Over a few intense months, 15 of Cefalo's developers have passed the exam to become Claude Certified Architects (CCAR-F) — Anthropic's official certification programme for architects and developers who design and operate production systems with Claude.
Cefalo's investment in certified Claude Architects is part of a long-term strategy. Cefalo is a member of the Claude Partner Network, working toward a higher partner tier. To achieve that, we need to work diligently towards certifying more Claude Architects within the organisation. For our customers, the certifications serve as a trust reference: An independently verified standard of competence in the developers sitting in their teams.
A closed-book exam
The certification is administered by Pearson VUE and is a closed, externally proctored exam that runs for two hours. Candidates need 720 out of 1,000 points to pass, and must complete the certification without study aids or AI assistance.
The certification covers five domains: Agentic Architecture and Orchestration, Tool Design & MCP Integration, Claude Code Configuration & Workflows, Prompt Engineering & Structured Output, and Context Management & Reliability.
CEFALO IS STRENGTHENING THE TEAM: 10 of our newly certified Claude Architects, who have all spent a lot of time and effort to earn the certification.
Two years of AI transformation
Cefalo's AI journey began two years ago, and last year the company organized a hackathon for all software engineers. Since then, Cefalo has tested the most widely used tools on the market, including Cursor, GitHub Copilot and OpenAI's models, before ultimately standardizing on Claude.
In parallel, Cefalo formed an AI task force of six senior software engineers, mandated to drive the internal AI transformation.
Staff Software Engineer Tahmidur Rahman Khan (known as Tahmid) and Senior Software Engineer Simanta Deb Turja (known as Turja) are both part of this team. They have led coaching, knowledge-sharing and direct guidance for client teams, running the programme in waves of five to six teams at a time. The third wave is now underway, covering nine teams. And once Claude became the standard, certification ambitions took shape.
– When Cefalo is on the Anthropic Partner list, it gives customers externally verified confidence that we have the competence in place, says Shaon.
AN AI TASK FORCE: Six senior software engineers make sure to drive the AI transformation within Cefalo.
What does the Claude Architect certification mean for customers?
The competence has already made its mark in client relationships. Tahmid describes a customer who had brought in an external consultant to train their team on Claude and best practices.
– When they found out that we had the certification — and that we were already running training internally — they wanted us to take over that role, says Tahmid.
For Tahmid, it is also about a personal professional confidence that clients notice.
– After passing, I can say that the way I approach problems is aligned with the recognised standard. That gives me a confidence I did not have before, and it comes through in conversations with clients.
Shaon sees the certification as an important factor in customer dialogue.
– When we meet a new customer, they do not yet know our developers. If we can show that someone is a certified Claude Architect, it gives the customer an objective reference point for the team's technical foundation, says Shaon.
What the exam tests
Tahmid was the first at Cefalo to pass and he holds the company's highest score. He describes a certification that demands a different approach from ordinary software development.
– The Claude Architect certification is about more than coding practices. It covers orchestrating Claude agents, deploying AI systems safely to production, and best practices for agentic architecture. Working through the technical frameworks gave me more confidence when we implement this for clients, says Tahmid.
The exam is scenario-based and reflects real production situations. Turja, also part of the AI task force, points to the format as the source of the difficulty.
– The answer options are often nearly identical. You have to weigh them against each other and choose what is right for the specific situation — the way you would actually design the system in a real project, says Turja.
Preparation took close to two months. Cefalo's developers are fully committed to client work during the day, so all studying took place in evenings and weekends. Getting through it has required a great deal of enthusiasm and commitment from the developers involved.
– There were few independent study resources when we were preparing, since the certification is relatively new. We compiled what we could find, practiced a lot and sat the exam when we felt confident enough, says Tahmid.
The Dream: 100+ certified Claude Architects
40 developers are currently in Cefalo's internal study group. From October 2026, Cefalo plans to open the programme to all employees, with courses and study support available internally. The goal is 100 certified Claude Architects by the end of 2027.
– Those who are not working toward the certification feel like they are missing out. That ripple effect was created by the AI task force, notes Shaon.
Tahmid sums up what drives the effort internally.
– AI is changing how software gets built, and it is moving fast. Cefalo started preparing for this early and the whole organisation got behind it. That is something I am very proud of, he concludes.
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