skills and help practitioners adapt to the next generation of delivery practices, rather than serving as direct replacements
Post your questions below when the clock starts on July 21st. Change the notifications from Normal to Watching so you don’t miss a beat when our AMA opens.
… as a reminder the AMA doesn’t open until July 21st, but this is a hot topic so it is timely to respond 