Professional Cloud Architect

Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect

GCP PCA - design, develop, and manage solutions on Google Cloud

Issued by Google Cloud
Visit official certification page
6 Domains
10+ Skills
6 Prep Links
3 Practice Quizzes
Cost
$200 USD (standard) / $100 USD (renewal)
Duration
120 minutes (60 min renewal)
Questions
50-60 multiple choice / multiple select (25 for renewal)
Pass
Not disclosed by Google
Delivery
Online-proctored OR onsite at Pearson VUE
Validity
2 years

Quick Facts

Cost
$200 USD (standard) / $100 USD (renewal)
Duration
120 minutes (60 min renewal)
Questions
50-60 multiple choice / multiple select (25 for renewal)
Passing score
Not disclosed by Google
Languages
English, Japanese
Delivery
Online-proctored OR onsite at Pearson VUE
Validity
2 years
Case studies
2 of 4 published case studies per exam; 20-30% of questions

Skills You'll Learn

Design enterprise-grade cloud architectures on Google Cloud that meet business and technical requirements. Apply the Google Cloud Well-Architected Framework across reliability, security, cost, performance, and operational excellence. Architect VPC networking, hybrid and multi-cloud topologies, and secure connectivity at scale. Choose between compute options (Compute Engine, GKE, Cloud Run, serverless) and storage classes for the right workload. Plan and execute cloud migrations using Migration Center, with workload assessment and dependency mapping. Implement identity, access management, and data protection using IAM, KMS, VPC Service Controls, and CMEK. Use Vertex AI, Gemini, Model Garden, and Agent Builder to integrate AI capabilities into enterprise solutions. Optimize cost with billing controls, committed-use discounts, and right-sized resources. Drive operational excellence with observability, SRE principles, chaos engineering, and disaster recovery. Earn a globally recognized credential that validates senior-level Google Cloud architecture skills.

Exam Logistics

  • Register through the certification portal at cp.certmetrics.com.
  • Two delivery options: online-proctored OR onsite at Pearson VUE (search 'Google Cloud').
  • Renewal exam: 1 hour, 25 questions, $100.
  • Standard exam includes 2 of 4 case studies (Altostrat Media, Cymbal Retail, EHR Healthcare, KnightMotives Automotive).

Prerequisites & Recommended Experience

  • Recommended: 3+ years industry experience, 1+ years designing and managing solutions on Google Cloud.
  • No required prior certifications.
  • Target: leverages Google Cloud to design robust, secure, scalable, efficient, cost-effective solutions.
  • Familiarity with the Google Cloud Well-Architected Framework expected.

Exam Domains with Weights

Section 1: Designing and planning a cloud solution architecture ~25%
  • Designing infrastructure that meets business requirements (use cases, BCP, cost optimization, KPIs, security/compliance, observability).
  • Designing infrastructure that meets technical requirements (Well-Architected Framework, HA/failover, scalability, performance/latency).
  • Designing network, storage, and compute (VPC, GKE, Cloud Run, spot VMs, object/file/database storage).
  • Creating a migration plan (Google Cloud Migration Center, testing, dependencies).
  • Envisioning future solution improvements.
Section 2: Managing and provisioning a cloud solution infrastructure ~17.5%
  • Configuring network topologies (hybrid, multicloud, intrusion protection, VPC and load balancing).
  • Configuring storage systems (allocation, lifecycle, growth, backup/recovery).
  • Configuring compute systems (Compute Engine, GKE, serverless, VMware Engine).
  • Leveraging Vertex AI for end-to-end ML workflows.
  • Configuring prebuilt solutions or APIs with Vertex AI.
Section 3: Designing for security and compliance ~17.5%
  • IAM, resource hierarchy, key management, encryption.
  • Security controls (auditing, VPC Service Controls, context-aware access, CMEK with Cloud KMS).
  • Secure remote access (IAP, service account impersonation, Workload Identity Federation).
  • Software supply chain and AI security (Model Armor, Sensitive Data Protection).
  • Compliance - health/privacy, data sovereignty, PII/PCI, SOC 2.
Section 4: Analyzing and optimizing technical and business processes ~15%
  • Technical processes - SDLC, CI/CD, RCA, testing, service catalog, DR.
  • Business processes - stakeholder management, change management, cost/resource optimization.
Section 5: Managing implementation ~12.5%
  • Advising development and operations teams (deployment, Apigee API management, testing).
  • Interacting with Google Cloud programmatically (gcloud, gsutil, bq, Terraform IaC).
Section 6: Ensuring solution and operations excellence ~12.5%
  • Operational excellence pillar of the Well-Architected Framework.
  • Google Cloud Observability (monitoring, logging, profiling, alerting).
  • Deployment and release management; quality control; reliability (chaos engineering, load testing).

Official Prep Resources

Cloud Skills Boost learning path Official sample questions Standard exam guide PDF Google Cloud Well-Architected Framework Google Cloud documentation Certification FAQs

Test what you've learned

Take a free GoLearnQuiz practice test. Sign in to save your score.

Beginner Warm-up and concepts Start Intermediate Real exam style Start Advanced Tough scenarios Start

Additional Helpful Details

  • All weights are approximate (Google uses ~ symbol).
  • Google does not publish a standalone practice exam; sample questions Google Form is the closest official equivalent.
  • Badges are issued post-pass through cp.certmetrics.com.

Official Sources

Back to all blueprints