diff --git a/changelog/unreleased/SOLR-18144.yml b/changelog/unreleased/SOLR-18144.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..18c025dfcebe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog/unreleased/SOLR-18144.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+title: Fixed schema designer to create missing .system collection. 
+type: fixed # added, changed, fixed, deprecated, removed, dependency_update, security, other
+authors:
+  - name: Eric Pugh
+links:
+  - name: SOLR-18144
+    url: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/SOLR-18144
diff --git a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/SchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/SchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
index f24fe26ed61c..2f1d8a497308 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/SchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/java/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/SchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
@@ -474,6 +474,7 @@ protected void validateTypeChange(String configSet, SchemaField field, FieldType
 
   void deleteStoredSampleDocs(String configSet) {
     try {
+      ensureSystemCollectionExists();
       cloudClient().deleteByQuery(BLOB_STORE_ID, "id:" + configSet + "_sample/*", 10);
     } catch (IOException | SolrServerException | SolrException exc) {
       final String excStr = exc.toString();
@@ -481,8 +482,47 @@ void deleteStoredSampleDocs(String configSet) {
     }
   }
 
+  private void ensureSystemCollectionExists() throws IOException, SolrServerException {
+    if (!zkStateReader().getClusterState().hasCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID)) {
+      log.info("Creating {} collection for blob storage", BLOB_STORE_ID);
+      try {
+        int liveNodes = zkStateReader().getClusterState().getLiveNodes().size();
+        int replicationFactor = Math.max(1, Math.min(3, liveNodes));
+        CollectionAdminRequest.createCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID, null, 1, replicationFactor)
+            .process(cloudClient());
+      } catch (SolrServerException | IOException e) {
+        // Handle race where another node created the collection between the hasCollection()
+        // check above and the createCollection() call. If the collection now exists, treat
+        // this as success; otherwise, propagate the original failure.
+        if (zkStateReader().getClusterState().hasCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID)) {
+          if (log.isInfoEnabled()) {
+            log.info(
+                "Collection {} already exists after failed create attempt; treating as success",
+                BLOB_STORE_ID);
+          }
+          return;
+        }
+        throw e;
+      }
+      try {
+        zkStateReader().waitForState(BLOB_STORE_ID, 30, TimeUnit.SECONDS, Objects::nonNull);
+      } catch (InterruptedException | TimeoutException e) {
+        throw new IOException(
+            "Failed to see created collection " + BLOB_STORE_ID + " reflected in cluster state",
+            SolrZkClient.checkInterrupted(e));
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
   List<SolrInputDocument> getStoredSampleDocs(final String configSet) throws IOException {
+
+    try {
+      ensureSystemCollectionExists();
+    } catch (SolrServerException e) {
+      throw new IOException("Failed to ensure .system collection exists", e);
+    }
+
     var request = new GenericSolrRequest(SolrRequest.METHOD.GET, "/blob/" + configSet + "_sample");
     request.setRequiresCollection(true);
     request.setResponseParser(new InputStreamResponseParser("filestream"));
@@ -496,12 +536,27 @@ List<SolrInputDocument> getStoredSampleDocs(final String configSet) throws IOExc
       } else return Collections.emptyList();
     } catch (SolrServerException e) {
       throw new IOException("Failed to lookup stored docs for " + configSet + " due to: " + e);
+    } catch (SolrException e) {
+      // Collection not found or blob not found - treat as no documents stored
+      if (e.code() == ErrorCode.NOT_FOUND.code) {
+        if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+          log.debug("No stored sample docs found for {}", configSet, e);
+        }
+        return Collections.emptyList();
+      }
+      // For other SolrExceptions, propagate as an IOException to avoid hiding real server problems
+      throw new IOException("Failed to lookup stored docs for " + configSet, e);
     } finally {
       IOUtils.closeQuietly(inputStream);
     }
   }
 
   void storeSampleDocs(final String configSet, List<SolrInputDocument> docs) throws IOException {
+    try {
+      ensureSystemCollectionExists();
+    } catch (SolrServerException e) {
+      throw new IOException("Failed to ensure .system collection exists", e);
+    }
     docs.forEach(d -> d.removeField(VERSION_FIELD)); // remove _version_ field before storing ...
     postDataToBlobStore(
         cloudClient(),
diff --git a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerAPI.java b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerAPI.java
index 893ad0f16ecf..f682951d6736 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerAPI.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerAPI.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Optional;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.SolrQuery;
-import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.CollectionAdminRequest;
 import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.response.QueryResponse;
 import org.apache.solr.cloud.SolrCloudTestCase;
 import org.apache.solr.common.SolrDocumentList;
@@ -70,9 +69,6 @@ public static void createCluster() throws Exception {
     configureCluster(1)
         .addConfig(DEFAULT_CONFIGSET_NAME, new File(ExternalPaths.DEFAULT_CONFIGSET).toPath())
         .configure();
-    // SchemaDesignerAPI depends on the blob store
-    CollectionAdminRequest.createCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID, 1, 1).process(cluster.getSolrClient());
-    cluster.waitForActiveCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID, 1, 1);
   }
 
   @AfterClass
diff --git a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
index 861261c99049..3f666039fa1b 100644
--- a/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
+++ b/solr/core/src/test/org/apache/solr/handler/designer/TestSchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
 import java.util.zip.ZipInputStream;
-import org.apache.solr.client.solrj.request.CollectionAdminRequest;
 import org.apache.solr.cloud.SolrCloudTestCase;
 import org.apache.solr.common.SolrInputDocument;
 import org.apache.solr.common.util.SimpleOrderedMap;
@@ -60,9 +59,6 @@ public static void createCluster() throws Exception {
     configureCluster(1)
         .addConfig(DEFAULT_CONFIGSET_NAME, new File(ExternalPaths.DEFAULT_CONFIGSET).toPath())
         .configure();
-    // SchemaDesignerConfigSetHelper depends on the blob store
-    CollectionAdminRequest.createCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID, 1, 1).process(cluster.getSolrClient());
-    cluster.waitForActiveCollection(BLOB_STORE_ID, 1, 1);
   }
 
   @AfterClass