A Salesforce Architect owns the technical and solution direction of the platform. While Consultants focus on business needs and Developers implement code, Architects make the structural decisions that determine whether the system scales, evolves, and survives.
Day-to-day:
- Architecture design: data model, security model, integration patterns, deployment strategy.
- Technical decisions: build vs buy, code vs config, sync vs async, platform vs custom.
- Reviews: code reviews, design reviews, security reviews.
- Standards: framework patterns, naming conventions, governance.
- Mentorship: developing the next generation of architects.
- Stakeholder communication: translating technical realities to executives.
Two flavours:
- Solution Architect — owns the design at the project / cloud level. Handles cross-component interactions.
- Technical Architect — deeper technical, usually enterprise-wide. Often a CTA (Certified Technical Architect).
Architects span domains: Sharing & Visibility, Data Architecture, Integration, Identity, Development Lifecycle, Performance.
The senior architect's value: making expensive-to-reverse decisions correctly the first time.