Solution Architect
What the work looks like, the platforms behind the title, what each level means and the training that helps, then how interviews run and how to prepare for each step.
What a solution architect actually does
An architect who designs the technical solution for a project, from the platforms and integrations to security and performance, and makes sure it can be delivered.
A solution architect designs the technical solution for a project or a client. They choose the platforms, define how the systems connect through APIs and integration tools, and plan for non-functional needs such as security, performance and availability.
They write the architecture documents, explain the trade‑offs to business and delivery teams, and follow the delivery to make sure the solution is built as designed.
Solution architects work on cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, on integration platforms such as MuleSoft, Boomi or SAP BTP, and on data platforms.
- A design workshop with business and technical teams
- Writing an architecture document or a decision record
- A review with security on a new solution
- Answering questions from the delivery team
- A meeting with a vendor on a platform choice
The same title, very different stacks
Most solution architect searches are defined first by the platforms of the company, then by the ground every solution architect shares.
What each level means in practice
Titles vary from one company to the next. What changes from one level to the next is the scope you own and the decisions you take.
- Designs parts of a solution with a senior architect
- Learns the platforms, the standards and the teams
- Writes architecture documents with review
- Designs the solution for a project on their own
- Takes choices on platforms and integrations
- Works directly with business and delivery teams
- Designs complex solutions across several systems
- Leads choices with security and vendors
- Mentors other architects
- Sets architecture standards across projects
- Leads choices on platforms for the company
- Writes the guidance others build on
The paths into the role, and what really counts
Companies look first at solutions you designed and that were delivered. Certifications such as TOGAF or cloud architecture help, especially in consulting firms.
- Engineering school or master's in computer scienceThe most common path in France, and often expected by large companies.
- University degree in computer scienceThe most common path in the US, at bachelor's or master's level.
- Senior developer firstMany solution architects start as senior developers or technical leads.
- Technical consulting firstTechnical consultants who design solutions for clients also move into the role.
Our view: for this role, a solution you designed and can walk through, from the need to the delivery, often says more than any certificate.
A conversation with a senior tech recruiter
Your first interview is with one of our senior tech recruiters, who knows the role, the platforms and the levels in this guide. The conversation covers your own work through real examples, and the architecture cases come later, with the company. Before the call, we send you the six themes we will cover so you can prepare your examples.
- What you owned yourselfThe solutions, projects or architecture documents you were responsible for, and your own part in the team's work.
- Your environment and its constraintsBusiness needs, existing systems, security rules, budget or deadlines: what shaped your technical choices.
- The decisions you madeWhich platforms, which integrations and which trade‑offs, the options you compared and the reasons for your choice.
- The impact of your workWhat changed thanks to your work, with numbers when you have them: delivery time, costs, performance or incidents.
- How you work with other teamsYour work with business teams, delivery teams, security and vendors, and how you settle a disagreement.
- What you want nextThe kind of solutions, platforms and scope you are looking for in your next role.
- Solutions delivered end to end
- Trade‑offs documented
- Work with business and delivery
The same ground for every candidate. For a given role, every candidate answers the same final questions, built with the hiring manager around what the role really needs.
Ready for the next steps. After our call, we tell you how the company runs its interviews, who you will meet at each step and what each step is meant to assess.
What the company will assess, step by step
Each company runs its own process, and we walk you through its steps before you start. Solution architecture processes often combine the steps below, and the depth expected at each step grows with your level.
- An architecture caseA business need to turn into a solution, with platforms, integrations, security and costs.
- A deep dive on a past solutionOne solution you designed, discussed in depth: the context, your choices and what you would change today.
- A presentation to stakeholdersA short presentation of a design to business and technical people, with their questions.
- Meeting the manager and the teamHow you work, how you take decisions with others and what the team expects in your first months.
- ArchitectYou design a clean solution, explain each choice in simple words and ask the right questions about the need.
- Senior ArchitectYou lead the design, weigh cost, security and delivery, and point out risks and limits before you are asked.
- Lead and PrincipalYou run most of the interview as a peer, connect the design to the standards and the strategy of the company.
How to prepare as a solution architect
Practical advice for each step of a solution architecture process, from the way you introduce yourself to the questions you ask at the end of each interview.
Start with the solutions you worked on, their context and your part in them. Mention your main methods and tools in one sentence, then close with what you want next.
For each one, prepare the context, the constraints, your decision, the options you set aside, the result and what you would change today. Say "we" for the team and "I" for your own part.
Practise drawing a solution you designed, with the systems, the integrations and the data flows.
In an architecture case, ask about the users, the data, the rules and the budget before you draw anything.
Prepare one trade‑off you made and explain it in plain words, as you would to a business leader.
Rules on AI tools differ from one company to the next, especially for take-home cases. Ask before each step, and when they are allowed, explain what you asked the tool and how you checked its output.
- Walk us through a solution you designed.
- How do you choose between two platforms for a project?
- How do you handle security and performance in your designs?
- How do you make sure the delivery team follows the design?
- Which platforms does the company use today?
- How do solution and enterprise architects work together?
- Who takes the final decision on a platform choice?
- How are architecture documents reviewed?
- Which projects are planned this year?
- How does the team use AI tools in its daily work?
Where solution architects come from, and where they go
The roles people most often hold before this one, and the ones they most often move to.
Some solution architects also become heads of architecture.