diff --git a/cloud_pipelines_backend/instrumentation/metrics.py b/cloud_pipelines_backend/instrumentation/metrics.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5ddb326
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cloud_pipelines_backend/instrumentation/metrics.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""
+Application-level meters and instruments.
+
+Meters should be named after the software component they represent.
+They should not change over time (avoid using __name__).
+
+Instruments should be named after the metric they represent.
+First and foremost, they should follow the semantic conventions
+(https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/general/metrics/)
+of OTel if the metric is common (e.g. http.server.duration).
+
+For custom, application-specific measurements, choose a name after
+what is being measured, and not after the software component that
+measures it.
+
+Good example:
+- Meter: tangle.orchestrator
+- Instrument: execution.system_errors
+
+Bad example:
+- Meter: tangle.orchestrator
+- Instrument: orchestrator_execution_system_errors
+"""
+
+from opentelemetry import metrics as otel_metrics
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# tangle.orchestrator
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+orchestrator_meter = otel_metrics.get_meter("tangle.orchestrator")
+
+execution_system_errors = orchestrator_meter.create_counter(
+    name="execution.system_errors",
+    description="Number of execution nodes that ended in SYSTEM_ERROR status",
+    unit="{error}",
+)
diff --git a/cloud_pipelines_backend/orchestrator_sql.py b/cloud_pipelines_backend/orchestrator_sql.py
index 0241c38..eb1f1ab 100644
--- a/cloud_pipelines_backend/orchestrator_sql.py
+++ b/cloud_pipelines_backend/orchestrator_sql.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 from .launchers import common_annotations
 from .launchers import interfaces as launcher_interfaces
 from .instrumentation import contextual_logging
+from .instrumentation import metrics as app_metrics
 
 _logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -1037,6 +1038,8 @@ def _retry(
 
 
 def record_system_error_exception(execution: bts.ExecutionNode, exception: Exception):
+    app_metrics.execution_system_errors.add(1)
+
     if execution.extra_data is None:
         execution.extra_data = {}
     execution.extra_data[