diff --git a/docs/generalized-terraform-product-architecture.md b/docs/generalized-terraform-product-architecture.md
index 71b9772..944c6ac 100644
--- a/docs/generalized-terraform-product-architecture.md
+++ b/docs/generalized-terraform-product-architecture.md
@@ -87,32 +87,54 @@ The following components require **no changes** to support new product types:
 
 ### 1. Template repo on GHE
 
-Create a new repo under `SCT-Engineering/` (e.g. `template-s3-bucket`) that follows
-the standard account repo directory layout. This repo is cloned by the executor
-CodeBuild build and serves as the starting point for rendered files.
+Create a new repo under `SCT-Engineering/` (e.g. `template-s3-bucket`) containing
+**only the workload-specific files** — nothing else.
 
-The template repo must contain:
-- Standard `.tf-control`, `.tf-control.tfrc`, `region.tf`, `credentials.d/`, `variables.d/`
-- Layer directories (`common/`, `infrastructure/`, `vpc/`) as applicable
-- `remote_state.yml` stubs that the Proposer build will populate
+Account repos already carry all standard scaffolding from initial setup:
+`.tf-control`, `.tf-control.tfrc`, `region.tf`, `credentials.d/`, `variables.d/`,
+and layer-level `remote_state.yml` files with account-specific values.
+Duplicating any of that in a template repo would overwrite working values with
+stubs and make the template non-reusable across accounts.
+
+A minimal template repo looks like:
+
+```
+template-s3-bucket/
+├── INF.s3-standard.tf.j2    # S3 bucket + policy resources
+├── tf-run.data              # REMOTE-STATE + tf-directory-setup + ALL steps
+└── .sc-automation.yml.j2   # optional; Proposer writes a default if absent
+```
+
+The files are **flat**. `LAYER` and `REGION_DIR` are env vars already known to the
+Proposer build — it writes the rendered files into `${ACCOUNT_REPO}/${LAYER}/${REGION_DIR}/`
+at copy time. There is no reason to encode layer or region as directory structure
+inside the template repo.
+
+If the target layer does not yet exist in the account repo, the Lambda Pydantic
+model constructs the layer-level `remote_state.yml` from SC form inputs
+(`account_id`, `account_alias`, `bucket`, `profile`, `region`) and passes it to
+the Proposer via `EXTRA_FILES`. The template repo never carries this file.
 
 ### 2. Jinja2 templates
 
-Add a new subdirectory under `lambda/templates/{product_type}/` containing the
-`.tf.j2` and `.hcl.j2` files that are rendered by the Proposer build before being
-committed to the new repo branch.
+Jinja2 template files (`.tf.j2`) live **in the template repo itself** — flat, alongside
+`tf-run.data`. There is no separate `lambda/templates/` directory tree. The Proposer
+build clones the template repo and renders every `.j2` file it finds, writing the
+result (minus the `.j2` extension) into `${LAYER}/${REGION_DIR}/` in the account repo.
+
+Example for an S3 product:
 
 ```
-lambda/templates/
-├── eks_cluster/          # existing
-│   ├── infrastructure/west/cluster.tf.j2
-│   └── ...
-├── s3_bucket/            # new
-│   ├── infrastructure/west/s3.tf.j2
-│   └── ...
-└── {future_product}/     # pattern
+template-s3-bucket/
+├── INF.s3-standard.tf.j2    # rendered → infrastructure/west/INF.s3-standard.tf
+├── tf-run.data
+└── .sc-automation.yml.j2
 ```
 
+Subdirectory variants (e.g. `standard/` vs `encrypted/`) are supported via the
+`source_path` parameter — the Proposer copies only the named subdirectory's contents,
+stripped of the subdirectory prefix.
+
 ### 3. Pydantic config model
 
 Add a new model in `lambda/models/{product_type}.py`:
@@ -123,7 +145,10 @@ class S3BucketConfig(BaseModel):
     bucket_name: str
     account_name: str
     aws_account_id: str
+    account_alias: str          # used to build remote_state.yml profile field
     environment: Literal["dev", "test", "prod"]
+    layer: str = "infrastructure"
+    region_dir: str = "west"
     aws_region: str = "us-gov-west-1"
     versioning_enabled: bool = True
     lifecycle_days: int = 90
@@ -131,9 +156,27 @@ class S3BucketConfig(BaseModel):
     workload: str
     tier: str
     partition: str = "gov"
+
+    def extra_files(self) -> dict[str, str]:
+        """Layer-level remote_state.yml — only needed if layer doesn't exist yet."""
+        return {
+            f"{self.layer}/remote_state.yml": render_remote_state_yml(
+                directory=self.layer,
+                account_id=self.aws_account_id,
+                account_alias=self.account_alias,
+                bucket=f"inf-tfstate-{self.aws_account_id}",
+                bucket_region="us-gov-east-1",
+                profile=f"{self.aws_account_id}-{self.account_alias}",
+                region=self.aws_region,
+                aws_environment="gov",
+            )
+        }
 ```
 
-The model enforces required fields and default values before any CodeBuild build is started.
+The model enforces required fields and default values before any CodeBuild build
+is started. The `extra_files()` method produces the layer-level `remote_state.yml`
+from validated inputs — account-specific values stay in the Lambda model, not in
+the template repo.
 
 ### 4. Lambda dispatcher
 
@@ -195,9 +238,11 @@ existing EKS product config.
 The following checklist can be handed to a product team or platform engineer to
 onboard any new Terraform workload without Lambda or CodeBuild changes:
 
-- [ ] Create `SCT-Engineering/template-{product_type}` repo from the standard account repo skeleton
-- [ ] Add `lambda/templates/{product_type}/` with Jinja2 templates for each rendered file
-- [ ] Add `lambda/models/{product_type}.py` with a Pydantic model defining required inputs
+- [ ] Create `SCT-Engineering/template-{product_type}` containing **only** the workload
+      delta: flat `.tf.j2` file(s) + `tf-run.data` (+ optional `.sc-automation.yml.j2`)
+- [ ] Add `lambda/models/{product_type}.py` with a Pydantic model defining required
+      inputs and an `extra_files()` method that builds the layer-level `remote_state.yml`
+      from validated SC form inputs
 - [ ] Register the handler in `lambda/app.py` `PRODUCT_HANDLERS` table
 - [ ] Create `service-catalog/{product_type}-product-template.yaml` CFN template
 - [ ] Add census config YAML and SC portfolio registration in `terraform-service-catalog-census`