The evidence-based standard for technical skill validation in the AI era.
Open. Governed. Production-validated. Built for Financial Services and beyond.
The Scalyz Competency Matrix Framework is a structured, evidence-based model for answering one question: can this engineer do the work?
It evaluates technical competency across three independent layers:
| Layer | What It Measures | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Declarative | What you claim (CV, certifications, experience) | DCS | 20% |
| Behavioural | How you work (Builder / Guardian / Explorer) | BFS | 15% |
| Proven | What you demonstrate (hands-on labs) | PS | 65% |
The three layers fuse into a Coherence Score (CS) that produces an auditable, explainable, evidence-based assessment of engineering capability.
CS = (0.20 x DCS) + (0.15 x BFS) + (0.65 x PS)
The framework covers 23 technical domains, 27 engineering roles, 5 proficiency levels (L1 Assisted through L5 Expert), and includes a dedicated Financial Services module aligned with DORA, NIS2, and PCI-DSS regulatory requirements.
| Resource | Location |
|---|---|
| Full Framework (Markdown) | framework/Scalyz-Competency-Matrix-Framework-v1.1.md |
| Machine-Readable Schema (JSON) | framework/scalyz-competency-matrix-v1.1.json |
| Domain Catalogue | domains/ |
| Role Profiles | roles/ |
| Financial Services Module | modules/financial-services/ |
| Governance | governance/ |
| Change Log | CHANGELOG.md |
| Contribution Guide | CONTRIBUTING.md |
| Licence (SOFL-1) | LICENCE.md |
| AI Prompt Library | prompts/ |
The official language of the Scalyz Competency Matrix Framework is English.
The Scalyz Technical Board, contributing experts, and client representatives operate across multiple countries and time zones. English is the working language that allows all participants — regardless of their native language — to collaborate, review, and contribute on equal terms.
All canonical framework content, governance documents, and change proposals are written and reviewed in English. The English version is always the authoritative source.
We recognise that framework adoption benefits from availability in local languages. The translations/ directory contains community-contributed translations organised by ISO 639-1 language code:
translations/
├── fr/ ← French
├── de/ ← German (planned)
├── es/ ← Spanish (planned)
└── ...
Translations are submitted through the standard Pull Request process (see CONTRIBUTING.md). Each translation must reference the specific framework version it translates. When the English source is updated, translations are marked as requiring review until they are updated to match.
Important: In any case of discrepancy between a translation and the English original, the English version prevails. Translations are provided as a convenience and do not carry normative authority.
| Level | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | Assisted | Works under guidance, follows documented procedures |
| L2 | Operational | Works independently on standard tasks, escalates appropriately |
| L3 | Reliable | Handles complex, ambiguous situations independently |
| L4 | Advanced | Operates at architectural level, designs systems others build |
| L5 | Expert | Defines state of practice, recognised authority |
- Linux Systems Administration
- Networking and Protocols
- Containerisation
- Container Orchestration (Kubernetes)
- Cloud Computing — AWS
- Cloud Computing — Azure
- Cloud Computing — GCP
- Infrastructure as Code
- CI/CD Pipelines
- GitOps and Source Control
- Monitoring and Observability
- Security Hardening and Compliance
- Identity and Access Management
- Incident Management
- Database Administration
- Messaging and Event Streaming
- Service Mesh
- API Gateway and Management
- Cost Engineering (FinOps)
- Chaos Engineering and Resilience
- Serverless and Event-Driven Architecture
- Edge Computing and CDN
- AI/ML Infrastructure and Operations
| Profile | Focus | Under Pressure |
|---|---|---|
| Builder | Delivery, shipping, automation | "Make it work" |
| Guardian | Stability, correctness, risk management | "Don't make it worse" |
| Explorer | Architecture, trade-offs, long-term design | "Understand the root cause" |
The framework's primary industry focus is Financial Services — banking, insurance, capital markets, and payments. The Financial Services module includes:
- Regulatory alignment mappings for DORA, NIS2, PCI-DSS, and ECB guidelines
- Industry-specific scenario packs for core banking, payment systems, and trading infrastructure
- Extended role profiles for financial services engineering roles
The core framework (23 domains, 27 roles, 5 levels) is industry-agnostic and applicable to any organisation with cloud infrastructure engineering teams. Additional industry modules are planned for Healthcare, Public Sector, and Critical Infrastructure.
The framework is governed by the Scalyz Technical Board, composed of:
- Independent Expert Members — senior practitioners not employed by Scalyz or its clients
- Client Representative Members — engineering leaders from organisations using Scalyz
- Scalyz Architect Members — senior technical architects from the Scalyz team
All framework changes are proposed publicly through GitHub Pull Requests, reviewed by the community for a minimum of 30 days, and decided by the Technical Board. See governance/board-charter.md for full governance details.
We welcome contributions from the community. You can:
- Propose a framework change by submitting a Framework Enhancement Proposal (FEP) as a Pull Request
- Nominate a new domain for evaluation using the domain nomination template
- Report a framework issue (ambiguity, inconsistency, error) by opening an Issue
- Submit a translation of the framework into your language
- Contribute a prompt to the AI Prompt Library
See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full contribution guide.
The Scalyz Competency Matrix Framework is published under the Scalyz Open Framework Licence v1 (SOFL-1).
- Free for educational, personal, and internal organisational use
- Written agreement required for commercial, consulting, competitive, or white-label use
See LICENCE.md for the full licence text.
If you reference this framework in academic work, publications, or formal documents, please cite:
Scalyz Technical Board. (2026). Scalyz Competency Matrix Framework (Version 1.1).
https://github.com/scalyz/competency-framework
A machine-readable citation file is available at CITATION.cff.
- Website: scalyz.com/framework
- Knowledge Base: help.scalyz.com/en/kb/framework
- AI Prompt Library: scalyz.com/prompts
Scalyz Competency Matrix Framework v1.1 — March 2026 Published by the Scalyz Technical Board